Jeopardy! fans are a passionate bunch, and take the competition seriously—so it’s no wonder they were not happy about a recent episode. The October 7 installment of Jeopardy! caused a bit of an audience ruckus, with viewers confused and annoyed by Ken Jennings’ call, and the Final Jeopardy question. Contestant Mark Fitzpatrick returned to go up against teacher Daniel Gately and communications advisor Amanda Prusila. Then the trio went into Final Jeopardy with Fitzpatrick at $23,400, Gately at $4,200, and Prusila at $600. Here’s what happened next.
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The Bad Call
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Fans were baffled by Jennings not asking for a specific answer. The clue for $1,200 was: “The Hereford cattle on the ranch of this president’s historical national park are descended from his registered herd.” Fitzpatrick responded with, “Who is Johnson?” Jennings accepted the answer without asking Fitzpatrick to clarify which Johnson—Lyndon B. Johnson, or Andrew Johnson.
The Confusing Question
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Fans thought the Final Jeopardy clue was confusing and too hard. The clue was: “In 1886 this brand’s bookkeeper came up with its name & flowing script logo, saying, ‘the two Cs would look well in advertising.'” Fitzpatrick and Prusila guessed Coco Chanel, while Gately thought the answer was Currier. They were all incorrect—the answer was actually Coca-Cola.
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The Fans Respond
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Viewers of the episode let their opinions be known on social media. “Triple stumper FJ today in a tougher-than-it-should-be clue. I wonder if they would have accepted Coke instead of Coca-Cola. Mark Fitzpatrick becomes a 2-day #Jeopardy champ in a runaway. He’ll go for 3 tomorrow,” a fan commented on X. “There ABSOLUTELY should have been a ‘be more specific’ prompt on the Hereford cattle clue — two U.S. Presidents had the surname Johnson! Come on, Ken.#Jeopardy,” another viewer posted on X.
Dissent About Final Jeopardy
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Not everyone thought the Final Jeopardy question was hard: “@Jeopardy Cannot believe that all three contestants missed such an obvious Final Jeopardy question: What is Coca Cola?,” another person said on X. “I initially thought coca cola but the clue threw me off because I thought the correct answer could only have 2 ‘C’s’,” another fan said.