# 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:** 72
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1421 "2020-10-13T23:31:41Z")
On tonight’s show, only one contestant made it to FJ (one contestant was minus something; the other had zero). Does this happen often - or has there ever been a show in which no one made it to FJ? ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1422 "2020-10-13T23:44:54Z")
Alex mentioned it is rare, but it has happened. The guy in second hit the daily double and bet everything. Had he held back he could have made it to final Jeopardy, but I guess he would have ended up in second place either way. Brian ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1423 "2020-10-13T23:50:31Z")
I guessed Monday’s question, though I wasn’t 100% sure. I did know monarchs originate in Mexico so was pretty sure. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1424 "2020-10-14T00:25:29Z")
According to Wikipedia - there was (at least) one show in the Art Fleming era in which none of the players were eligible for FJ, so it wasn’t held. Three new contestants appeared on the next show. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2020, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1425 "2020-10-14T01:08:18Z")
Tonight’s was indeed a pretty pathetic performance. 😒 Monday’s FJ was one of those where you either knew the question or you didn’t. I had no clue until Alex said it was where the insects wintered; then I knew immediately what the question was. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1426 "2020-10-14T01:28:41Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > According to Wikipedia - there was (at least) one show in the Art Fleming era in which none of the players were eligible for FJ, so it wasn’t held. Three new contestants appeared on the next show. Also according to Wikipedia, the last time nobody had any money after FJ was January 18, 2016. Here’s the Jeopardy archive of that show. [J! Archive - Show #7216, aired 2016-01-18](https://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=5167) Two contestants were tied for the lead going into FJ, and both bet all their money and lost. The third contestant also bet all her winnings and also lost. Poor strategy by the third-place woman. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2020, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1427 "2020-10-14T01:37:13Z")
I said “what are butterflies?” for that one. I don’t know if it would have been correct without specifying monarch butterflies. There was another clue on that same show, in the category “anagrams of each other”, “An organ of sense & a long, distinct period of history” I said “what are nose and eons?” That’s not the answer they wanted, but I wonder if it could still have been correct. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2020, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1428 "2020-10-14T01:39:17Z")
I remember that episode from the FJ round. Hard to believe it was more than four years ago! ☹ ---
**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:** [October 14, 2020, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1429 "2020-10-14T01:45:28Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > There was another clue on that same show, in the category “anagrams of each other”, > > “An organ of sense & a long, distinct period of history” > > I said “what are nose and eons?” That’s not the answer they wanted, but I wonder if it could still have been correct. Perhaps not, as eons is plural and the clue called for a singular noun. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1430 "2020-10-14T01:57:51Z")
I ventured the same answer as @Robot_Arm. Then, after hearing the correct response, I disqualified my answer for the same reason as put forth by @Dewey_Finn. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2020, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1431 "2020-10-14T01:59:58Z")
Ditto. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1432 "2020-10-14T03:08:51Z")
True, but a sequence of multiple eons could still define a single period of history. The decades of the 1920s and '30s are roughly the interwar period. It’s not an open-and-shut case, certainly. I find it interesting when there are correct responses other than what the writer intended. I’m curious how the judges would have ruled on this one. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2020, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1433 "2020-10-14T04:59:30Z")
I always feel bad for players who don’t get to play FJ, but the Seth Rogen dude brought it on himself by going for the True Daily Double that late in the game. Kind of a bonehead move there. I get that he had to make a big wager to try to get within striking distance, and getting it wrong would have locked him into second place anyway, as **N9IWP** pointed out. But had he left himself with even a single dollar, he at least could have stayed on stage until the end of the show. That’s gotta be worth _some_thing in experience points. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1434 "2020-10-14T06:34:33Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > I guessed Monday’s question, though I wasn’t 100% sure. > I did know monarchs originate in Mexico so was pretty sure. > > Brian I knew it because I’ve watched _The Venture Bros._ religiously since it began. P.S. That was Monday’s show? It’s 11:30 on Tuesday, and the DVR didn’t record one yesterday. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1435 "2020-10-14T14:48:30Z")
I immediately thought monarch butterflies for Monday’s FJ. There’s media coverage every year when they migrate through - a local TV station had a story about them showing up now on their way to Mexico just the other day. One thing did give me pause, though. They specifically mentioned ‘around 2010’ for the year of the license plates. They don’t usually throw in details like that without a reason, so I thought that might indicate the year of a local swarm of seventeen-year locusts/cicadas. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1436 "2020-10-14T22:51:25Z")
What a bonehead move by Shouty Middle Guy on Tuesday’s game? Why in the name of Og would you bet everything with one clue left? And he didn’t even have a guess. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1437 "2020-10-14T23:10:38Z")
IIRC, he had also gotten his last few responses wrong. He was definitely on a downhill slope and accelerating fast. ---
**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:** [October 14, 2020, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1438 "2020-10-14T23:19:17Z")
As an aside, has anybody else noticed that annoying buzz in the background on _ **Wheel of Fortune** _? Is it something that’s popped up just recently, and what could be causing it? 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1439 "2020-10-15T00:15:19Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > As an aside, has anybody else noticed that annoying buzz in the background on _ **Wheel of Fortune** _ ? It’s the sound of two electronic timers going off backstage, on elderly-looking portraits of Pat Sajak and Vanna White. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@Earl\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Grey)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1440 "2020-10-15T00:27:51Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > As an aside, has anybody else noticed that annoying buzz in the background on _ **Wheel of Fortune** _ ? Is it something that’s popped up just recently, and what could be causing it? Damn, people actually still watch that show!? Actually, let me rephrase: Damn, people actually still watch broadcast television!? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=71) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=73)