# 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:** 169
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3367 "2021-11-16T18:15:37Z")
“As Dean Martin might say…” Nailed it, Ken! 😄 ---
**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:** [November 16, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3368 "2021-11-16T18:18:38Z")
I also thought of Sherwood Forest, but I seem to recall that it’s a real place, even though Robin Hood is fictional. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3369 "2021-11-16T18:57:27Z")
I correctly guessed Camelot, then just as the 30 seconds was ending, thought “Or maybe it’s Avalon!” Of course, it wasn’t. Always go with the most obvious answer. Yes, Sherwood Forest is quite real, and it’s in Nottinghamshire. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3370 "2021-11-16T19:36:13Z")
I guessed Camelot, but was a little uncertain because of the clue’s use of _and_. I kept thinking, what place could be identified as being in two different locations? I would have used _or_ if I had written the question. > [@RickJay](#): > > What a gimme that was. If I am ever on the final will be an opera question. Ha ha. For me, it will be my old pet peeve, monarchs. “Let’s see what Jane wrote down. ‘Who is Richard the 417th?’ Yes, that is the correct monarch! And so you will add to your score, how much? Eighty-five hundred, taking you to twenty-two thousand, five hundred. Now we come to Arcite. Did he come up with Richard the 417th? Who is ‘James the 382nd?’ No, you were unable to recall the blindingly obvious difference between those two individuals!” ---
**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:** [November 16, 2021, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3371 "2021-11-16T19:43:24Z")
Do the actual people of England give as much a shit about their dead kings as the writers of Jeopardy! do? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3372 "2021-11-16T22:12:17Z")
They’re taught this in school. I never was taught it, but if you learn some British history you can get most of the likely candidates; they don’t go for boring monarchs, there’s maybe 8-10 they keep going to the well for, the most notable ones. You’re fifty times likelier to see Henry V, Richard the Lionheart or James I comes up than someone like George IV who, honestly, I know existed because there’s been six Georges but I can tell you nothing about him. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3373 "2021-11-16T22:17:01Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > They’re taught this in school. That’s interesting, but Jeopardy is an American show. How are we supposed to know? I mean, if I were going to be on the show, I would certainly study some of those “brief history of Western Civ” books. But are there actually Americans out there who picked this stuff up in school? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3374 "2021-11-16T22:20:40Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > I mean, if I were going to be on the show, I would certainly study some of those “brief history of Western Civ” books. But are there actually Americans out there who picked this stuff up in school? I’m Canadian, was never taught a single minute of British history beyond “Queen Elizabeth II is our Queen right now” and I’ve picked this stuff up by osmosis. If you learn about Shakespeare, you learn he lived during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. If you watch “The Crown,” you learn the current Queen’s father was George VI, who succeeded Edward VIII (that’s the guy who abdicated.) If you like military history you know Henry V won the Battle of Agincourt. Stuff like that. I know enough of them to hold my own in a Jeopardy category, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3375 "2021-11-17T00:25:41Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > George IV who, honestly, I know existed because there’s been six Georges but I can tell you nothing about him Whenever you hear about the Prince Regent (with no other clarifications or explanations or specifics), that’s George IV. (Before he became George IV). He gets name dropped a lot in historical fiction in and around the Napoleonic Wars. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2021, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3376 "2021-11-17T01:47:14Z")
The clue writers really blew it on Monday: When water is low, minerals leave a so-called bathtub ring in lakes like [this](https://www.j-archive.com/media/2021-11-15_J_01.jpg) manmade one in Utah & Arizona named for an explorer. The answer that fit the words was Lake Powell, but the picture was very obviously Lake Mead (taken from Hoover Dam). I went with the picture (“this” goes with the picture in my book). I think if someone said Mead they should have accepted it. Fortunately for Jeopardy, the contestant got the right answer. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3377 "2021-11-17T02:00:48Z")
Twice in a row now a challenger had a shot at winning and just choked it away midway through Double Jeopardy. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2021, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3378 "2021-11-17T03:09:55Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The answer that fit the words was Lake Powell, but the picture was very obviously Lake Mead (taken from Hoover Dam). Yes. VERY obviously indeed. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2021, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3379 "2021-11-17T07:01:39Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > But are there actually Americans out there who picked this stuff up in school? I picked it up, but not in school. I learned it on my own at 21 because I was interested in British history. Whether it’s Caerleon or Winchester (which I’ve visited) I think depends on the nationality of the person you ask (Welsh or English). I personally think it was Castle Dore, Cornwall: [![](https://www.airchaeology.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/CastleDore.jpg) ](https://www.airchaeology.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/CastleDore.jpg) Speaking of Winchester… > **[The Round Table of Knights Fame](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/winchester-round-table)** > > A medieval replica of King Arthur's legendary table, the Round Table hanging in Winchester Castle was decorated by Henry VIII. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2021, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3380 "2021-11-17T07:12:16Z")
George I, first German king, following the death of Queen Anne (1714) George II, king during the Jacobite Rebellion (1745). George III, king during the American Revolution (1775–1783). George V, king during WWI, following the death of Edward VII (1910). George VI, king during WWII, following the abdication of Edward VIII (1938). Also the father of Queen Elizabeth II. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2021, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3381 "2021-11-17T07:12:51Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I personally think it was Castle Dore, Cornwall: I thought at first that that must be one popular site, look at the size of that parking lot! (It’s a field) ---
**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:** [November 17, 2021, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3382 "2021-11-17T07:13:49Z")
I’ve actually been there, The Southwest of England is hilly, and you can see Castle Dore from miles away. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2021, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3383 "2021-11-17T07:21:45Z")
IIRC, George IV was Victoria’s uncle, who died without a legitimate heir, leaving her to inherit the throne. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3384 "2021-11-17T07:56:12Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’m Canadian, was never taught a single minute of British history beyond “Queen Elizabeth II is our Queen right now” and I’ve picked this stuff up by osmosis. I remember our Grade 9 high school history at my Toronto high school–it was British history. But I guess they did away with that a few years later, when you were going through high school, **Rick**. Still, kings and queens and dates weren’t the focus of our study of British history. It was more a typical historical study of cause and effect and how it affected future events in history. Regardless, I agree with you, **Rick**. We pick this stuff up through osmosis from many sources. Perhaps a hijack, but if any of our British friends would care to help, I’m curious about the “poem to remember the monarchs” that Miranda recites to Ralph in the film _King Ralph_. Part of it went “Henry 4, 5, 6, then who?” Miranda recited it so quickly that I couldn’t understand it all; can any British friends help? ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3385 "2021-11-17T08:02:52Z")
Dunno about the rhyme, but it’s Edward IV → Richard III → Henry VII. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2021, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3386 "2021-11-17T08:13:20Z")
“I’m the Batman” in 1962? What was He thinking of, the Adam West series (which didn’t debut until January 1966)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=168) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=170)