# 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:** 125
**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:** [August 4, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2483 "2021-08-04T15:32:01Z")
This week they had a question about “Captain Picard”. What, they couldn’t have used that question during Levar Burton’s run? ---
**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:** [August 4, 2021, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2484 "2021-08-04T20:31:47Z")
Wasn’t “Commonwealth” awfully easy for a DD? ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2485 "2021-08-05T00:00:58Z")
Not many players can wager $37,000 in Final Jeopardy, miss the answer, and still win the game. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2486 "2021-08-05T00:42:54Z")
Not only that, but we nearly found out what would happen when there is only one person left for Final Jeopardy. Or maybe we know that already? In any case, you could almost see those two people goading themselves to DO SOMETHING FAST! ---
**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:** [August 5, 2021, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2487 "2021-08-05T00:46:28Z")
[It happened last October.](https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/nation-world/final-jeopardy-one-contestant/507-eafbc5b2-723a-4534-ac8f-48bf4be1377d) I remember seeing that episode. Basically, you bet some money hoping to increase your take, but you’ll win regardless. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2021, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2488 "2021-08-05T00:50:30Z")
I got an inordinate rush when I got FJ, and Matt didn’t. Ah, life’s little pleasures! ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2489 "2021-08-05T00:50:40Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > … I remember seeing that episode. Basically, you bet some money hoping to increase your take, but you’ll win regardless. - Thanks–I figured it would have been discussed here; I just didn’t remember. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2021, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2490 "2021-08-05T01:47:19Z")
I was surprised he got it wrong! I wasn’t 100% sure what the response should be, but I did know what foreign language is most associated with Pennsylvania. Apparently the male contestant didn’t know that “Dutch,” as in “Pennsylvania Dutch,” is a corruption of “Deutsch,” i.e, German. Dutch is a language unto itself. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2021, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2491 "2021-08-05T02:10:15Z")
I thought of the apocryphal story of German almost becoming the official language of the US and figured that meant there were a lot of Germans. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2492 "2021-08-05T02:29:00Z")
Whoa. I wonder if anyone has ever lost $37,000 on a single bet before. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2493 "2021-08-05T05:06:13Z")
Matt Amodio looked pretty dejected after losing that money. I wonder if he’ll be a little more cautious? I wouldn’t risk more than 15k on the final question. He had the win regardless. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2494 "2021-08-05T12:05:33Z")
I was wondering if Matt would stand alone for FJ. I’ve never seen that happen, but I’m not a constant watcher anymore unless a streak player is winning. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2495 "2021-08-05T14:05:15Z")
I’ve noticed the questions get harder when a streak player emerges. I didn’t know half of the ones they asked yesterday. The other two players seemed lost too. It is a lot of fun watching a new HOF champion. I hope he can get over 20 wins. He’ll face stronger players in the future. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2496 "2021-08-05T15:17:24Z")
There are several articles implying that executive producer Mike Richards is in final negotiations to be the permanent host. While certainly not the best or worst host, I have a feeling of “blah” if this turns out to be true. It reminds me of the companies that do a search far and wide to find a new supervisor, and surprise, surprise, they were planning to promote from within the whole time. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2497 "2021-08-05T15:18:51Z")
To his credit, he has experience as a game show host and there really aren’t that many around who do. He’s relatively young, unlike some of the celebrities we’ve seen doing it. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2498 "2021-08-05T15:25:34Z")
He certainly checks a lot of boxes. I was just hoping for someone a little different from the bland, middle aged guy demographic (even though I am a bland, middle aged guy). I kind of like the rotating hosts. It gives the show a little bit of something new with each host. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2499 "2021-08-05T15:33:51Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve noticed the questions get harder when a streak player emerges. I didn’t know half of the ones they asked yesterday. The other two players seemed lost too. This is almost certainly confirmation bias. The notion that the producers could or would manipulate the game in this way is annoyingly pervasive. As we’ve explained frequently in these threads, the game show scandals of the 1950s led to federal legislation that strictly constrains the producers. And when you are a contestant, you see how seriously they still take these rules. You only interact with a small number of contestant coordinators and a few people on the set, but no one in the control room or others who have access to the game clues. Contestants are selected at random just before the taping of each show, as is that game’s material. You are accompanied to the bathroom! The only exceptions along the lines you are suggesting are that the tournaments have material that is tailored to them: easier for the teens and celebrities, and harder for the TOCs. But the idea that someone is saying, “Amodio is winning lots of our money! Make the clues harder!” is nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2500 "2021-08-05T17:35:30Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve noticed the questions get harder when a streak player emerges. I didn’t know half of the ones they asked yesterday. The other two players seemed lost too I haven’t noticed this, and if it were true, I believe it’s illegal. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2501 "2021-08-05T22:16:44Z")
There’s days when the categories go right over my head. Then Other days I’m shouting answers at the TV. Any question is easy if you’re familiar with the category. 😉 Today’s Final question was fairly obvious. Hoover was extremely unpopular at the end of his term. I did pause for a moment because the dam was Boulder Dam. It was renamed Hoover Dam shortly after the war. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2502 "2021-08-05T22:18:14Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I haven’t noticed this, and if it were true, I believe it’s illegal. This is a total hijack, but I’ve never understood how, on Wheel of Fortune, they can make up the final answer and then give the contestant the R, L, N, T, and E. They can have an answer with lots of those letters, or none of them. That seems a lot like “rigging” to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=124) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=126)