# You’re on Jeopardy: what’s your interview anecdote? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [July 21, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150 "2025-07-21T14:43:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/1 "2025-07-21T14:43:28Z")
Put another way, what line should Ken Jennings (or Alex Trebeck, if the world was fair) feed you to elicit a short, interesting blurb during the brief interview portion of Jeopardy, held during the first round once the show returns from its first commercial break. I ask this question because I can’t think of anything! It shouldn’t be offensive, and you don’t want to embarrass yourself. It also can’t be meandering. You’ve only got a few seconds. Ideally, it will elicit a chuckle, and some positive feedback from the host. What you got? ---
**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:** [July 21, 2025, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/2 "2025-07-21T14:48:20Z")
I was thinking of something that would make my weirdness obvious, but perhaps they would not appreciate that. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/3 "2025-07-21T14:50:57Z")
I knew a production team member on _Star Trek: Voyager_ – he took me on a tour of the set, and I had the chance to sit in Captain Janeway’s chair on the bridge. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/4 "2025-07-21T14:51:51Z")
I was in a circus and learned how to eat fire. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2025, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/5 "2025-07-21T14:54:43Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > It shouldn’t be offensive Yeah, this is where a lot of my anecdotes are disqualified. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/6 "2025-07-21T14:59:51Z")
I met my wife at a coffee shop, where she was playing Scrabble with friends. I pointed out to her that she could spell ‘jeopardy’, hit a triple letter score on the ‘j’ and get the 50 point bonus for using all 7 letter tiles! She was so grateful she agreed to give me her number, and the rest is history. Never happened, but hey, it’d make a great Jeopardy anecdote! ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/7 "2025-07-21T15:26:02Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Never happened, but hey, it’d make a great Jeopardy anecdote! I’ve been to Jeopardy! tryouts twice, and didn’t make it, but I did actually steal some anecdotes from friends of mine. Coming up with five possibly-entertaining anecdotes is HARD. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/8 "2025-07-21T15:33:16Z")
I once tied for first place in a trivia contest. I lost the runoff because I couldn’t remember the **last** name of the man who originally voiced Donald Duck: Clarence Nash ---
**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:** [July 21, 2025, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/9 "2025-07-21T15:50:42Z")
My black cat is Ursala and my red horse is Ariel. They came with those names and I still have never seen _The Little Mermaid.”_ ---
**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:** [July 21, 2025, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/10 "2025-07-21T16:47:30Z")
Sailed on a tall ship. Hiked across the Grand Canyon. Drove a rental car on a race track in Germany. Just don’t ask me what I’d spend my winnings on ---
**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:** [July 21, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/11 "2025-07-21T16:52:04Z")
I knew that! 🙂 ---
**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:** [July 21, 2025, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/12 "2025-07-21T16:54:50Z")
I used to co-host a drive-home radio show at an American-owned 5000-watt station in Moscow (Russia, not Idaho). ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/13 "2025-07-21T18:20:44Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Coming up with five possibly-entertaining anecdotes is HARD. So glad to know that I can just make stuff up! That never occurred to me. But it seems that you had better be careful. If it’s something that is easily verifiable, there’s always a risk that social media could get a hold of it and then you become a viral ignominious meme. That kind if thing can get a guy fired. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/14 "2025-07-21T18:23:43Z")
I’m the second person to windsurf the Arctic Ocean. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2025, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/15 "2025-07-21T18:42:26Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > But it seems that you had better be careful. If it’s something that is easily verifiable, there’s always a risk that social media could get a hold of it and then you become a viral ignominious meme. I think as long as you’re not bragging about some fake accomplishment, no one’s going to check. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/16 "2025-07-21T18:50:16Z")
Yeah, I just borrowed some whimsical anecdote from a co-worker. I think both times Maggie didn’t ask me about any of those anyway, she asked about my previous game show experience. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/17 "2025-07-21T19:14:09Z")
I’m always amused by the occasional contestant whose interesting factoid is essentially mundane and boils down to “Eats food”, or “Has parents.” Which, to be honest, would be pretty much the case with me. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2025, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/18 "2025-07-21T19:20:44Z")
My mom was on Jeopardy in the Art Fleming days and her story was how she had 2 daughters, then a son, then 2 daughters, and she told Art the my brother was the “meat in the sandwich.” I’d have to share that. (Lucky for bro, her episode aired during the summer, so by the time school was back in session, the anecdote was forgotten.) ---
**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:** [July 21, 2025, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/19 "2025-07-21T19:47:27Z")
Whatever your story, PLEASE rehearse it and have an honest friend critique it. Nothing worse than long rambling stories where you can practically hear the director rolling his eyes and looking at the time. Nothing worse, except a long rambling story that is dumb, or amounts to “eats food”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150/20 "2025-07-21T19:58:03Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Nothing worse, except a long rambling story that is dumb, or amounts to “eats food”. 🙂 That’s it! Alex (channeling from the grave) “So, @Moriarty it says here that you eat eggs _at night_?” “Yes. Alex. I usually eat 6 about 30 minutes before bed.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-re-on-jeopardy-what-s-your-interview-anecdote/1021150.md?page=2)