# Stupid Jeopardy contestants **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148 "2015-10-30T02:29:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [October 30, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/1 "2015-10-30T02:29:14Z")
I’m sorry, but if you can’t identify the major world created by the second best selling author in the English language, you are just plain dumb. Not to mention knowing jack about New Mexico. Tonight’s contestants were awful! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/2 "2015-10-30T02:43:39Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I’m sorry, but if you can’t identify the major world created by the second best selling author in the English language, you are just plain dumb. Not to mention knowing jack about New Mexico. > > Tonight’s contestants were awful! :mad: I assume the first part is something about Hogwarts, and there’s a _New_ Mexico? ---
**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:** [October 30, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/3 "2015-10-30T02:46:45Z")
Exactly! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/4 "2015-10-30T03:10:18Z")
For a set that is primarily blue, there was an awful lot of red tonight. And his tie was fucking horrible. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/5 "2015-10-30T03:10:49Z")
even Trebek was scolding them you might want to start at the top, Damien, with the easier questions ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/6 "2015-10-30T10:03:49Z")
I’ll never forget the Teen Celebrity show years ago where the answer was “sea captain who pursued the Great White Whale,” and **NOT ONE** OF THE 20-SOMETHING STARS _EVEN RANG IN_. :smack: The deadpan look Alex threw the camera as he said “_Ahab_” in the driest of all possible voices was priceless. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/7 "2015-10-30T12:12:04Z")
“Just like your mother, Trebek.” ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/8 "2015-10-30T13:45:10Z")
It was painful to watch Damien. I am a librarian, yet I had no idea about Discworld, so I can’t blame him for that. But freakin’ New Mexico??? And he kept going back to that category, the category where he couldn’t answer a question. He deserved to be in the red. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/9 "2015-10-30T14:00:01Z")
It scares me to learn that Terry Pratchett is “the second best selling author in the English language”. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/10 "2015-10-30T14:21:23Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I’ll never forget the Teen Celebrity show years ago where the answer was “sea captain who pursued the Great White Whale,” and **NOT ONE** OF THE 20-SOMETHING STARS _EVEN RANG IN_. :smack: > > The deadpan look Alex threw the camera as he said “_Ahab_” in the driest of all possible voices was priceless. Why would “20-SOMETHINGS” ring in on a Teen Celebrity show? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/11 "2015-10-30T14:52:41Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Why would “20-SOMETHINGS” ring in on a Teen Celebrity show? :dubious: Maybe they were “Hollywood” teens. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/12 "2015-10-30T15:28:17Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I’m sorry, but if you can’t identify the major world created by the second best selling author in the English language… I would have gotten that one wrong. I knew that HP went off to another realm and there was a school called Hogwarts but I would have no idea as to what that realm was called. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/13 "2015-10-30T15:46:23Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > I would have gotten that one wrong. I knew that HP went off to another realm and there was a school called Hogwarts but I would have no idea as to what that realm was called. Just to clarify, it had nothing to do with Harry Potter. The clue was about Discworld. I am likewise surprised, and somewhat dubious, that Terry Pratchett is “the second best selling author in the English language.” He doesn’t appear anywhere on [this list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_fiction_authors) of best-selling fiction authors, for example. I wasn’t really surprised that no one knew Discworld. I did, but my impression has always been that it’s something of a niche interest. I know any number of intelligent, well-read people who have never heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/14 "2015-10-30T15:52:23Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Why would “20-SOMETHINGS” ring in on a Teen Celebrity show? :dubious: Being a “teen” celebrity isn’t about age. You can be one well into your 20’s. It’s about the market. You ignored my point in order to make your lame point. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/15 "2015-10-30T15:57:06Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Just to clarify, it had nothing to do with Harry Potter. The clue was about Discworld. > > I am likewise surprised, and somewhat dubious, that Terry Pratchett is “the second best selling author in the English language.” He doesn’t appear anywhere on [this list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_fiction_authors) of best-selling fiction authors, for example. > > I wasn’t really surprised that no one knew Discworld. I did, but my impression has always been that it’s something of a niche interest. I know any number of intelligent, well-read people who have never heard of it. Wait, so what exactly was the question (answer)? Did they mention Pratchett’s name? ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/16 "2015-10-30T16:01:49Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Wait, so what exactly was the question (answer)? Did they mention Pratchett’s name? I don’t remember the exact text (and it’s not up on the Jeopardy! Archive yet), but I don’t think they did. It was something like “This fictional world was supported by four elephants on the back of a giant turtle.” ---
**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:** [October 30, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/17 "2015-10-30T16:12:39Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > I don’t remember the exact text (and it’s not up on the Jeopardy! Archive yet), but I don’t think they did. It was something like “This fictional world was supported by four elephants on the back of a giant turtle.” If I weren’t on this message board, I would never have heard of Discworld. Seriously, this is the only place in my life it’s ever come up, despite his apparent popularity. (And I’d be surprised if even 5% of the college educated people I know would know the answer to that question.) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/18 "2015-10-30T16:18:40Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I assume the first part is something about Hogwarts, and there’s a _New_ Mexico? > [@peedin](#): > > It was painful to watch Damien. I am a librarian, yet I had no idea about Discworld, so I can’t blame him for that. But freakin’ New Mexico???.. He’s not alone: [Atlanta Olympic Workers Need a Crash Course in Geography](http://articles.latimes.com/1996-03-01/sports/sp-41795_1_summer-olympics-ticket) > [@pulykamell](#): > > If I weren’t on this message board, I would never have heard of Discworld. Seriously, this is the only place in my life it’s ever come up, despite his apparent popularity… Me, too. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/19 "2015-10-30T16:28:51Z")
I still have not heard of Discworld. Neither has the spell checker, as it kept trying to change it to something else. I’m still 2 or 3 days behind on _Jeopardy_, so I’ll have to keep my eye out for this one. ---
**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:** [October 30, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148/20 "2015-10-30T16:34:32Z")
Be prepared for pain. Damien was an effort to watch. But none of them was a standout example of our best and brightest. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-jeopardy-contestants/736148.md?page=2)