The Most Viral ‘Jeopardy!’ Moments This Year
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Ken Jennings was known for his personality back when he was a 74-game Jeopardy! champion, and the same can be said for him now that he’s the beloved trivia show’s host.
In 2004, Barbara Walters dubbed Jennings as one of the ten most fascinating people of the year, so it’s no surprise the record-breaking Jeopardy! champion landed on the short list for a new host following the 2020 death of longtime host Alex Trebek.
Since becoming the sole Jeopardy! host in 2023, Jennings has put that cheeky sense of humor and playfulness with contestants on display. Below are some of the most viral moments from the long-running game show, as decided by views on the show’s official Instagram account.
Back to blank (8.2 million views)
In one of Jeopardy!‘s most successful Instagram reels, host Jennings can be seen accidentally saying the answer with the clue, forcing judges to toss it out.
For a category requiring contestants to complete song titles, Jennings accidentally read, “Paint it black” rather than “Paint it blank and Back to blank,” which would have allowed contestants to answer, “What is black?”
The host quickly realized how he had messed up, as he smiled at the mistake and acknowledged they would have to “toss” the clue. “I think I was supposed to say ‘blank’ there,” he joked, with a bit of a wince. The Instagram caption let fans know it wasn’t that big of a deal, as they, “always have spare clues” and “just made a simple swap for broadcast!”
The “scary ham” story (1.7 million views)
Sci-fi writer Ellen Klages captivated Jeopardy! audiences when she told her “scary ham” story during Jeopardy! Masters in May. She recalled how her father was gifted a Smithfield ham for Christmas in the late ’80s, and then left it hanging in his basement (while this meat is usually meant to hang in a “dry smokehouse for like six months”) for 20 years.
She briefly spoke about the ham when Jennings caught up with each of the contestants, but the creepy story stuck with the host, who asked Klages follow-up questions throughout the episode.
When her father passed away in 2008, the “scary ham” was left to Klages and her sister, whose plan was reportedly “lighting it on fire and giving it a Viking funeral.” Instead, they gave it a rather creepy funeral surrounded by leftover birthday candles and monkey stuffed animals she found in her attic.
Ken’s faux pas (1.3 million views)
In a question from the category “All Aboard,” judges were looking for the answer, “sandwich board.” However, it was the message on the image they used of a sandwich board that had fans laughing. The board read, “What is a hoe?” which poked fun at a Jeopardy! question former champion and now-host Jennings infamously got incorrect in 2004.
When presented with the clue, “this term for a long-handled gardening tool can also mean an immoral pleasure seeker,” Jennings shocked host Trebek when he buzzed in, answering, “What is a hoe?” The correct answer was “rake.”
The end of a record-breaking run (1.2 million views)
Back in 2004, Jennings set the record for the highest-earning American game show contestant after securing 74 consecutive game wins, and earning about $2.5 million. So what finally took him out? In short, H&R Block.
Business & Industry was the Final Jeopardy! category, and the clue was, “Most of this firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year.” In this popular Instagram reel, fans can see the moment Jennings incorrectly answered, “What is FedEx?” thereby losing to contestant Nancy Zerg, who had correctly guessed, “What is H&R Block?”
The caption simply reads, “20 years later, relive the heartbreak of Ken Jennings’ final game of his historic 74-game streak.”
Putting Spongebob Squarepants knowledge to the test (855K views)
In a September episode, contestant Evan Suttell’s “encyclopedic” knowledge of the first three seasons of Spongebob Squarepants was put to the test by Jennings. Outside of regular gameplay — and in a popular video shared to the show’s Instagram page — Jennings quizzed Suttell.
Though Jennings didn’t have time for Suttell to prove he could “quote an episode line by line,” he did quiz the contestant with some quotes from the Nickelodeon series’ first three seasons.
At one point Jennings read a threat from the character Plankton, asking Suttell to fill-in-the-blank. “Hear me, Krabs. When I discover the formula for Krabby Patties, I’ll run you out of business. I…” he read, with Suttell quickly filling in the rest of the quote with, “I went to college!”
An unexpected crossover (691K views)
“The crossover I didn’t know I needed,” one fan joked when the official Jeopardy! Instagram account shared a reel posted with the official Twilight account.
The comical crossover video features a clip from Twilight in which Bella (Kristen Stewart) marvels at Edward’s (Robert Pattinson) music collection. “Wow, you have so much music,” Bella says, asking, “What are you listening to?”
Playing into a viral TikTok trend, rather than sharing Edward’s music, the clip ends with the two leads listening to the iconic Jeopardy! thinking music. “Babe, wake up! A new @Twilight edit just dropped 🤭 #Jeopardy! #Twilight,” the caption of the popular Instagram post reads.
News to Beyoncé (385K views)
The Jeopardy! Instagram is filled with hilarious gaffes and wrong answers — including this clip from May in which a contestant confused Jay-Z and A$AP Rocky.
In the “Name the Celebrity” category, the $400 clue read, “A rapper; has 2 kids with Rihanna; actor in Dope & 2018’s Monster.”
One eager contestant, Amar Kakirde, buzzed in, answering, “Jay-Z.” Jennings didn’t miss a beat, quipping, “Big news for Beyoncé, if true. No, this is A$AP Rocky.”
Fans took to the comments to joke about the slip, with one sharing, “I loved that commentary 🤣.”
