‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Slam Confusing Clue After Triple Stumper Shocker

Martin Holmes February 16, 8:19 am

Jeopardy!‘s Champions Wildcard tournament continues to bring the drama, as Thursday’s (February 15) episode saw another surprise victory and a highly contentious Final Jeopardy triple-stumper.

Battling it out for the final spot in the semi-finals were returning Season 39 champions David Bederman, an attorney from Los Angeles, California, James Tyler, a senior editor from Blandon, Pennsylvania, and Diandra D’Alessio, a technical writer from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Bederman was the likely frontrunner heading into the episode, having the best stats from his previous Jeopardy! stint, where he walked away with $52,802 (plus $1,000). But, as the Wildcard competition has proven over and over again, anything can happen in this game.

D’Alessio proved to be the surprise factor in Thursday’s game, coming out of the blocks hot with 12 correct answers. By the end of the first round, she held a $3,000 lead over her two opponents.

The Montreal native continued to dominate in Double Jeopardy, landing 11 more correct responses and a combined $8,000 on the Daily Doubles. By the end of regular play, she was just $1,001 short of being in an almost uncatchable runaway position.

Going into Final Jeopardy, D’Alessio’s score was $24,600, Tyler’s was $12,800, and Bederman’s was $7,600.

However, this is where things got a little dramatic. Host Ken Jennings revealed the clue under the “Landmarks” category, which read, “The distance between its 2 legs at ground level is 630 feet, making it as wide as it is tall.”

The question stumped all three contestants and proved particularly fatal for Tyler and Bederman, who wagered everything and dropped to $0 after answering incorrectly.

D’Alessio also got it wrong, answering, “What is the Eiffel Tower?” but only wagered $1,001, giving her the victory with $23,590 and earning her spot in the semi-finals. The correct answer was “The Gateway Arch,” the 630-foot-tall monument in St. Louis, Missouri.

Some viewers were not happy with the clue’s wording, particularly the use of “legs” when describing a structure.

“One the one hand, I’m surprised that this was a triple miss on FJ…. On the other hand, I’m guessing “legs” is just a very unusual way to describe what they meant?” wrote one viewer on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum. “It’s not the first word I’d use – “ends” maybe? “Supports”? Definitely a little tricky by the writers, but for tournament play, it seems fair.”

“Gateway Arch was my gut reaction as well, but then I became worried that it doesn’t really have “legs,” and in my mind it was taller than it is wide. But I couldn’t think of anything else better so stuck with it,” added another commenter.

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Another wrote, “Got hung up on the Statue of Liberty for FJ even if I knew it was wrong in the back of my head, probably just because of the usage of “legs.””

“Legs confused me. I guessed The Sphinx for FJ,” said another.

However, others explained why “legs” was the right descriptor, with one fan noting, “It’s not really tricky by the writers, legs is the official way it’s described by the National Park Service and by its architect. But if you’re not familiar with it, I can see how’d that be surprising.”

'Jeopardy!' Fans Shocked By Final Jeopardy Triple Stumper & Huge Wager

“Interesting! I’ll file that under “learn something new everyday,” replied another commenter.

Another added, “I wonder for those who interpreted “2 legs” to be human legs, what sort of human statue would have its legs 630 feet apart? The world’s largest monument to the splits?”

Regardless, D’Alessio is unlikely to be hung up on her incorrect response as she still won the episode and now has a chance at winning the whole thing and moving on to the Tournament of Champions.

Was the use “legs” confusing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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