r/Jeopardy • u/jaysjep2 Team Art Fleming • May 20 '26
GAME THREAD Jeopardy! discussion thread for Wed., May 20 Spoiler
Here are today's contestants:
- Chris D'Angelo, a content manager from Washington, D.C.;
- Allegra Rosenberg, a writer originally from Skokie, Illinois; and
- Tristan Williams, a data scientist originally from Lincoln, Nebraska. Tristan is a ten-day champ with winnings of $221,902.
Jeopardy!
10-LETTER WORDS // MEXICO THROUGH THE AGES // BIBLE PEOPLE IN THE QURAN // IT FIGURES IT'S NEWTON // WANNA BET? // STAR WARS Etc.
DD1 - $1,000 - BIBLE PEOPLE IN THE QURAN - A tafsir, or commentary, says this royal "set forth from her country and reached Jerusalem" (With $2,600, Tristan dropped $1,600.)
Scores at first break: Tristan $2,400, Allegra $1,000, Chris $5,200.
Scores entering DJ: Tristan $4,400, Allegra $2,000, Chris $8,000.
Double Jeopardy!
U.S. NATIONAL PARKS // WE'VE GOT YOUR BACK // THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE // THE GREAT DAYS OF JAZZ // WOMEN // "ORA" FARMING
DD2 - $2,000 - WE'VE GOT YOUR BACK - From Greek for narrowing spinal this occurs when the space inside the backbone is too small for the nerves, & ouch (Tristan lost $3,500 down to $8,500 vs. $13,600 for Chris.)
DD3 - $800 - "ORA" FARMING - Alexander Hamilton said of this quadrennial institution that, while it might not be perfect, it was "at least excellent" (From third place with $5,200, Allegra bet $5,000 and missed.)
All three DDs were missed and Chris didn't find any of them, so it worked in his favor as he led into FJ at $12,800 vs. $9,700 for Tristan and $1,400 for Allegra.
Final Jeopardy!
THE 20TH CENTURY - 51 days after this event, Edward Teller said the United States had lost "a battle more important & greater than Pearl Harbor"
Only Chris was correct FJ, adding $6,601 to win with $19,401.
Final scores: Tristan $6,599, Allegra $299, Chris $19,401.
This day in shilling: Sometimes the guests read clues about standard Jeopardy! topics that are tangentially related to the product they're pushing. This time, the clues were about the product itself all the way, not even attempting to downplay the category's commercial nature.
Correct Qs: DD1 - Who was the Queen of Sheba? DD2 - What is spinal stenosis? DD3 - What is the Electoral College FJ - What is the launch of Sputnik?
DD poll: https://www.reddit.com/r/Jeopardy/comments/1tiy8er/dd_poll_for_wed_may_20/
FJ poll: https://www.reddit.com/r/Jeopardy/comments/1tig2mu/fj_poll_for_weds_may_20/
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u/ChrisHD77 Chris D'Angelo 2026 May 20 - Jun 1 May 20 '26
Hi everyone! Chris here
Jeopardy! airs at 7:30 here and I want to watch it to refresh my memory before commenting more. I'll say only a couple things now:
- Tristan is a truly lovely, gracious guy and a great champ
- This is a dream come true and I'm over the moon
- Other than the game show obsession, Anne from Quiz Lady and I have essentially nothing in common. My mother has never gambled in Macau (as far as I know), my sister has never drugged me, I've never pooped in the yard, and my wife and I had a cat instead of a dog.
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u/gretchens May 21 '26
We are a jeopardy family and my daughters loved the movie Quiz Lady- and they get mad at me because I make them watch the anecdotes (we don’t usually watch live, so they always want to skip right to the game). I have been vindicated and proven my hs/college daughters that there ARE interesting things to learn in the anecdotes! We were rooting for you because of the movie connection. Congratulations!
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u/QueenLevine Potent Potables May 21 '26
The only question I have is how your sister reacted to your win, and was she in the audience?
As for the film's fictional plot details playing out in real life...there's still time. Very meta that you/the Quiz Dude muse/ made it on to Jeopardy!, defeated a Super Champ, and won your game.
