# That's the Final Jeopardy question? Really? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 29, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998 "2009-09-29T16:28:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/21 "2009-09-30T03:28:26Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > What has become of this show? To my eyes, they’ve done more and more pop culture questions in recent years. That wouldn’t explain this one, though. I think that’s a very easy question but it could be made a little tougher depending on the category. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/22 "2009-09-30T04:18:11Z")
No one’s answered my question (I don’t think – oy, I’m not one of those annoying people who doesn’t read the thread properly, am I?): did any of the contestants miss the OP’s final jeopardy answer? Because while I (and of course all the smart Dopers here) know the [del]answer[/del] question, if someone didn’t get it, maybe it’s not as easy as we think it is. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/23 "2009-09-30T05:28:50Z")
[No, no one missed it.](http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=827) ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/24 "2009-09-30T07:08:06Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > The one from last night was pathetically easy, too. The category was something like “Old Names in the News” and the clue was along the lines of: “After being caught or accused of pyramid schemes in the US in 1919, he fled back to Italy.” > > The craziest part is one contestant missed it! He guessed Mussolini. I thought this was bad on several levels. 1/ The obvious answer, with the recent Madoff conviction news going on. 2/ The obvious embarrasment of the contestant for his lack of knowledge, who asked “…don’t even show it.” 3/ This contestant worked in Washington, DC, as an employee of the Government Accountability Office as a sort of QA person. I would think that somebody who worked in DC in a job like that would have a little knowledge about it. At least he could have shaved before he went on the show. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/25 "2009-09-30T08:05:50Z")
It was only recently that I was even aware that the term “Ponzi” was a person’s name. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/26 "2009-09-30T10:39:36Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > A few weeks ago the Final Jeopardy category was “Colonial pen names”. That was the category, not the question. I best most of you can get the answer just from the category without even hearing the question (I did, anyway). > > The answer is Benjamin Franklin. I don’t even remember what the question was, but it mentioned some of Franklin’s pseudonyms It had a few of his pen names from his almanacs. But yeah, another fall over easy one. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/27 "2009-09-30T13:01:45Z")
It’s turning into Saturday Night Live Celeb tournament type questions. Not even real celeb tourney questions, but the mocking, bad, easy questions. Still love Trebek, though. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/28 "2009-09-30T13:33:01Z")
Art Fleming was on record (I recall his last ep BTW, when he cried at the end) as saying that his version of the show was quite a bit harder. With the gratutious “hints” that are often thrown into an answer in the Trebek era, he probably has a case. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/29 "2009-09-30T13:40:07Z")
> [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](#): > > At least he could have shaved before he went on the show. Oh yeah. That facial hair made him look like a cousin of the Geico cavemen. I didn’t know Ponzi either. ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/30 "2009-09-30T13:55:24Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Note: this was not High School week or anything, either: > > > [@](#): > > > > Oddly enough, this 3-word phrase is the only Latin phrase spoken in the play “Julius Caesar.” > > What has become of this show? I wouldn’t have known the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/31 "2009-09-30T14:24:37Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > To my eyes, they’ve done more and more pop culture questions in recent years. That wouldn’t explain this one, though. I think that’s a very easy question but it could be made a little tougher depending on the category. I find this really annoying. Sometimes the categories seemed designed only to shill for some upcoming movie from Sony Pictures (which owns Jeopardy). Last night, they had a category to promote the show “Shark Tank” on ABC, which not coincidentally aired later that evening. Do they not make enough from syndication revenues that they need the product placement money? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/32 "2009-09-30T16:19:45Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > What was the category “when come back, bring pie”? > > Maybe the show’s not getting easier, we’re just getting smarter. I could be peaking at the right time; there was a contestant on the show last week who was in the same group I auditioned with. That’s why I don’t watch - I can’t stand to see the people I auditioned with get on the show. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/33 "2009-09-30T18:34:53Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Sometimes the categories seemed designed only to shill for some upcoming movie from Sony Pictures (which owns Jeopardy). Last night, they had a category to promote the show “Shark Tank” on ABC …which is also produced by Sony Pictures. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/34 "2009-09-30T18:52:43Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > What has become of this show? I’ll take “Jumped the Shark” for $500 Alex! ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/35 "2009-09-30T20:39:37Z")
Man, a lot of you seem to have the attitude that if I personally know it, then it’s obvious/easy. I bet if you didn’t know it, it was either hard or not important, right? 😛 And I’m saying that knowing the answer to the OP question and the Ponzi one. It’s like the people on Ravelry\* who will talk about how they were knitting in public, and someone asked about their crocheting and SNORT SNORT OMG IT’S OBVIOUSLY KNITTING! DO YOU _SEE_ A CROCHET HOOK? Each time I read those kinds of posts, I think, “dude, to 95% of the people who don’t knit or crochet, both of them are things you do with yarn and some stick-like implement[s].” - A knit/crochet website and community. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/36 "2009-09-30T20:58:41Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > Man, a lot of you seem to have the attitude that if I personally know it, then it’s obvious/easy. Nonsense. I don’t care what _you_ know. 😉 Actually, my thinking with the OP was along these lines: [ul] [li]The category (which I neglected to mention) was **Shakespeare** [/li][li]If you’re a Jeopardy contestant and haven’t bothered to at least familiarize yourself with famous Shakespeare quotes, you are a f&cking idiot[/li][li]The play referenced is very frequently taught in high school, therefore even if you are a f&cking idiot as determined by the prior item, chances are you know something about the play, and in my experience people know the line “et tu, Brute” even if they don’t know anything else about the play[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Kingspades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecae2f/32.png) [@Kingspades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kingspades)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/37 "2009-09-30T21:23:35Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I find this really annoying. Sometimes the categories seemed designed only to shill for some upcoming movie from Sony Pictures (which owns Jeopardy). Last night, they had a category to promote the show “Shark Tank” on ABC, which not coincidentally aired later that evening. Do they not make enough from syndication revenues that they need the product placement money? It’s my fault. I record “Jeopardy!” to my DVR and I skip the commercials. Sorry to be so selfish. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/38 "2009-09-30T21:23:57Z")
To be fair, my first thought on reading the OP was “Veni, vidi, vici”. But then I reminded myself that that wasn’t in the play, and fairly quickly switched to “Et tu, Brute?”. There’s a chance I might have blurted out the wrong answer if it had been a regular round, but in the 30 seconds or whatever they give you for Final? No way. The real puzzler, here: If someone had left off the “what is”, would they have been dinged for it? The quote itself is a question, after all. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/39 "2009-09-30T21:41:38Z")
Today’s Final Jeopardy answer was a bit more difficult. Guess I’d better spoiler it. You had to know the _Daily Variety_ five-word headline from 9/30/29. Of course it’s going to be related to the Wall Street crash and yeah, it’s gonna have an entertainment angle, but how many people will know the exact five words? (“Wall Street Lays an Egg”) If any of the contestants had gotten it right, I’d suspect cheating. Did anyone here know today’s FJ? ---
**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:** [September 30, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998/40 "2009-09-30T21:51:16Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Today’s Final Jeopardy answer was a bit more difficult. Guess I’d better spoiler it. > > You had to know the _Daily Variety_ five-word headline from 9/30/29. Of course it’s going to be related to the Wall Street crash and yeah, it’s gonna have an entertainment angle, but how many people will know the exact five words? (“Wall Street Lays an Egg”) If any of the contestants had gotten it right, I’d suspect cheating. > > Did anyone here know today’s FJ? Actually, yes. I did. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-the-final-jeopardy-question-really/511998.md?page=3)