‘Jeopardy!’ Contestants Speak Out After ‘Goof’ Proves Costly

Jeopardy! Logo Print Water Bottle

$12.48

Buy Now

One Jeopardy! contestant spoke out after she cost a contestant the correct answer. However, the opponent shared that it was their “goof,” and they were distracted by the leader.

Greg Monson, from Portland, Oregon, entered the game with a two-day total of $31,300. On Monday, October 12, the videographer played against Daniel Ransom, from San Francisco, California, and Megan Whelan, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Warning: Spoilers for the Monday, October 12 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!

On clue 10, Monson found the Daily Double on clue 10. He had the lead with $3,400 and wagered $1,400.

The clue in “Magazines” was “A photo of John Lennon from the movie How I Won the War graced the cover of this magazine’s first issue in 1967.” He correctly answered, “What is Rolling Stone?” This gave him $4,800.

By the end of the round, Monson had $11,400. Ransom, a librarian, had -$1,200. Whelan, a managing editor, was in second place with $3,800.

In Double Jeopardy, Monson also found the first DD of the round on clue four. He had $17,000, and he wagered $5,000 in “Historic Names.”

The clue read, “Later to sketch his views on politics, he arrived in NYC as a boy in 1846 & got a job after an impressive sketch of the Hoboken ferry.” “Who is Nast?” he correctly answered. This gave him a runaway game with $22,000.

Then, on clue 21, Ransom managed to find the DD. He had $4,000 and wagered $3,000. The clue in “Show Girls” was “A wolf with Grimm intentions in this musical serenades Little Red Riding Hood with ‘Hello, Little Girl.'”

Ransom correctly answered with “What is Into the Woods?” This gave him $7,000.

However, three clues later, Ransom fumbled his good luck. The clue in “Hydrogen” was “Though both are lighter than air, the main reason helium is preferred to hydrogen in airships is this.”

Randson answered, “It is inert, not flammable.” He lost $800 on that. Whelan rang in with “What is not flammable?”

“Yeah, Daniel, we needed the phrasing there,” host Ken Jennings said.

Related

'Jeopardy!' Fans Tease Ken Jennings Over His Halloween Costume

On Reddit, Whelan spoke out about stealing the answer from Ransom. “I had told my brother that it would be great to steal an answer based on another contestant forgetting phrasing, but when it actually happened, I felt awful for Dan,” she said.

“Don’t feel bad! It was my goof. Greg was on such a roll, and it took me way too long to get into the game,” Ransom replied.

By the end of the game, Monson had $25,600. Ransom had $6,600. Whelan’s total was $8,600.

The Final Jeopardy category was “2026 Farewells.” The clue read, “On his passing in 2026, England’s The Guardian noted he found ‘freedom & fulfilment amid the blue skies & pools of California.'”

Two of the game show contestants had the correct response. Ranson responded with “Who is David Hockey?” He was correct and wagered $2,400. This gave him a final total of $9,000.

Whelan did not have the correct response. She wrote, “Who is… Hi Scott + King?” Whelan wagered $4,601, making her total $3,999.

Monson also had the correct response. He wagered $3,400. This gave him $29,000. His three-day day total was $60,300. Monson will return on Tuesday for his fourth game.

Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock