# The Jeopardy thread \[was James Holzhauer\]\[contains spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [April 17, 2019, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696 "2019-04-17T21:53:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 115
**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:** [July 1, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2282 "2021-07-01T19:07:25Z")
I had _Brave New World_ immediately, but I wanted to ask my college-educate daughter if she would get the reference; it’s not as well known as _1984_. I’ve got to reread it now; _Ford is in his flivver!_ ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2021, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2283 "2021-07-01T21:13:09Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I had _Brave New World_ immediately, but I wanted to ask my college-educate daughter if she would get the reference; it’s not as well known as _1984_ . I was once college-educated. I didn’t get it. I’ve heard the title, but couldn’t tell you anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2021, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2284 "2021-07-02T00:49:47Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > On a back-to-the-topic note, I must admit that I did not know that ‘Brave New World’ was published in 1932. I thought it was after WWII **Brave New World Revisited** (same author) was published in 1958. Haven’t read it since 1970 but IIRC it’s not a story. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2021, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2285 "2021-07-02T01:52:16Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > “Carrot and stick”, to me, means the alternate possibilities of a reward or punishment. That’s the way we learned it in West Texas growing up. Using the stick to dangle the carrot just seems bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2021, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2286 "2021-07-02T09:35:13Z")
I’m starting to feel sorry for LeVar Burton. By the time he comes on at the end of the month, people will be thoroughly sick of the parade of guest hosts, plus the expectations of him will be so high he’ll be unlikely to meet them. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2021, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2287 "2021-07-05T21:43:35Z")
Anybody else thinking the current 5-time champ, Courtney Shah, isn’t really typical 5-time champ material? She’s just gotten lucky in having such weak challengers. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2021, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2288 "2021-07-06T02:10:25Z")
Yeah. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2021, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2289 "2021-07-06T03:59:58Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > “Carrot and stick”, to me, means the alternate possibilities of a reward or punishment. > > “Carrot on a stick” is the reward dangled in front of someone that they’ll never be able to get to. Sorry, in my book, “carrot on a stick” does not suggest a carrot being dangled _from_ a stick. It sounds more like a disgustingly healthy alternative to a corn dog. > [@Railer13](#): > > If you Google “Carrot and stick”, you will find far more references to reward/punishment than dangling a reward just out of reach. Although, as @commasense noted, there are references to both meanings, including in the Wiki article that was linked. Just to give one more whack to this poor dead donkey, I’ll note that in the story that seems to be the origin of this whole deal, both hitting the donkey with the stick and dangling a carrot in front of it are both described, with the latter being portrayed as the more successful method of accomplishing the goal. In other words, we’re _all_ correct, but we in the dangling crowd are _more_ correct. 😁 > [@Gyrate](#): > > I’m starting to feel sorry for LeVar Burton. By the time he comes on at the end of the month, people will be thoroughly sick of the parade of guest hosts, plus the expectations of him will be so high he’ll be unlikely to meet them. While I have nothing against LeVar, and I’m sure he’ll be as good as anyone, if his fans are imagining that his (one-week) appearance is somehow in the nature of an audition, they are going to be disappointed. By the time his episodes air, they’ll have already begun taping shows for the next season with the new host. It won’t be him. I’m wondering when they plan to announce the new host and whether it’s going to leak before it’s made official. I suspect they’d like to wait until the last guest-hosted show has aired, but I have a hard time imagining that they’ll be able to keep it secret once they’ve started taping new shows. Even if the whole production staff and all the contestants somehow kept it under wraps, presumably there will be studio audiences, and it’s impossible to expect that no one among the hundreds of them will let the cat out of the bag. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2021, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2290 "2021-07-06T03:59:58Z")
I think by the way she laughs during her introductions is a sign she knows how improbable her wins have been. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2021, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2291 "2021-07-06T04:01:24Z")
She’s gotten some really tough FJ’s right, including today’s, and went from third to first in DJ today as well. Some of her wins had bigger luck factors than others, but I think she’s for real. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2021, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2292 "2021-07-06T13:14:18Z")
IIRC, she won a game where she went into FJ in 2nd place and all 3 contestants got it wrong. She just bet an incredibly fortunate amount in relation to the others. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2293 "2021-07-06T14:45:40Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > she won a game where she went into FJ in 2nd place and all 3 contestants got it wrong. She just bet an incredibly fortunate amount in relation to the others. Once again, the 3rd place contestant bet big and lost. Had the bet been little or nothing, it would have been a winner. ---
**Author:** ![BigDfromLA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@BigDfromLA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDfromLA)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2021, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2294 "2021-07-07T07:21:21Z")
I think the quality of play/players have been tremendously weak in the weeks since the conclusion of the recent Tournament of Champions. The current now six day champion has benefitted greatly from that. It makes me think I should try out. Maybe it’s not that tough to get on considering the caliber of players lately. A halfway decent player could start a weeks long winning streak against these stiffs. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2021, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2295 "2021-07-07T13:39:51Z")
I noticed the player in the middle last night had a strategy that backfired three times. He’d get one of the easy clues at the top of a category, then select one of the tougher clues at the bottom. I think he got them wrong every time. The third time was a Daily Double, and that ended any chance he had. I know there’s a debate over the best method to select clues when you have control of the board, but what this guy was doing clearly didn’t work for him. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2021, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2296 "2021-07-07T14:19:34Z")
That Final Jeopardy was common knowledge, huh? I must’ve missed it when it was news. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2297 "2021-07-07T14:45:05Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > That Final Jeopardy was common knowledge, huh? I must’ve missed it when it was news I remember reading about that on this board. But even if you never knew about the trademark thing, THE OSU making everyone always use THE to refer to THE university is pretty well known. I swear it always sounds like people are actually saying the word in all caps. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2298 "2021-07-07T14:56:56Z")
Yes, I’m pretty sure people have made fun of OSU for that affectation here on the boards. So I guessed the correct answer right away. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2299 "2021-07-07T15:23:13Z")
I did remember that in the news but probably could have guessed it anyway even if I hadn’t. At one point in Bangkok I was counseling Thai students trying to get into US graduate schools, and THE Ohio State U always stood out for me. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2021, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2300 "2021-07-07T15:39:44Z")
It’s been a joke in our household for like a decade or more. On NFL games where the players introduce themselves, those that attended that certain college always said **THE** Ohio State. And yes, they did say it in capital letters. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2021, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2301 "2021-07-07T15:56:45Z")
Likewise, I hadn’t heard about the attempt to trademark the word “The,” but Ohio State’s insistence on being called “THE Ohio State University” has been a topic of derision for years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=114) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=116)