Jeopardy! viewers were left outraged after host Ken Jennings asked players ‘the easiest final question of all time’ – leading many to accuse the show of ‘dumbing down’ the questions.
At the end of Tuesday night’s episode, Ken, 50, revealed that contestants Sarah Hartzell, Scott McCann, and Adriana Harmeyer would be tested on their US Geography.
Before giving the trio 30 seconds to prepare their answers, Ken read the clue: ‘Of the 10 US states with two-word names, this one stretches the farthest south.’
After the timer went off, Ken announced that Sarah had buzzed in the quickest.
‘What state did you write down, Sarah?’ he asked, to which she said, ‘What is New Mexico?’
Ken Jennings asked players ‘the easiest final question of all time’ during Tuesday night’s game
Testing the contestants’ geography knowledge, he asked: ‘Of the 10 US states with two-word names, this one stretches the farthest south’
‘And that is correct,’ Ken confirmed. ‘Quite a bit south of second place South Carolina, the next southernmost two-word state.’
But Jeopardy! fans were furious by the ‘elementary school map question’ and hit out at the presenter for not presenting something more challenging.
‘I implore @Jeopardy host @KenJennings to please do something about the dumbing down of final #Jeopardy,’ wrote one enraged viewer on X.
Another raged: ‘No one likes to see a super-easy Final #Jeopardy clue in a non-runaway game. Contestants and viewers alike!’
A third added: ‘Final #Jeopardy was so easy, I thought it was a trick question.’
A fourth blasted: ‘Jeopardy should be disgusted with themselves for that final jeopardy question. These are the best of the best and you’re giving them elementary school map questions!’
‘That has to be the easiest final Jeopardy in the history of the game,’ a fifth said.
Before the episode wrapped, Ken revealed that Sarah had added $3,00 to her prize fund for getting the question right, bringing her total up t $8,400.
Adriana continued her winning streak and managed to take her 10-day total to $225,700
Jeopardy! fans were furious by the ‘elementary school map question’ and vented their fury on X
But it was Adriana who continued her winning streak after waging $6,600 during the last question, taking her 10-day total to $225,700.
This isn’t the first time Jeopardy! fans have accused the show of making the questions too simple.
Last week, viewers mercilessly mocked three players when Ken tested their knowledge during the 21st century sports category – and they failed to answer an ‘easy’ question about the World Series.
It all kicked off when Ken asked for $400: ‘In 2007, this NL squad became the first team with 10,000 losses; in 2008 they won the world series behind Cole Hamels and Ryan Howard.’
The correct answer was the Philadelphia Phillies, who beat the Tampa Bay Rays on October 29, 2008 – but one player buzzed in incorrectly with Chicago Cubs.
The Phillies’ victory, under manager Charlie Manuel, was the team’s first World Series win since the 1980 World Series, and the city’s first major sports championship in 25 years.
To date, this is the most recent season the Phillies have won in the competition.
