# 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:** 25
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/481 "2019-05-29T19:05:49Z")
The coolness of the fact depends largely on how many questions are buzzed. Shoot, I only got one wrong in my game, but I probably only buzzed on 30%. James must be answering 75% of the questions. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/482 "2019-05-29T19:14:11Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I just read a cool fact. Prior to James, there have been only two confirmed regular play games where a player gave no incorrect answers. James has done it four out of the last ten games. Is that the complete stat? As I mentioned before, the only episode if this streak I’ve seen was the one on 5/21, and there were no incorrect answers given by any of the contestants, including Final Jeopardy. [Here’s the stats](http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=6290). So is it not so much that James has done it, but that James and his fellow contestants have done it? ---
**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:** [May 29, 2019, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/483 "2019-05-29T19:43:38Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > James tried to jump his wife’s car battery, screwed up the connections, saw smoke, and ran inside to get oven mitts to disconnect the cables. By the time he came back, the cables had melted the paint on his wife’s car. > > He’s actually really lucky one or both of the batteries didn’t explode. Seriously folks, + goes to + and - goes to -\*. How freaking hard is it? Apparently, pretty hard. He may not be able to do a simple thing like that, but I suspect he could tell you the odds of doing it successfully, and how to bet. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/484 "2019-05-29T20:02:04Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > …Seriously folks, + goes to + and - goes to -\*. How freaking hard is it? > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Apparently, pretty hard. A tangent, but most people’s only experience with batteries is probably replacing the batteries in their remote. The positive goes to negative when they’re in series like that, so it’s understandable that it confuses some people. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/485 "2019-05-29T20:14:35Z")
I don’t watch the show much but my Mom is a regular so when I last spoke to her about the winning streak, here’s what transpired: MOM: I’ve stopped watching because I’m tired of seeing him win all the time. He’s so LUCKY! ME: How’s that? MOM: The way he gets all the Daily Doubles. ME: I heard that’s a very explicit strategy he uses to boost his total. How is that “Lucky”? MOM: Well, just the way he gets so many of the answers right. So lucky! ME: If he gets so many of the answers right, doesn’t mean that he knows a lot and maybe deserves to win? MOM: Well, whatever. I’ve stopped watching for now. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/486 "2019-05-29T22:42:20Z")
According to my SO, Holzhauer has helped control my blood pressure. I no longer need to shout something like “You morons! It was the battle of Manzikert!” at the TV. The correct response is almost always given when James is in the game. But he did miss a couple today. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/487 "2019-05-29T22:53:33Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > The correct response is almost always given when James is in the game. Here’s another really impressive stat posted on Reddit yesterday: > [@](#): > > 0 incorrect responses has occurred in 4 of last 10 games. Prior to April 30, there were only 2 confirmed regular-play games in the entirety of J! Archive in which no contestants gave an incorrect response. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/488 "2019-05-29T23:10:41Z")
On today’s show, what was the clue whose answer was “The Good Wife”? I love that show, but my daughter was talking to me and I missed the clue. > [@TroutMan](#): > > A tangent, but most people’s only experience with batteries is probably replacing the batteries in their remote. The positive goes to negative when they’re in series like that, so it’s understandable that it confuses some people. Good point. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/489 "2019-05-30T14:50:12Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > On today’s show, > > what was the clue whose answer was “The Good Wife”? I love that show, but my daughter was talking to me and I missed the clue. Illinois governor Peter Florrick turned out to be not the ideal spouse for Alicia, trying to make her way as a lawyer on this drama ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/490 "2019-05-30T15:13:15Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Okay, I’m not going to spoiler this since it has literally nothing to do with the outcome of the game. > > James tried to jump his wife’s car battery, screwed up the connections, saw smoke, and ran inside to get oven mitts to disconnect the cables. By the time he came back, the cables had melted the paint on his wife’s car. > > He’s actually really lucky one or both of the batteries didn’t explode. Seriously folks, + goes to + and - goes to -\*. How freaking hard is it? > > \*Or the car body, but on modern cars it can be a pain the ass to find an unpainted part that isn’t inside the engine compartment where there are lots of moving parts. It’s not a matter of how _hard_ it is if you’ve never done it before. There’s a procedure to do it properly, and if you’ve never learned it; then how would you know? And it’s more difficult than you just stated. The ‘dead’ car negative should be the last cable hooked up, and it’s the one that should be grounded on the auto body somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/491 "2019-05-30T16:08:22Z")