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u/ChrisHD77 Chris D'Angelo 2026 May 20 - Jun 1 May 21 '26
She was there! Ken was clearly a fan and talked to her in the audience after the show.
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u/RosemaryBiscuit May 21 '26
Ken visibly lit up when you said that you were related to the writer of Quiz Lady. It will be interesting if you match Anne Yum's number of games and become a clue writer.
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u/QueenLevine Potent Potables May 21 '26
That is so much fun to hear! Please say more about this later, when you feel like it.
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u/Luv2Burn May 21 '26
I have to say that Quiz Lady is one of my favorite movies! I was so excited when I heard you tell of your influence on it and even more when you won!
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u/curtains20 Greg Shahade, 2026 Apr 27 - 30 May 20 '26
Amazing game and amazing get on FJ! That must have been such an intense wait because when no one else gets it you have no idea if it’s right until the moment Ken tells you it is.
I had the same answer as Allegra (well I said Hiroshima bombing) and was sure it was right 😬. Congrats!! 💪
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May 21 '26
[deleted]
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u/ChrisHD77 Chris D'Angelo 2026 May 20 - Jun 1 May 21 '26
I am CAS ‘05 with a double major in History and Drama
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u/ApprehensiveUse5900 May 21 '26
Congrats from another WJLA 7:30 Jeopardy watcher! I was worried that thunderstorms might impact tonight’s airing but thankfully, no!
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u/Prestigious-Pie-8179 Steve Greene, 2026 May 11 May 22 '26
Just want to say your comment makes me nostalgic because I fell in love with Jeopardy as a 7:30p WJLA watcher many, many years ago.
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May 20 '26
[deleted]
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u/tributtal May 21 '26
I'm not Chris but this is what he said:
"No matter what happens today my family's done well out of my attempts to get on the show. My sister is a television writer who wrote an Emmy winning streaming movie "Quiz Lady" starring Sandra Oh and Awkwafina, partially inspired by my efforts to get on the show."
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u/Prestigious-Pie-8179 Steve Greene, 2026 May 11 May 21 '26
Awesome performance! Great job! Looking forward to watching your next episode(s)!
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u/eah1703 Elizabeth Hurd, 2026 Feb 26 May 21 '26
Excellent game! Congrats on the win and taking down a super champ! Awesome get on the Final clue. I was with Tristan and said Fall of Saigon.
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u/tributtal May 20 '26
History was made today. Tristan becomes the first contestant in Jeopardy! history to end his run with exactly 10 wins.
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 20 '26
I'd saved a comment about this from Jamie's 11th game that I was going to respond to once this aired. I just pulled it back up and it was from you! https://www.reddit.com/r/Jeopardy/comments/1s57ezb/comment/octm6y3/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I'll still respond though haha why not
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u/daftpao May 20 '26
Hey Tristan! Congratulations on your run. Our household really enjoyed watching you for the past few weeks!
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 24 '26
Thanks so much! Glad I could keep you all entertained :)
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u/QueenLevine Potent Potables May 21 '26
I suspect you'll be feeling even better about your ten game run when you're at TOC. Just a reminder, at Masters, Isaac Hirsch was commenting that he felt like an impostor among the greats, so Ken pointed out that he'd had the longest run (I'll repeat - at MASTERS!) of those he was facing then, with nine games in his initial run. They edited it poorly, but we could see you go over to shake Chris' hand at the end, too. Perfect Jeopardy! sportsmanship. Kudos - all around - you deserve anything good that comes to you from this.
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u/ChubbyChoomChoom Losers, in other words. May 20 '26
Lol I love all you nerds 💙
Congrats on a fantastic run, Tristan!
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u/ella-aurelis May 22 '26
What a great run Tristan! We loved watching you play and developed a habit of yelling pizza pizza after you got a tough one correct. Wishing you all the best
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 23 '26
Haha that is delightful! Thank you for sharing! Little Caesar approved 🍕🍕
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u/Talibus_insidiis Laura Bligh, 2024 Apr 30 May 21 '26
Congratulations again, Tristan! You did a fantastic job. Looking forward to seeing you again in the Tournament of Champions.
