# Man where are they dredging up these dumb Jeoprady players these days? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 19, 2016, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557 "2016-01-19T08:21:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/21 "2016-01-19T14:13:51Z")
I wonder if this is unique in the Jeopardy! annals. Two champions at the beginning of the game, no champions at the end of the game! The real take-away here is to bet strategically in Final Jeopardy, especially if you’re in third place. I didn’t get Little Rock either. At first I thought about something related to the space program, then I thought about civil rights. Selma? The University of Mississippi? No, those weren’t until the 60’s. Brown v. Board of Education? The Montgomery bus boycott? No, those were earlier than 1957, weren’t they? The Nashville sit-ins? I probably would have gotten to Little Rock eventually, but not in thirty seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/22 "2016-01-19T14:14:24Z")
I love trivia, but the problem with trivia is that we amass so much of it as time goes by. There has been almost 60 years of history since 1957. I am no longer surprised at ‘smart’ people’s lack of specific knowledge about any specific event. There are just too many to remember, and the ones that stick in our brains and the ones that slip away do so for undiscernible reasons. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/23 "2016-01-19T14:20:10Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I love trivia, but the problem with trivia is that we amass so much of it as time goes by. There has been almost 60 years of history since 1957. I am no longer surprised at ‘smart’ people’s lack of specific knowledge about any specific event. There are just too many to remember, and the ones that stick in our brains and the ones that slip away do so for undiscernible reasons. It helps if the “answer” is worded clearly. In this case, I’d argue that it could have been written much better. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/24 "2016-01-19T14:22:36Z")
Y’all are such smart arm chair quarterbacks. We didn’t get it at home, either. But we DID get that George Harrison made All Things Must pass. How could anyone miss THAT? ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/25 "2016-01-19T16:29:10Z")
> [@mcgato](#): > > Ah, yet another “I’m amazed that nobody got the final jeopardy that I knew.” Not long ago, it was a guy who was miffed that nobody got the Terry Pratchett question. I figured it was civil rights related, but couldn’t come up with Little Rock. > > As for betting, why did third place wager any money? Her only chance was that the other two got it wrong and bet everything. That both would bet everything was very likely, as they were tied for the lead. This is the biggest indication of stupidity, Not that they didn’t get the answer. How the hell can these people know so much trivia but be so dense regarding the easy math required to make the right final jeopardy wager? ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/26 "2016-01-19T16:30:24Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > **Jeopardy! Rule No. 1:** _Always_ leave at least $1 when you’re betting in Final Jeopardy! …if you’re in third place and the first and second place finishers are tied. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/27 "2016-01-19T16:32:14Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Y’all are such smart arm chair quarterbacks. We didn’t get it at home, either. > > But we DID get that George Harrison made All Things Must pass. How could anyone miss THAT? Yeah, I missed the OP’s as well. Never would have figured it out, but history was always my week point in Jeopardy. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/28 "2016-01-19T16:39:52Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > It helps if the “answer” is worded clearly. In this case, I’d argue that it could have been written much better. I heard but did not see the subject and the start of the question (answer). I immediately said “Little Rock”, then turned to read the whole thing and was a bit confused by the form. I’m still a little surprised no one got it even from a guess though. They probably did know about it but maybe the year 1957 was not a trigger for them, the subject isn’t discussed as much as it used to be. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/29 "2016-01-19T17:02:41Z")
You really only had two possible choices: Little Rock or Atlanta. One contestant went for Atlanta. The other two didn’t even get close. **mcgato** called it on the third place lady. Why she bet so much as a dime is a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/30 "2016-01-19T17:13:03Z")
I had a hard time parsing the question, and finally decided on Eisenhower for some reason (1957)? Even if I knew it was Little Rock I didn’t remember that Clinton’s library is there. The final triple-zero amounts was so unusual that I immediately hit “record” on the DVR so I could show the wife. I agree that the third-place player should have bet $0, although it would have been cool if she had bet everything but a dollar and ended up with $1. If that happened to me, I would be embarrassed to tell my friends that I won at Jeopardy but only a measly buck. I was wondering how they would award the consolation prizes. I was glad to see that both top-scores going into Final Jeopardy got $2000, and the third-place score still got $1000. BUT - if she won with $1, would they still give her $1000 or $2000 just for winning? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/31 "2016-01-19T17:30:19Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I was wondering how they would award the consolation prizes. I was glad to see that both top-scores going into Final Jeopardy got $2000, and the third-place score still got $1000. BUT - if she won with $1, would they still give her $1000 or $2000 just for winning? If you win with $1, you get $1, and you get to come back for the next show as the defending champion. I suppose you could keep winning with paltry amounts, but eventually you’ll lose and get at least $1000. Winning with $1 is pretty darn rare. I only recall once that a champion was introduced with “winnings total one dollar”. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/32 "2016-01-19T17:45:33Z")
