‘Jeopardy!’ Champion’s 5-Day Winning Streak Ends Amid Controversy – Fans React
Jeopardy! champion Amy Hummel was looking for her sixth consecutive victory on Wednesday night (May 1) but came undone by a “brutal” mispronunciation ruling that cost her the game.
Hummel, an ER doctor from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, had already amassed an impressive $100,994 across her first five games and looked to add to that total on Wednesday’s episode. She was up against Nils Cousin, an attorney from Washington, D.C., and Weckiai Rannila, an engineer from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
After the first round, the game was close, with Cousin in a slight lead with $6,000, Rannila following behind with $5,400, and Hummel trailing with $3,000. As the three contestants entered the Double Jeopardy round, it was all very much still to play for.
But Hummel couldn’t make up the deficit despite finding both Daily Doubles, answering neither correctly. This saw her drop out of contention with just $3,600 going into Final Jeopardy, while Rannila led with $11,400 and Cousin stood at $6,400.
However, some viewers felt Hummel was hard done by when it came to one of her Daily Double answers. After wagering her entire $4,200 on the “OLOGIES” category, the Wisconsin native was faced with a clue that read, “Remove 2 letters from the study of weather to get this, the study of weights & measures.”
A baffled-looking Hummel answered, “What is meterology?”
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“I’m sorry, no,” host Ken Jennings said. “You needed to get rid of the ‘e’ and the ‘o’ to make Metrology. You were very close, but no.”
The harsh ruling saw Hummel drop to $0, and she never truly recovered from the setback. In the end, Rannila won the episode with $9999, despite nobody getting the Final Jeopardy! clue correct.
“Certainly gonna be some level of mild controversy about DD3 & the pronunciation of “metrology”; I thought Amy said it, but with emphasis on the “me,” which, given that it’s a word I’ve never heard before (and presumably Amy as well), I would’ve thought there’d be some lenience,” wrote one fan on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum.
The user added, “It didn’t sound like she said “meterology,” but I can kinda hear the second E? Bit of a hard ruling to make. Plus, even though everyone missed Final, the $8,400 she would’ve had if they had given it to her, plus the $3,600 she got afterward would’ve put her in first going into Final, which… who knows? Kind of a lame way to go out, though.”
“Brutal DD3 miss, but she’ll be back for the ToC!” said another.
“I went back and re-watched it and she very clearly said “me-ter-ology”, just in a hesitant way,” added another commenter.
Another added, “I feel like she had a sort of verbal stumble between the first and second syllables, resulting in met’rology with a very brief ə trailing the t. But given the way they wrote up the clue, I’m not surprised they were picky about pronunciation.”
“It was incorrect. Like the archivist, I heard something like “meterology” (or “mee-cher-o-lo-gy”)–she definitely had some kind of vowel sound between the ‘t’ and the ‘r’, and either way she pronounced it with 5 syllables. The correct response only has 4 syllables,” wrote one fan.
Despite the unfortunate loss, Hummel earned herself over $100,000 during her five-game winning streak and will have a shot at redemption in the next Tournament of Champions.
What did you think about the ruling? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Comments are closed on this story.
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G
I watched the episode and don't understand the supposed controversy. She clearly did not know the answer and her guess was clearly wrong. This story is just click bait. She was a great 5-day champion but lost fairly. I look forward to watching her on TOC.
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G
What she said was clearly a guess, and it isn't a word, and she only removed one letter. So it's a done deal. Metrology has a short e as well as fewer syllables.
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B
Metrology is also pronounced more like meh CHRAH lohjee so Amy wasn't even close. I worked in metrology for a high-tech company.
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O
Not that it would have made much difference in the outcome, but I think that another clue was not "questioned" properly. The answer was, it follows, "We hold these truths to be self-evident" and the question was, "What is all men are created equal?" which isn't quite right. The quote is "We hold these truths to be self-evident, THAT all men are created equal".
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were they asking to continue a direct quote, or what the truths were?
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G
I thought the same thing. In my opinion, that was an incorrect response.
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B
What's the controversy?? She was wrong...plain and simple. She also missed a very easy Final Jeopardy.
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H
Amy H is a great sport & will be back to shine!
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G
I am certainly in no way Jeopardy contestant material, but the final question was so obvious (NASA) that I was surprised that none of the 3 egg head contestants got it. C I A ? Really ? What was JFK known for ? "We choose do do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard." And the word 'Agency' was in the question ! How could it be any more obvious ?
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M
Yeah, my first thought was NASA. When they all said CIA, I was like, space race, dummies.
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I suspect that they were thinking of the Bay of Pigs, since the year 1961 was given in the clue and likely led them astray.
