# 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:** 83
**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:** [December 8, 2020, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1641 "2020-12-08T01:00:20Z")
Oops, sorry. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2020, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1642 "2020-12-08T04:00:35Z")
I said aurochs. I’ve always heard that unicorns probably originated with early descriptions of rhinoceroses. Either way, I’m surprised to learn they’re mentioned in the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1643 "2020-12-08T04:30:10Z")
The KJV uses “unicorn” in a few places where most other english translations use “wild ox” (רְאֵ֖ם) ---
**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:** [December 8, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1644 "2020-12-08T23:05:26Z")
I won’t be spoiling anything when I say my guess for FJ was even stupider than yesterday. Sparticus! Shit! ---
**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:** [December 8, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1645 "2020-12-08T23:38:12Z")
I wonder if they would have ruled against me for saying “aurochs.” 🤨 Not to be argumentative, but oxen are castrated bulls. How can they be wild? (Unless, of course, they’ve somehow escaped captivity.) ---
**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:** [December 9, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1646 "2020-12-09T00:23:18Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I wonder if they would have ruled against me for saying “aurochs.” 🤨 But are aurochs “fantastic”? ---
**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:** [December 9, 2020, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1647 "2020-12-09T00:54:36Z")
Not in the sense of “nonexistent,” but they figure heavily in mythology. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1648 "2020-12-10T00:29:02Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > The KJV uses “unicorn” in a few places where most other english translations use “wild ox” (רְאֵ֖ם) Interesting. I also guessed aurochs. But it did make me wonder. If an ox is defined as a castrated male bovine, how can there be wild ones? Does someone go out castrating wild bovines? As for **terentii** ’s question about whether “aurochs” would be acceptable, I guess that would depend on whether the KJV refers to them that way four times (I’m guessing not), because that’s what the clue mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1649 "2020-12-10T14:50:07Z")
Damn, I came so close to guessing that one based on the category. When they flashed the category, the first thing I said was “unicorn”. Then I said , no, that’s too juvenile, they aren’t going to have a Rainbow Brite or My Little Pony question for FJ. So I changed my guess to “Minotaur”. And I kept it once I heard the question. I had no idea that there were unicorns in the Bible - I associate them so closely with pre-teen girls that didn’t think past that. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2020, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1650 "2020-12-10T14:53:08Z")
Well, I’d heard the Bible connection from Shel Silverstein and the Irish Rovers. Who knew they were such reliable sources? ---
**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:** [December 10, 2020, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1651 "2020-12-10T15:58:38Z")
The Minotaur was probably based on the aurochs: > **[Sacred bull](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_bull)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Cattle are prominent in some religions and mythologies. As such, numerous peoples throughout the world have at one point in time honored bulls as sacred. In the Sumerian religion, Marduk is the "bull of Utu". In Hinduism, Shiva's steed is Nandi, the Bull. The sacred bull survives in the constellation Taurus. The bull, whether lunar as in Mesopotamia or solar as in India, is the subject of various other cultural and religious incarnations as well a... ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1652 "2020-12-10T16:04:03Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I disagree. Let’s say that I am in second place with $8k and the leader has $17k. Obviously I cannot catch her. I would think long and hard about betting any money, knowing I might lose it with a wrong answer. The betting strategy under either system could vary widely. With the example you gave, under this proposal (which I didn’t originate), if you bet zero, your winnings would increase by $6000 if you stay in second place and by $7000 if third place overtakes you. > [@Railer13](#): > > Especially if the category is Art History or some other subject in which I’m not particularly strong. Obviously if you’re weak in the subject for FJ (or DD), you should bet less, no matter what the payoff rules are. > [@Railer13](#): > > Right now there’s no downside to placing big bets in FJ if you’re not the leader (okay, $2k vs $1k). But when it’s your actual money on the line, your betting strategy might become quite conservative. I guess this is a case of “is the glass half empty or half full?” Under the current system, if you’re in second place in a Runaway game, there is little motivation to bet more than zero, whether or not you’re confident in the category. Even if third place overtakes you, the difference is $1000, like you mentioned. However, in the proposed system, if you’re in second place in a Runaway game, and you ARE confident in the category, you have a chance to take home even more money. I’d suggest a bet that if you’re wrong you still have $2000, the current amount. If you’re right, that could be a nice windfall. **Of course, all of this is pure speculation, since the producers probably won’t change anything.** ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1653 "2020-12-10T16:29:42Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The Minotaur was probably based on the aurochs: The Minotaur from, Greco-Roman mythology, was a creature with the body of a man and the head & tail of a bull. He was imprisoned in an elaborate Labyrinth, designed by Dædalus & his son Icarus, beneath the palace of King Minos of Crete. I had thought that he guarded the treasure of Minos, but that I didn’t see that in Wikipedia. Check out [The Minotaur’s Song](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iUdKs2UhbFc) by The Incredible String Band. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2020, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1654 "2020-12-10T16:37:19Z")
You didn’t read very far. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2020, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1655 "2020-12-12T05:10:14Z")
As for new rules, any contestant who says, “I have always wanted to say this, let’s make it a true daily double”, should be fined $100. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1656 "2020-12-12T06:33:27Z")
Especially if they call the new host “Alex.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1657 "2020-12-12T15:17:09Z")
“Ox” doesn’t mean “castrated bull”. It just means “Member of the species Bos taurus”. In practice, it’s most often used for a member of that species kept as a beast of burden, rather than for meat or milk, but all of them can fairly be called “oxen”. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2020, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1658 "2020-12-14T04:27:27Z")
Just watched an EP on Netflix, c22 E4, don’t know exactly what that means, it is the Ryan Fenster run. It is not season 22. Something happened that has never happened before in my experience. In the category of Talking Football, none of the contestants got one right, I got them all. Alex made a couple of jokes when there was no response from any of the contestants for the first 4 clues, and literally none one rang in. None even made a guess. They stood there like oil paintings. The last one was about the Vikings defensive line who had this name - The purple people eaters. I almost didn’t come up with it in time, but Alex said “If any of you get this, I will die.” ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1659 "2020-12-14T05:49:40Z")
Funnily enough I just read about that category today in Alex’s autobiography. I only knew one of them. (Fair catch) I’m pretty sure I’ve seen other episodes where no one knew any answers to a category. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2020, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1660 "2020-12-14T06:22:08Z")
> [@Mike\_Mabes](#): > > Just watched an EP on Netflix, c22 E4, don’t know exactly what that means The c stands for “collection.” Netflix offers episodes arranged by multiple-win championship runs, not full seasons. I think I remember seeing that football category a while back. Pretty funny. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=82) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=84)