Oh, and where are they getting these dumb people that, in a thread complaining about dumb Jeopardy players, can’t even spell Jeopardy correctly? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/33 "2016-01-19T17:58:41Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I thought that question was ungodly easy. Presidential Library in a state capital in the South with a major event 3 years after _Brown_. Little Rock is the obvious answer. Last night it took me about 3 seconds to figure it out. OBJECTION! Facts not in evidence. The clue didn’t say anything about whether the state capital was North, South, East or West; didn’t say anything about Brown; didn’t even say anything about civil rights. And by the way, even if your mind naturally went to the Civil Rights movement, there was[another civil rights event](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komla_Agbeli_Gbedemah)in a different state capital in 1957. The was another civil rights event in a different [state capital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Bus_Boycott) that went on during the previous year, and Brown vs. Board of Education itself[started in a state capital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education) in the 1950s. I’ll stipulate the betting was dumb, though. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/34 "2016-01-19T18:01:15Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > If you win with $1, you get $1, and you get to come back for the next show as the defending champion. I suppose you could keep winning with paltry amounts, but eventually you’ll lose and get at least $1000. > > Winning with $1 is pretty darn rare. I only recall once that a champion was introduced with “winnings total one dollar”. I don’t know if it’s ever happened, but it is perfectly possible to win with $1, then finish your next game in third place, receiving the $1,000 consolation prize. Thus, even though you’re a Jeopardy! champion, your total winnings of $1,001 are less than the $2,000 you would have gotten had you finished your initial game in second place. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/35 "2016-01-19T18:48:30Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > I don’t know if it’s ever happened, but it is perfectly possible to win with $1, then finish your next game in third place, receiving the $1,000 consolation prize. Thus, even though you’re a Jeopardy! champion, your total winnings of $1,001 are less than the $2,000 you would have gotten had you finished your initial game in second place. True, although the way John Galt described it, it sounded like the winner was getting screwed to only get $1. Once you get on the show, you’re guaranteed[sup]\*[/sup] the third place prize of $1000, which ought to cover your travel expenses. I suppose the worst case is to get on a Friday taping and win $1, fly home, then come back for the Monday taping and get $1000; two trips to L.A. to win $1001. Under normal circumstances, anyway. There was a case a couple months ago where the champion could not come back for the next taping, but that’s only happened twice. And I read here that she will be back when her schedule permits. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/36 "2016-01-19T18:54:05Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Under normal circumstances, anyway. There was a case a couple months ago where the champion could not come back for the next taping, but that’s only happened twice. And I read here that she will be back when her schedule permits. In fact, she was back this very episode. She was the one in the middle; she and the guy were introduced as co-champions. We see how much good coming back did her! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/37 "2016-01-19T18:57:36Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > OBJECTION! Facts not in evidence. > > The clue didn’t say anything about whether the state capital was North, South, East or West; didn’t say anything about Brown; didn’t even say anything about civil rights. > > And by the way, even if your mind naturally went to the Civil Rights movement, there was[another civil rights event](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komla_Agbeli_Gbedemah)in a different state capital in 1957. The was another civil rights event in a different [state capital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Bus_Boycott) that went on during the previous year, and Brown vs. Board of Education itself[started in a state capital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education) in the 1950s. > > I’ll stipulate the betting was dumb, though. _“A 1957 event led to the creation of a national historic site in this city, signed into law by a president whose library is now there too.”_ “1957 event” and “site” absolutely screams “civil rights.” That means the South. Presidential libraries in the South of presidents post-1960 means Atlanta or Little Rock. Little Rock is the better known, so it was the obvious answer. _Brown_ was in 1954, so that eliminated Topeka. The bus boycott also wasn’t in 1957. It also wasn’t a specific site. So it really wasn’t that hard to figure out. Now, if the Final Jeopardy! topic had been Contemporary Broadway Plays or Pop Music I would have been hosed. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/38 "2016-01-19T19:07:18Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Good point. Some Dopers have been contestants and would know. My understanding is that they film all five shows on one day. I’m guessing the contestants would be told when they would air, so they can get friends and family to watch. I’m pretty sure they didn’t tell us when it would air, and I was on the fourth show of the second week of the new season. If they gave the date more or less it was after the show taped - you get selected just before they start taping and you are kind of busy practicing on the set and getting makeup before then. The question was not good. The Times prints the question for that day, so I had time to look at it, and it certainly sounded like the presidential library in question was for the president in office at the time. It took a minute or so to figure out that didn’t work. I knew it was probably Little Rock, so once I realized the memorial could have been done much later, I got the Clinton connection. My wife had guessed Austin but agreed with me. When I was on neither of us got the question either (the third player wound up with negative money and didn’t get to do the final round.) The question was something about the co-st art of Miami Vice (which I had never seen) being on the current show of the current star as a guest star. It was my opponent’s fifth show, so he wasn’t dumb. They had just started with more current entertainment type questions so I blame the writers. I bet just enough to be ahead of him if he had bet 0, so I wound up with positive money, but in those days you got the same second place prize no matter how much money you had. My experience is a good counterexample to anyone saying watching too much TV is not good - if I had watched more I could have won. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/39 "2016-01-19T19:07:56Z")
They do tell you when your episode is airing; mine aired on Memorial Day and I kept that in mind when I was studying (not that it helped; nothing about Memorial Day in my game. Also no goddamned Presidents, no state nicknames, no opera, no Shakespeare, NOTHING I studied.) ETA - sorry, they tell you the _week_ it will be airing; you don’t know which show you’ll be on until they draw your name out of the hat. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557/40 "2016-01-19T19:09:17Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > In fact, she was back this very episode. She was the one in the middle; she and the guy were introduced as co-champions. Oh, okay; I missed the beginning of the episode (I assume Alex explained the situation) and didn’t recognize her. Kind of a shame, actually, since the next episode would have been the perfect time to bring her back. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-where-are-they-dredging-up-these-dumb-jeoprady-players-these-days/743557.md?page=3)