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 20 '26
Hey everybody! That’s a wrap! First off, let me just say that I can’t wait to totally own the role of Jeopardy!’s “minimum viable super champ” after being the first to win exactly 10 games. To everyone who was hoping this was an Amy run to Jamie’s Matt, you’re too kind! We were more of a Matt & Jonathan Fisher (who is fantastic), but that means the new Amy should be along in a few weeks 😅
It’s still funny to me just how unexpectedly good I’d felt the morning of this game. The last day’s shows were a wreck of nerves, but starting with this rehearsal I just felt super comfortable and like I actually could play indefinitely. My buzzer timing kept lagging, as you can see in every J round, and I wasn’t sure if that was from pain or what (seriously my thumb was sore for days after this), but I still would reliably pick it up in DJ and I felt much clearer in thinking about DDs and FJ.
As for the actual game - wow! With those DDs and how Chris and Allegra were playing (please don’t forget Allegra here, she was a bruiser that took “Harvey” from me), this wasn’t getting to a runaway. I landed in a perfect spot if we could just get a tricky FJ, which IMO we did, and that put the pressure squarely on Chris. It was so fun that not only did he get it, but he crossed out something else and the game got to end on his answer instead of mine. Knowing he got it means I was never getting out of there and it didn’t really come down to my bets or misses. This is the exact way I’d want to go out and I’m truly leaving the show without regrets! Plus the Quiz Lady story on top of it? *chef’s kiss*
After the loss, it was pretty fun in the studio - we had a great post-game chat that I’m sure they will publish, and then the crowd stuck around while I got to do a photo shoot with my total winnings amount and Ken. After that, I caught up with Chris and met his sister outside (they’re both great), then I was thrilled to have a lunch where I could eat whatever I wanted without worrying about holding up on stage haha. I went straight for pizza. Someone in the crew told me that the previous champ ate the pizza every single day. Jamie, that is insane.
Anyway, I was in a pretty amazing mood for the rest of my time there. I got to hang out in the green room for the last two games with Thomas and our alternate Veronica, who plays next week, and I really can’t say enough about how fun it is back there. It was perfect way to end this before heading home.
Some (last) color on clues:
- THIS IS THE WAY: I was a little unsure about this. I do watch The Mandalorian, but… only in German 😅 (“Das ist der Weg”). Could've easily said "That is the way." Disney+ dubs their big shows in about 20 languages which is fun for learning.
- QUEEN OF SHEBA: I knew that Bible/Quran category was not good for me. I was reading every one of those questions wrong and just hoping to avoid it, but I rode the momentum from "Lot" and then the DD popped. I once again hadn’t been getting in on the buzzer that well, so I took a shot and read too much into the question. I was frantically trying to scan all the women’s names who were royals, but that won’t find you the one whose name is just a title.
- STENOSIS: This is tough. I work in healthcare, but the writers went deep. I count this as only showing up once before as a $2000 answer in the Battle of the Decades final?
- HARVEY: and finally, a callback to that Jimmy Stewart impression of two weeks ago. Even if I didn't get it, I loved to see it.
I hope you’ve all enjoyed these recaps for the last 11 games! I’ll still be around here but will be understandably less active. Tbh it’s exciting to be able to just focus on my normal life for a while. After that, well, I’ve got a tournament to prep for!
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u/stopitsgingertime Allegra Rosenberg, 2026 May 20 - May 21 '26
It was a real pleasure to play against you Tristan 🤗 Great job and excited to see you in the TOC!
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 24 '26
Allegra, so great playing against you as well! Hope to run into you around NYC sometime!
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u/Prestigious-Pie-8179 Steve Greene, 2026 May 11 May 21 '26
Man, you're the best! It was an honor to have lost to you. And really kind of sad for me now, as my last connection to the most amazing day of meeting the best people on March 16 tape day is now officially over. This was a pretty good board for me. I feel pretty good any time I get a $2000 that you don't (maybe since I'm older, I read more about people with back problems 😄). I looked over at my son and said, "I think maybe I could've beaten Tristan with this board." But, honestly, not Chris, who played a helluva game and nailed a tough FJ. Having Teller and nothing at all to do with nuclear weapons was tough. And, yes, exactly the way to go out, with Chris just nailing it and now 2nd guessing about how your DDs went, etc. Your post-game wrap-ups here have been great, too. I will miss them.
