JEOPARDY! fans have been left bewildered as players botch what some viewers deemed as an incredibly easy question.
The moment occurred during show host Ken Jennings' last episode before his scheduled hiatus.
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The contestants included; Will Travis, an accountant, Laura Donegan, a physician, and Stephen Webb, a data scientist and reigning Jeopardy! champion.
The episode featured a fairly one-sided contest, with the two-day champ, who entered to game with overall earnings of $60, 701, leading for the majority of the competition.
Upon entering Final Jeopardy, Stephen commanded a healthy lead with $23,200, Will sat at second with $7,400, while Laura, who earned $4,800, was placed last.
The selected category was "National Parks," with its clue being: "It’s named for a river indigenous people called MI TSE A-DA-ZI, translated by French-speaking trappers as "Pierre Jaune."
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Will was the only player to respond correctly to the prompt, writing "What is Yellow Stone" and earning himself $2,201 in the process.
After receiving a current answer, Ken, 48, revealed: "That is literally what 'Pierre Jaune' means in French."
The game concluded with Stephen earning $19,930 and extending his streak to three days, Laura with $1, and Will coming in second with $9,601.
Viewers discussed the episode and the Final Jeopardy question on a Reddit board dedicated to the long-running game show.
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One person wrote: "Kind of a surprising Final Jeopardy result today, but I'm guessing the native name threw people off the scent."
A second fan commented: "Yeah, they often do that where they contain the most obvious hint at the end, and then start off the clue with some more obscure knowledge."
"If you know a little French, this seems pretty obvious," added a third.
While a final commenter wrote: "Embarrassing when the answer is in the question and 67% of Americans still don't know," before adding "Easiest fj ever. The answer is already given. Stone Yellow. Sheesh."
CHANGING HANDS
The Jeopardy! website recently announced that Mayim Bialik will replace Ken as the host of the game show starting this Monday and not all fans are sold on the handover.
Mayim, 47, will be back on Jeopardy! hosting a High School Reunion tournament now splashed on the game show's website.
The 14-episode competition will feature 27 former Teen Tournament contestants who duked it out in 2019.
Now older and wiser, the winner will get $100,000 and a slot in the 2023 Tournament of Champions.
The tournament will air instead of regular episodes from Monday, February 20th until March 9th.
Facebook users vented about "having to watch" her three-week-long High School Reunion Tournament in a bombastic thread as Ken's time winds down.
The user began the thread: "I can't believe they will spend 14 days on the high school reunion tournament. Way too long for a tournament many care nothing about."
'I'LL BE TAKING A BREAK'
A second wrote: "Yes I agree. I have to watch Mayim for three whole weeks. I guess I don’t have to but I do like Jeopardy."
To which another defended: "Wait a minute!! I care about it - and we are looking forward to it with my teenage grandson!"
A fourth complained: "The questions will be even easier as they always are for teen and college students."
Others yet just aren't prepared as one more replied: "I agree. There is no way to 'just watch the show' when she ruins it! I'll be taking a Jeopardy break!"
DUEL HOSTS
Over the summer, both Ken and Mayim were announced as the permanent replacements for the late longtime host, Alex Trebek.
Alex tragically passed away from pancreatic cancer at age 80 in 2020, leaving huge shoes to fill, and it took two drama-filled years to fill them.
Mayim hasn't been seen on the regular show since or this season - she's only handled Celebrity Jeopardy!.
Mayim was originally going to switch in for winningest contestant Ken in December, but execs earlier revealed her schedule "evolved" given her Call Me Kat sitcom schedule.
It's unclear at this time if Ken will return after the tournament but since Mayim hasn't hosted the regular show this season, she is due for a chunk of time.
Ken's quick-on-his-feet hosting style has begun to take shape lately, especially with his rapport during interview portions.
Mayim, meanwhile got more notes to improve on, as far as execs and even she has said, and that's no secret.
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Last year, Amy Schneider and Mattea Roach said they prefer Ken, as did recent divisive three-day champ Jake Dearruda slamming her as "inexperienced."
Ken will still be on-air hosting the new Jeopardy! Masters spinoff, which is scheduled to air during the spring in primetime on ABC.
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