> [@MovieMogul](#): > > I don’t watch the show much but my Mom is a regular so when I last spoke to her about the winning streak, here’s what transpired: > > MOM: I’ve stopped watching because I’m tired of seeing him win all the time. He’s so LUCKY! > > ME: How’s that? > > MOM: The way he gets all the Daily Doubles. > > ME: I heard that’s a very explicit strategy he uses to boost his total. How is that “Lucky”? > > MOM: Well, just the way he gets so many of the answers right. So lucky! > > ME: If he gets so many of the answers right, doesn’t mean that he knows a lot and maybe deserves to win? > > MOM: Well, whatever. I’ve stopped watching for now. It’s not fair, he’s got a cheat sheet…in his brain. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/492 "2019-05-30T22:41:20Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Illinois governor Peter Florrick turned out to be not the ideal spouse for Alicia, trying to make her way as a lawyer on this drama Thank you! Here’s another one, from today (sorry): What was so amazing about the middle contestant’s story that led James to ask to be skipped because “I can’t follow that”? ---
**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:** [May 31, 2019, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/493 "2019-05-31T03:03:41Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Thank you! Here’s another one, from today (sorry): > > What was so amazing about the middle contestant’s story that led James to ask to be skipped because “I can’t follow that”? Here’s what I remember; I’ll spoiler it just for fun. She had participated in a synchronized roller club that put on a play about princes. Her prince was “Prince” and Alex mimed a few moves. James comment is as you list it. He might be running out of interesting anecdotes after 30 days; I know I would. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2019, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/494 "2019-05-31T03:16:12Z")
Her story also seemed to go a little longer than usual, so I’m guessing Alex and the production staff were probably okay with that. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/495 "2019-05-31T15:43:44Z")
There was a super bad storm cell in our area last night, and channel 7, home of Jeopardy, spent 40 minutes, including the entirety of the Jeopardy 7:30 time slot, telling people where there might be tornadoes and hail. At the end of the coverage, they kindly informed us that Jeopardy would be shown later - at 1:36AM. We opted to skip that episode. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/496 "2019-05-31T18:18:26Z")
On todays show. Would What is pacifism? been right on the daily double question? The winning answer was what is non-violence? I would have said pacifism, same thing? A guiding principle of Mahavira, considered a founder of Jainism, was Ahimsa, this principle also advocated by Ghandi (James ---
**Author:** ![bizerta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@bizerta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizerta)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2019, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/497 "2019-05-31T22:26:04Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > It’s not a matter of how _hard_ it is if you’ve never done it before. There’s a procedure to do it properly, and if you’ve never learned it; then how would you know? > And it’s more difficult than you just stated. The ‘dead’ car negative should be the last cable hooked up, and it’s the one that should be grounded on the auto body somewhere. I was always taught that the order of hookup doesn’t matter … BUT … After you have done three of the four hookups. just “tap” the 4th hookup. If there is a huge spark, the other connection on that car is WRONG. If there is a small or no spark, then proceed with hooking the 4th terminal. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2019, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/498 "2019-06-01T02:39:46Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > On todays show. Would What is pacifism? been right on the daily double question? > > The winning answer was what is non-violence? > > I would have said pacifism, same thing? > > A guiding principle of Mahavira, considered a founder of Jainism, was Ahimsa, this principle also advocated by Ghandi (James My answer was “peaceful resistance” - is that the same thing? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/499 "2019-06-01T03:07:33Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > …A guiding principle of Mahavira, considered a founder of Jainism, was Ahimsa, this principle also advocated by Ghandi (James As opposed to Gandhi (Mohandas? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/500 "2019-06-01T03:36:06Z")
He answered incorrectly 3 times today. He’s slipping. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=26)