# 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:** 170
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3387 "2021-11-17T13:43:08Z")
He may have written that just to write _something_, rather than leaving it blank. Nobody called him “The” Batman back then. That’s only since he became all dark and gritty. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3388 "2021-11-17T14:03:56Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > 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 easily guessed Camelot in that FJ. By “this stuff” I’m referring to the endless names and ordinal numbers of monarchs. ---
**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, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3389 "2021-11-17T14:42:45Z")
Right. Like US presidents, not all British monarchs did things that made them memorable. ---
**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, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3390 "2021-11-17T14:45:04Z")
Back in the beginning, though (80-odd years ago), he was “The Batman.” ---
**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:** [November 17, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3391 "2021-11-17T15:21:40Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > 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. You’ve never seen **Blackadder III**? ---
**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:** [November 20, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3392 "2021-11-20T17:52:22Z")
I am very busy these days and now record _Jeopardy_ for later viewing. In recent FJs, I knew it was Camelot right away because of I think it was Edward II. He tried to identify himself with King Arthur and at the beginning of his reign “discovered” bones and other artifacts reputed to be from Camelot at Winchester and milked it for all it was worth. An entire Arthur/Camelot industry was built up for pilgrims visiting the “site.” (If it was not Edward II, it was another of the weaker Platagenets, but I’m pretty sure it was him.) For Final Resting Places, I knew it was Manhattan right off the bat, as I am very familiar with Trinity Church’s graveyard and remember seeing Fulton’s and Hamilton’s graves while walking around. I forgot about Gallatin, but I knew the answer. ---
**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 20, 2021, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3393 "2021-11-20T21:00:15Z")
I knew one of the secretaries had to be Hamilton, and I knew he was buried at Trinity. “This Island” was also a dead giveaway—it had to be Manhattan; where else? The two DDs that were blown on Thursday and Friday amazed me. I knew about New Caledonia by the time I was in fourth grade, just from watching _ **McHale’s Navy** _. And “the Queen” had to be Victoria, so of course it was the Victoria and Albert Museum. How freakin’ easy can it get? I thought it was a nice touch that both contestants went for broke and never recovered. Way to go, guys! ---
**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 20, 2021, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3394 "2021-11-20T22:29:13Z")
The current champ should skip any intermediate steps, and just become a grandma. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3395 "2021-11-20T22:49:34Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I knew one of the secretaries had to be Hamilton, and I knew he was buried at Trinity. “This Island” was also a dead giveaway—it had to be Manhattan; where else? > > The two DDs that were blown on Thursday and Friday amazed me. I knew about New Caledonia by the time I was in fourth grade, just from watching _ **McHale’s Navy** _ . And “the Queen” had to be Victoria, so of course it was the Victoria and Albert Museum. How freakin’ easy can it get? I really hate these posts by people who happened to know this or that thing acting like it’s completely impossible for anyone else not to know that thing. Is Manhattan is the only island in the world? Sure, you should be thinking Eastern seaboard, but if all you have to go on is “island,” how about Long Island? I personally wouldn’t have suspected Martha’s Vineyard or Ellis Island, which the other two contestants guessed, but those are islands. Not all of us have seen McHale’s Navy. And okay, maybe you know that the Queen in 1899 was Queen Victoria, but how does that help you if you’ve never heard of the Victoria and Albert Museum, which I certainly hadn’t? ---
**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 20, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3396 "2021-11-20T23:03:25Z")
Couldn’t have been any of those other islands, since Manhattan is the only one I know of where a Secretary of the Treasury is buried. Caledonia was the Roman name for Scotland. I knew that even without having watched _ **McHale’s Navy** _. Victoria was queen in 1899. What else are they gonna call it? This stuff isn’t so esoteric. All it takes is some lateral thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3397 "2021-11-20T23:14:04Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Couldn’t have been any of those other islands, since Manhattan is the only one I know of where a Secretary of the Treasury is buried. That a Treasury Secretary is buried on Manhattan is a good thing to know, especially if you’re going to be on Jeopardy, but without that knowledge, “this island” is not a dead