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D
I totally agree. I immediately thought what an easy Final Jeopardy and the obvious question answer was NASA. I, too, flashed on the JFK quote. Of course, it's always easy when you know the question to the answer.
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P
It said remove 2 letters, she removed the wrong 2 letters, her answer was wrong. What's the issue?
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O
I worked in the Applied Physics Division of NRC (Canada) where our Section was responsible for Weights and Measures. It's an easy mistake to make but Metrology is a little known (but very important) word and easy to mis-pronounce.
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R
It was an accurate ruling
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F
Personally, Jeopardy has gone way beyond trivia when the writers have to come up with ridiculous questions that have words chopped up, mixed together into non-words and nonsense. If the writers can't come up with actual trivia, might be time to get better writers.
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Non-words?? Metrology is clearly a known word. As for better writers, they already have the best!
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B
I think the answers are getting too obscure now. Viewers like to get at least a few questions I.
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O
She definitely said meteorology. She seemed unsure of her answer and guessing at it. It was incorrect
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R
I was watching at home and said to myself, "Metrology," the correct answer. I've never used the word, but I've probably seen it before. And a good understanding of English would lead one to the correct answer. She was wrong.
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O
I loved Amy's demeanor in the way she answered questions, devoid of emotion. In her most laid back style, she picked her question the same way.
I was confused when she was shot down on the "metrology" answer.
Jeopardy could still right a picky wrong.
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R
She guessed WAY TOO OFTEN to be a strong champion. Was lucky to win 5 times.
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D
I don't think she was guessing all that much. I know her facial expressions looked like she wasn't very sure, but my impression is that she was at least 95% sure, but that tiny doubt was reflected in her face.
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B
I feel bad for Hummel. And I find the new champ is just annoying. Sorry, but I do.
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P
Where in the clue did it say there were 4 syllables? The clues have become an issue.
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O
"Agency" is part of an incorrect clue. CIA -IS- an Agency, NASA is NOT. National Aeronautics and Space Administration is NASA. JFK did say it was difficult....
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Was a good call by Ken...
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G
When the host has an obvious lisp, it's a huge hypocrisy to criticize pronunciation.
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B
I disagree with the ruling and questions like that with trick pronounce answers are less that fair to ALL the contestants....right, wright, write
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R
she was sandbagging because of what they said about being slow
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O
I think the ruling was correct. Close does not count. Jeopardy has always been this way. Alex would disqualify an answer if was not posed as a question. I liked that. Ken doesn't impose that rule. Rules are rules. Any further changes are not warranted
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B
I agree Amy said the word correctly. All depends on where you come from. Many words are pronounced differently. I lived in New York City all my life, but when I relocated to Upstate New York, I was baffled by some word pronunciations. Downstate we say Cairo with emphasis on the "I". Upstate they say "Karo" like the corn syrup.
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O
I think some people have nothing better to do than pick apart game shows
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B
She did not give the correct answer.
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O
Never heard the word
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R
Maybe y'all could bury the "spoilers" so that those of us who recorded the show but haven't watched it won't have it, we'll, spoiled.
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O
Meatheads will tell you not to go on the internet, but I think you have the better solution - they shouldn't put spoilers in the headline.
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B
Its just too bad that some folks rceord for later. The entire world cannot change their habits to accommodate
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C
Sorry she lost, but the lawyer did too, so I'm ok with that.
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B
Just another opportunity to make Jennings look bad. Why are there so many bad-mouthers?
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P
I’m glad she’s gone. She was boring and reminded me of Debbie Downer
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B
I did not like her self assured attitude that she ought not to be challenged because, after all, she is a physìcian and is therefore entitled because she is a physician. The ring took her down a few steps, and I'm glad. Furthermore, she is a well paid physician. So why does she even need the money?
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O
Ge rid of that champion BS off Jeopardy. We're tired of seeing the same people day in & day out week after week. I for one quit watching
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O
I like this Amy. She is real
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D
Amy Schneider is a real human being as well.
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O
I'm wondering why Jennings is making the rulings, didn't there used to judges?
Is it his opinion alone that changes the course of the game?
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R
There are still judges. Ken gets his rulings from them.
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I think that Ken may make the first judgement call (and he’s usually correct) & occasionally when they return following a commercial break, he says they’re adjusting the score, and explains the reasoning behind it. I think that is when the Judges have weighed in.
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R
Glad she's gone I wouldn't want her as my Dr very difficult to listen to very indecisive in choices etc.
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O
Because if there's one thing a doctor should be able to do, it's be quick with a buzzer and answer trivia questions quickly.
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P
It’s a shame that Ken has. Scummed to the powers that be and is towing the line
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