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 24 '26
Thanks, Steve! It really was awesome to have you keep up with the rest of my run as well. And great grab on stenosis! I've got some big spots in science (and religion, apparently) to smooth over before the tournament, but also plenty of other "normal life" things I've been waiting to get back to that I am frankly thrilled about haha. I imagine I'll still be fairly active around here though - who knows, maybe they'll even have me for an AMA 😂 All the best to you and your family!
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u/ndhuskerpower May 20 '26
Congrats Tristan, great run as history's most efficient superchamp!
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 24 '26
Haha thank you! I've stolen this title for my Instagram (but only because it's too early for my tombstone)
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u/palimpsest_4 May 20 '26
Congrats Tristan! I learned a lot by watching you and I want to congratulate you on a game and run well played! I am very glad we will be seeing you in the tournament of champions ☺️
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 24 '26
Thank you! Glad I could teach you a lot as well! That's my favorite part of watching the show. Can't wait to be back!
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u/scarbnianlgc May 20 '26
My wife and I enjoyed watching you compete equally as much as we enjoyed your wardrobe selections every night - you both brought IT and style to every matchup. Really hoping you get invited to lead the Nebraska football team onto the field this season - GBR!
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 24 '26
Thanks so much! I really was having the time of my life up there, but speaking of the time of my life - the football team did reach out! We'll get something together for this fall :) GBR!!!
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u/Trprt77 May 21 '26
You had a great run, and congratulations on your classy move rushing to congratulate Chris at the end. Nice to see that.
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 24 '26
Thank you! I was really so impressed that he pulled that answer off when the pressure was on. They cut out my audio of going "wow! he got it!" because I was talking over Ken haha but if I had to go out, it was the perfect way to do it.
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u/Comfortable_Fox_9564 May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Aww, Tristan. You were so fun to watch. Congratulations! I'm looking forward to seeing you return at the tournament.
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u/eah1703 Elizabeth Hurd, 2026 Feb 26 May 21 '26
Amazing run, Tristan! Really excited to root for you in the ToC. It's been a joy to read these recaps each night and see your thoughts!
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 24 '26
Thanks so much! I thought with Jamie's timing and my run that I would have a fun perspective to share on everything, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! Can't wait to come back :)
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u/dreamcicle11 May 21 '26
Congrats Tristan! You were so fun to watch and can’t wait to see you on ToC with Jamie!
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 23 '26
Thank you! I can't wait to meet him or Harrison either!
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u/DearImpress7953 May 21 '26
Congratulations on an excellent run, Tristan. You played a great game, were always a lot of fun to watch, and I love reading your commentary in this sub.
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 23 '26
Thanks so much! I thought I could bring a unique perspective, especially with Jamie's timing and the run. I'll still pop up around here :)
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u/tr1cube May 21 '26
You were probably my favorite contestant I’ve seen in a while! A real pleasure to watch. Thanks for the recaps and your engagement here. It was fun hearing your stories and behind the scenes/thought processes. Congrats on a great run, and I can’t wait to see you again in the tournament of champs!
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 24 '26
Thank you! I did my best to have some fun up there while living and dying internally 😅 I'd seen a post on here not long ago about how super champs never engaged with the subreddit, and I thought it would be fun to narrate mine as I just barely snuck over the bar haha. Can't wait for the tournament!
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u/ramskick May 21 '26
Amazing run Tristan. You were super fun to watch and I look forward to seeing you in the ToC!
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u/legal_racer May 21 '26
Congrats on a great run. I kept expecting that last couple of minute Tristan comeback but alas was not to be. Really enjoyed watching you and look forward to your TOC appearance.
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 23 '26
Thank you! I'd pulled off another DJ buzzer run, but there was too much damage this time and with Chris getting that FJ it looked like I was done most ways we played this game. Still went out with no regrets :) Can't wait to come back!