giveaway. > [@](#): > > Caledonia was the Roman name for Scotland. I knew that even without having watched _ **McHale’s Navy** _ . Agree that this is also the kind of thing you should know if you’re going to be on Jeopardy, and also you should study a world atlas before going on the show, but if you haven’t done so, the knowledge that there is a place called New Caledonia is pretty obscure. I’m not sure I’d ever heard of it. > [@](#): > > Victoria was queen in 1899. What else are they gonna call it? The clue said “this London arts & design museum,” period, not “this London arts & design museum named after the Queen and her husband.” A quick glance at a [list of museums in the UK](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_visited_museums_in_the_United_Kingdom) reveals that there are many not named after people. Again, if you didn’t happen to know there was a museum called the Victoria and Albert Museum, it’s a stab in the dark. ---
**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 20, 2021, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3398 "2021-11-20T23:18:37Z")
So I knew this stuff and you didn’t That’s the way it goes sometimes. I suspect you know a lot of things I don’t. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2021, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3399 "2021-11-20T23:41:55Z")
“Victoria” + “art & design” = V & A Museum. If you know London at all it ought to pop out. Don’t get me started on all the things Jeopardy! asks that I **don’t** know. But British Museums and Galleries…no problem. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3400 "2021-11-21T01:13:15Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You’ve never seen **Blackadder III**? Hugh Laurie was excellent as the Prince Regent. Made me laugh like crazy, then made me cry in the final episode of that season. The thing about English kings that bugs me the most is how few different names all those kings had. I heard a rumor that Diana wanted to name William Oliver, but the Firm wouldn’t let her. I think it would have been nice to have had a different name for a change. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2021, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3401 "2021-11-21T01:34:43Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > …The thing about English kings that bugs me the most is how few different names all those kings had. I heard a rumor that Diana wanted to name William Oliver, but the Firm wouldn’t let her. I think it would have been nice to have had a different name for a change. For very understandable reasons, “Oliver” would not have been greeted with pleasure by the British royal family—and you can be fairly certain that Diana knew that and was trolling them: > [@](#): > > …Cromwell was responsible for the execution of the King. A mere handful, possibly not more than a few hundred people, were really determined to put the King to death. Without Cromwell’s active support they would have been powerless. But he was almost a majority in himself, and once his mind was made up that the King must die, Charles’s fate was sealed. … [https://www.historytoday.com/archive/cromwell-and-execution-charles-i](https://www.historytoday.com/archive/cromwell-and-execution-charles-i) ---
**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 21, 2021, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3402 "2021-11-21T02:25:05Z")
Almost everything of importance in the London of that era was named for Victoria and Albert. She was dedicated to keeping his memory alive. We do tend to know a lot about things in which we’re interested. About everything else—not so much. ---
**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 21, 2021, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3403 "2021-11-21T02:49:07Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I heard a rumor that Diana wanted to name William Oliver, but the Firm wouldn’t let her. I think it would have been nice to have had a different name for a change. I’m reminded of this paraphrased from memory exchange between Willingham (the King’s private secretary, who is schooling him in how to be a royal), and King Ralph, in the film _King Ralph_: Willingham: You may be wanting to choose a royal name. Edward and George have been popular this century. King Ralph: What’s wrong with Ralph? Willingham: Well, there are no notable Ralphs. King Ralph: Well, sure there are. Ralph Macchio, Ralph Lauren … heck, Ralph Kramden. ---
**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 21, 2021, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3404 "2021-11-21T02:53:49Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > “This Island” was also a dead giveaway—it had to be Manhattan; where else? Hart Island. Governors Island. Long Island. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2021, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3405 "2021-11-21T02:56:57Z")
My guess is that all of those were essentially wilderness at that time. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3406 "2021-11-21T02:58:23Z")
I thought of NYC because of a vague knowledge of those names, but I thought of the many and large cemeteries in Brooklyn and Queens so I guessed Long Island. Forgot about the old graveyards in Lower Manhattan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=169) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=171)