# 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:** 69
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1361 "2020-09-26T12:59:23Z")
There was also one game where he read all the clues in a particular category, like they sometimes do with the Clue Crew. I was expecting that to happen more often, but so far it’s only been in one game. I agree, the publicity made it sound like he would be much more present than he seems to have been so far. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2020, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1362 "2020-09-26T14:12:31Z")
We’re only a couple of weeks into the season, and I think they’re not quite sure what role he’s going to serve. Is he the heir apparent? Or is he going to take over the executive producer? What it definitely means is that he’s never going to be a contestant again. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1363 "2020-09-26T14:43:37Z")
At least Phil Mickelson has a sense of humor about nobody getting it right. > **[This Final Jeopardy golf clue stumped all three contestants on Friday (sorry,...](https://golf.com/news/final-jeopardy-golf-clue-stumped-contestants/)** > > On Friday's edition of Jeopardy!, contestants' golf knowledge was put to the test — and it didn't go well. Sorry, Phil Mickelson. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1364 "2020-09-26T14:58:48Z")
Nothing to be ashamed of here. I know more about Rula Lenska than I do about this Phil Mickelson. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1365 "2020-09-26T15:35:50Z")
I was almost there; I guessed it was a golfer, and I know who Mickelson is, but I was struggling to pull his name out of my brain. Then my wife (who is _not_ a sports fan) piped up, “Is it Phil Mickelson?” Jeopardy humbles us all at some point. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1366 "2020-09-26T15:38:11Z")
I was thinking Tiger Woods, but Googled to find he’s only 44. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2020, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1367 "2020-09-26T15:56:50Z")
That was my guess too. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1368 "2020-09-26T16:07:14Z")
Pardon me for asking, but since when is a Golfer an “athlete”? ---
**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:** [September 26, 2020, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1369 "2020-09-26T16:09:25Z")
Oy, you’re asking _ **me** _? _ **I** _ should know?!? 😮🤨 ---
**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:** [September 26, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1370 "2020-09-26T23:10:58Z")
My wife, who is a decade younger than I am, also guessed Tiger Woods. But I am very close to Tiger’s age, so I knew he wasn’t old enough. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > What it definitely means is that he’s never going to be a contestant again. Right, good point. Which isn’t a big loss since there’s nowhere (as a contestant) to go but down after you have been awarded the title of GOAT. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1371 "2020-09-28T15:23:41Z")
I thought of Phil Mickelson first, but then I confused him with Jack Nicklaus and thought he was too old. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1372 "2020-09-29T01:31:40Z")
How many times in the past couple of weeks have 2 or 3 contestants got it wrong. Counting today, I think at least 4. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2020, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1373 "2020-09-29T02:37:11Z")
Today’s FJ was a tough one. I would have guessed “What is B.E.?” for “British Empire.” ---
**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:** [September 29, 2020, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1374 "2020-09-29T04:20:54Z")
I guessed the right answer - not a WAG, but an educated guess. It took me several seconds to even parse the clue, but then when I put the pieces together I came up with it. I think that kind of thing can be even more satisfying than just _knowing_ the answer. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1375 "2020-09-29T05:51:35Z")
To be fair to 2/3rds of the contestants, they were thinking of the right entity (more or less). ---
**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:** [September 29, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1376 "2020-09-29T14:34:49Z")
Seems to me that U.K. and G.B. are equivalent for these purposes. There was no particular map in mind for the question, so they were just looking for the country that had x numbers of colonies in Africa. If they asked “A Country that was an ally of the U.S. in WWII and WWI?” it wouldn’t matter whether the contestant said Great Britain or United Kingdom would it? ---
**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:** [September 29, 2020, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1377 "2020-09-29T14:36:50Z")
They did indeed reference a particular map: _On the U.N. website’s map of the world in 1945, these 2 initials of a member state appear 13 times on continental Africa_ ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2020, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1378 "2020-09-29T14:45:13Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _On the U.N. website’s map of the world in 1945, these 2 initials of a member state appear 13 times on continental Africa_ Yes, it looks like this map: [https://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/world45.pdf](https://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/world45.pdf) The world looked different 75 years ago. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2020, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1379 "2020-09-29T14:45:36Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > They did indeed reference a particular map My mistake. Thanks. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1380 "2020-09-29T14:58:24Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Seems to me that U.K. and G.B. are equivalent for these purposes. They’re not exactly equivalent, either. “Great Britain” is an island, consisting of England, Scotland, and Wales. The full name of the U.K. is “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=68) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=70)