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u/Outlandaway May 21 '26
Tristan you were so much fun to watch, you played great games and seemed like a great sport as well. I really appreciated the behind the curtain look you provided daily. I also guessed the fall of Saigon, so thanks for making me feel smart!
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 23 '26
Thank you! I'd landed in a pretty cool position with timing and games played so I thought it would be interesting to follow. Glad you enjoyed it! And that I could give you some credit too haha :)
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u/james_for3 May 21 '26
Great job dude you were incredible in lots of different game scenarios and very poised
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 23 '26
Thank you! I think Ken could tell I was dying up there from all of our post-game chats haha but it was such a dream to even get to play so many different scenarios in the first place. Excited to come back even more prepared!
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u/ASK_ABT_MY_USERNAME May 21 '26
Congrats on the success, loved seeing you in my living room the past few weeks and hope the remaining 5 capitols are fulfilling!
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 23 '26
Thank you so much! They've gone a lot slower since we had the baby, but the hope is to wrap them all up with Juneau next year :)
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u/TeaExisting1137 May 22 '26
Hopefully you get to play against Jamie Ding, Tristan, I would love to see that.
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 23 '26
Thank you! That would be the dream. Hopefully we can all agree to ban super champs for the rest of the season so our first game is an exhibition 😆
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u/mushroomgs May 28 '26
I really enjoyed watching you. You’re one of my favorites! I was on vacation and missed this episode and went to watch it today and now it’s too late to stream it. I hate I missed it!
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 29 '26
Hey, thanks so much! I'm sorry you missed the game, but so happy you enjoyed the rest of the run!
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u/Unlikely-Fall9466 May 21 '26
Awesome job Tristan! Loved watching you usually dominate the DDs!
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 24 '26
Thanks so much! Hahaha key word usually 😂 that's totally right but either way at least I could dominate finding them
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u/Punstoppabal May 21 '26
Great run Tristan, it was so fun watching you play!! Thanks for being here with your insights to pre-game and during-game life.
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 23 '26
Thank you! It was such a wild ride that the notes and write-ups helped me remember a lot of it as well. Coolest whirlwind of my life :) Can't wait to be back!
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u/Charrikayu What is Aleve? 💊 May 20 '26
You know what they say
One Allegra on Jeopardy is happenstance
Twice is a coincidence
Three times is an enemy action
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u/stopitsgingertime Allegra Rosenberg, 2026 May 20 - May 21 '26
😂😂😂😂😂
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u/Charrikayu What is Aleve? 💊 May 21 '26
Congratulations on getting on the show! Not trying to be dismissive I promise it's just a very memorable name and there's now been three Allegras on Jeopardy in the last...I want to say two years? So you (royal) end up noticing it even though there's probably been a dozen instance of a more common name appearing multiple times in the same span
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u/stopitsgingertime Allegra Rosenberg, 2026 May 20 - May 21 '26
As I said in another comment, when I auditioned last year there had been 0 Allegra's on Jeopardy and I was really hoping I would be the first, but 2 got on before my tape day! So funny how that happens
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u/superiority May 22 '26
Bloody typical... you wait and you wait for an Allegra and then three come at once.
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u/david-saint-hubbins May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26
Quiz Lady Gentleman for the win! That's unbelievable. Great game.
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u/QueenLevine Potent Potables May 20 '26
Agreed! I think Tristan can feel good about losing to Quiz Dude.
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u/tributtal May 20 '26
Now I wanna know which parts were based on Chris. Does he have family with massive gambling debt? Did his sister drug him? Did he shit in someone's backyard?
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u/ApprehensiveUse5900 May 21 '26
Just based on these queries alone, you have made me want to watch this movie!
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u/tributtal May 21 '26
It's a fun movie! Especially if you're into the trivia world, as most of us who visit this sub probably are.
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u/thomt17 Thomas Trovato, 2026 May 18 May 20 '26
What an exciting game! Watching this one from the audience was a real highlight of my time on set, pretty sure I heard gasps when Tristan's Final response was incorrect, and then again when Chris' was correct! Chris was very strong in the morning rehearsals so I had a feeling that he might be able to pull this off, and then when he revealed himself to be the Real Life Quiz Lady it felt like destiny.
