November 30, 2006 - Jeopardy Trivia

I hope everyone had a GREAT Thanksgiving last week.

Trivia Question:

On this day in history...

On November 30, 2004, Ken Jennings finally loses after winning 74 conseutive times on the TV game show Jeopardy. His total winnings were more than 2.5 million dollars ($2,522,700 to be exact).

What was the largest amount Ken Jennings won in a single game of Jeopardy?



Trivia Answer:

$75,000


Before 2003, Jeopardy! contestants were limited to five consecutive games. At the beginning of the show's twentieth season (in 2003), the rules were changed to allow contestants to remain on the show as long as they continued to win. After this rule change, and until Jennings' run, the record winning streak was set by Tom Walsh, who won $186,900 in eight games in January 2004.

Jennings's run began with the episode aired on Wednesday, June 2, 2004, and spanned two seasons. Since he did not lose before the 2004 Tournament was taped (which then aired from September 20 through October 1), he had to wait until the 2005 season to compete in the Tournament of Champions. In theory, if Jennings had remained undefeated through the 2004-2005 season, there would not have been a Tournament of Champions for that season because Jennings would have been the sole champion.

On November 30, 2004, Jennings' long reign as Jeopardy! champion ended when he lost his seventy-fifth game to challenger Nancy Zerg. Heading into Final Jeopardy, the third contestant, David Hankins, had a negative score and thus was not allowed to participate. Jennings proved to be his own worst enemy by missing both Double Jeopardy! Daily Double questions (on which he had placed his usual high wagers, losing a total $10,400) and the Final Jeopardy! question. The Final Jeopardy category was "Business and Industry", and the clue was: "Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year." The correct response was: "What is H&R Block?"; Jennings responded with "What is FedEx?". The July 10, 2006 episode of Jeopardy! made reference to the event in one of the game's clues.

Zerg answered correctly, and she and Jennings shook hands and hugged as the audience gave him a standing ovation. Immediately after she won, Alex Trebek dubbed her a "giant-killer" for her accomplishment of finally beating the long-standing champ. Jennings's final total, along with his consolation prize for finishing in second place, was $2,522,700.

****** NET CHECK-IN'S ******

Here's the list of hams who checked in to tonight's net and their answers to the trivia question. Congratulations to Jason, KD6OBM for correctly answering the question!

* WB6A - Pat - $70,000
* WB6ATV - Ron - $33,700
* KE6CZH - Robert - $80,000
* KG6DBL - Bill - $330,000
* W6DTS - Ted - $45,000
* K6FCC - Khalil - $500,000
* N6HY - Ernie - $500,000
* KD6JEV - John - $65,000
* WA6JWF - Joey - "I have no idea"
* N6KAS - Andy - $43,000
* KG6KTC - Leon - No Answer
* NY6L - Jay - $73,000
* K6LMN - Roger - No Idea
* KE6MSS - Thomas - $57,000
* W6NVY - Gary - $100,000
* KG6NWJ - Barry - $150,000
* KD6OBM - Jason - $75,000
* KF6PIH - Scott - $80,000
* K6QVZ - Joe - $37,000
* KG6RDA - Sidney - Checked in by KF6ZQM
* AD6UP - Louie - $45,000
* WA6USL - Murray - $29,000
* KF6YBM - Henry - $85,000
* KF6ZQM - Harry - $66,000
* N6ZZK - Theo - $79,000
* N6GZS - Ralph - "The answer is Muskrat"
* K6EBF - Doug - No Answer
* KG6TRR - Bob - $425,000
* KF6QIK - Can - No Answer
* KI6CGM - Don - $360,000

Thanks to all for your support!

N6CIZ