Jeopardy! is difficult to win. Semantics and guidelines imply even the brightest contestants can nonetheless lose as a result of they will’t spell a phrase appropriately. Just lately, poor handwriting value one contestant the win and 1000’s of {dollars}. Let’s study what occurred.
A Stickler For The Guidelines
Youngsters and adults alike usually journey up when enjoying Jeopardy! over the fundamental guidelines. For one factor, all responses have to be within the type of a query, or else the responses received’t depend. Tremendous champion Matt Amodio brought about a stir by all the time main with the phrase “what’s” as a substitute of deliberating over saying who. His technique received him just a few enemies on Twitter but additionally acquired him $1,518,601.
On high of the quirky nature of this system, pronunciation is vital. In 2013, a contestant was famously penalized for mispronouncing the title “Elaine Benes.” The emphasis was positioned on the mistaken syllable. It’s a troublesome break, however it was solely an $800 greenback mistake. What occurred earlier this month proved far costlier.
The Reign Of Megan Wachspress
2022 has produced extra tremendous champions than some other interval in Jeopardy! historical past, however none have been luckier than Megan Wachspress. The Berkeley-based legal professional received simply $60,603 over her six-day run. To place that in perspective, earlier champion Eric Ahasic received $160,601 over the identical quantity of video games. Wachspress received quite a few matches whereas trailing in Ultimate Jeopardy.
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Her cosmic luck went up in opposition to Sadie Goldberger, an interpreter from Columbia, Maryland. It was an in depth recreation heading into Ultimate Jeopardy, with Goldberger main with $9800 to Wachspress’s $9200.
The class was nineteenth Century Contemporaries. The clue was, “Congratulating her on the 1869 release of her biography, Frederick Douglass wrote, “I have wrought in the day–you in the night.” Wachspress answered appropriately: Harriet Tubman.
Goldberger answered the identical… besides her reply didn’t look fairly proper. Her handwriting made it appear like she answered “Harriett Tubma,” so Mayim Bialik knowledgeable her that she couldn’t be rewarded with an accurate reply.
Twitter, Do Your Factor
Virtually instantly, the Jeopardy! trustworthy took to Twitter to vent their frustration. After all, Goldberger clearly knew the proper response. One viewer took a potshot at Bialik whereas they have been at it.
One other consumer echoed the very same sentiment: Bialik is unhealthy, and Goldberger acquired robbed.
In the meantime, the entire occasion fed into conspiracy theories that Jeopardy! is intentionally making an attempt to create as many tremendous champions as doable.
This tough state of affairs serves as a reminder to everybody: write clearly in Ultimate Jeopardy. It may imply the distinction between a comfort prize and a championship.