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By:Angilene Gacute
Apr. 11 2024, Published 6:40 a.m. ET
Mike Janela Won 'Jeopardy!' Viewers' Hearts Instead
Mike Janela made it to Final Jeopardy! in a 2022 episode of Jeopardy! during which he offered a hilarious answer to the clue, "Patented in 1955, it did not go over well in the high-end fashion world, but the then-new aerospace industry found it very useful."
He wrote, "What is I'm going to lose but the Mets will win it all this year?" while the correct answer was, "What is velcro?"
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Was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the Answer?
In 2009, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gave Alex Trebek a wrong but comical answer to the question, "Tell your old man to drag this '70s UCLA and Trail Blazer center (and Lanier!) up and down the court for 48 minutes."
Abdul-Jabbar buzzed in and confidently said, "Who is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?" due to the clue referencing his role in Airplane!
No one else attempted to answer after the former Los Angeles Lakers player, prompting Trebek to explain, "You're the one who delivered the line but it was about Bill Walton. Embarrassing moments on Jeopardy!"
Ken Jennings Shocked the Show's Viewers With His Answer
Ken Jennings has been a massive part of Jeopardy! history over the years. Before becoming a host, he started as a player and even drew laughter with some of his answers.
In 2004, he chose the $200 slot of "Tool Time," which had the clue, "This term for a long-handled gardening tool can also mean an immoral pleasure seeker."
"What's a hoe?" he answered, realizing it was incorrect but still disagreeing with it.
"I think the idea is the clue says it's 'an immoral pleasure seeker' and we don't want to characterize all hoes that way," Jennings continued as the audience laughed hard. "Rakes, apparently, we're okay with that aspersion on their character."
Reflecting on the viral moment, he recorded a TikTok video to share his thoughts about the moment.
"TikTok has apparently just discovered this and is delighted," he added. "Yeah, why didn't I get it right... I still think I was shafted, quite frankly. I think I'm owed $200 and maybe the writers should get a pool together."
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Alex Trebek Ditched His Trousers
Trebek, the beloved actor who died of pancreatic cancer in November 2020, pranked his contestants during the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions in 2005 to ease their nervousness.
"We were just all pale as a ghost," Brad Rutter, one of the three contestants, revealed to WOGL. "I can't remember who it was, but one of us suggested, Hey, let's play without pants. There's these podiums in front of us that will cut the tension. What we didn't realize was that our mics were live, and Alex heard us."
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Were They Caught in an Affair?
An Upper St. Clair graduate went viral when she gave out a risqué answer to the clue, "If Andy yearns for Brenda and Brenda cares about Charlene who pines for Andy, the three of them form one of these."
"What is a threesome?" she said, making the viewers laugh as the correct answer was "What is a love triangle?" which another contestant got right.
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The D--- Tree Just Happened
For the category "Starts or Ends With a Tree," contestants were asked to guess the "slang for a detective."
Contestant Austin Rogers said "d—" as it reportedly sounded like the word's root.
"I know nothing about a d--- tree, but there is a gum tree, or gumshoe," Trebek responded to the NSFW question as he laughed along with the audience members.
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A Contestant Suffered From a Misspelling Blunder
Thomas Hurley III joined Kids Jeopardy! in 2013, and his appearance became memorable when he claimed he was cheated on after answering a question.
Instead of the "Emancipation Proclamation," he wrote "Emanciptation proclamation."
"It's just upsetting to have lost that way," he told the News-Times after the release of his episode. "I don't know why it would have counted as the wrong answer."
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A Contestant Missed the Sports Acronym
Contestant Joe buzzed in when he heard the clue, "100+ assists in an NHL season has only been accomplished only 13 times, 11 times by this player."
"Who is Magic Johnson?" he told Trebek, referring to the "greatest point guard of all time."
However, he seemingly missed the NHL part, so he lost the round.
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What Alex Trebek Thought of a Contestant
In one of Trebek's interviews with his contestants, a woman mentioned her and her friends' love for geeky things, including Dungeons & Dragons.
"Losers, in other words," the host quipped.
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Was Is the Most Cringeworthy 'Jeopardy!' Answer?
A 2015 Jeopardy! episode went viral when contestant Tom Imler guessed "the age of consent" to the clue, "In common law, the age of this, signaling adulthood, is presumed to be 14 in boys and 12 in girls."
The correct answer was "puberty."
After the "embarrassing" response, he told Daily News he was also annoyed as some viewers painted him creepy because of his mistake.
"It's 127,000 percent untrue. But when it started to snowball, I started to worry that people might think it was true. I started to think, 'Holy cow. What if one day I come home from work and there's a cop waiting outside my door?'"
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