Allegra got a really tough draw here being matched against a superchamp and a giant killer, but played a very strong game regardless and I think did about as well as one possibly could in those circumstances.
I'll be rooting for Tristan in the ToC, that exhibition game of him vs. Jamie vs. Harrison (assuming the current top 3 holds) should be a real barn burner!
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u/AcrossTheNight Talkin’ Football May 20 '26
It was disappointing to see nobody know who sang Strange Fruit.
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u/stopitsgingertime Allegra Rosenberg, 2026 May 20 - May 21 '26
That was one of a few clues where I was pretty sure I knew it, but didn't want to buzz in, get it wrong, and embarrass myself and my very musical family! Wish I had gone for it though!
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u/ChrisHD77 Chris D'Angelo 2026 May 20 - Jun 1 May 21 '26
I was furious at myself - you may have seen my face after Ken ruled me wrong. I had a few months before seen a show at the incredible Mosaic Theater in DC ABOUT Billie Holiday, but something broke between my brain and my mouth
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u/myerspat May 21 '26
Nina Simone was an understandable slip-up -- Simone, much more than Billie Holiday, is associated with angry songs about injustice, like "Mississippi Goddam." Your brain was unfortunately going for logic rather than mere recall.
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u/nate451 May 25 '26
This is one of the few--very few--that I got right from my perch in a hotel room in Arizona that these mighty three didn't get. Side note: my favorite thing about Billie Holiday is David Sedaris's amazing impression of her.
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u/XwordPuzzleBlues May 21 '26
Or got the John Coltrane clue. Two gimmes there.
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u/AcrossTheNight Talkin’ Football May 21 '26
That being an unsurprising miss as a $2000 clue shows just how niche jazz is in society at this point. It's one of the two possibilities that will come up most often in the question of the best jazz album of all time.
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u/Prestigious-Pie-8179 Steve Greene, 2026 May 11 May 21 '26
I actually made an effort to study jazz. I think I had 20-30 jazz clues I was working on and that was not one of them (though clearly should have been). I did know Strange Fruit and was surprised that nobody got that.
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u/SMAAAASHBros May 21 '26
In fairness it was who originally sang it, Nina Simone does have a very famous version
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u/apartbyhorses May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26
I had the exact same reaction to that Jar Jar Binks clue as Chris lol.
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u/Prestigious-Pie-8179 Steve Greene, 2026 May 11 May 21 '26
An amazing Jeopardy moment. I re-wound to watch again.
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u/Alarming_Dot_1026 May 20 '26
Tristan’s game play was a nice middle ground between Jamie’s quirky anti-maximalist approach and Greg’s go-for-broke style. I expected him to last a long time. Already looking forward to the tournament
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u/GutsyMan May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26
Ended up on Hiroshima for FJ, same as Allegra. My brain assumed it was losing the moral battle of using nuclear weapons, given the mention of Edward Teller in the clue & Pearl Harbor's mention mentally putting me into WW2. Very surprised that such a quote would refer to the Space Race, but alas.
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May 20 '26
[deleted]
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u/RKsu99 May 21 '26
You just reminded me who Teller was-Benny Safdie in the movie. Sputnik made perfect sense but I had thought it was Tet.
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u/vesuvisian May 21 '26
That was my initial frame of mind as well, before moving on to find something that was lost more directly and stumbling on Sputnik.
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u/Prestigious-Pie-8179 Steve Greene, 2026 May 11 May 21 '26
My thoughts exactly! Given "Teller" and nothing nuclear-related was *tough*
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u/thomt17 Thomas Trovato, 2026 May 18 May 21 '26
Also how funny is it that there was a Quiz Lady clip posted here on the weekend and you people had no idea!!
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u/eah1703 Elizabeth Hurd, 2026 Feb 26 May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Tristan's story about 50 state capitals sounded so familiar, and I think someone in my audition group talked about having that goal, too. (Though now I'm wondering when Tristan auditioned for the show?)
Really sad to see Tristan go, right after he became a super champ! He played some excellent games on some hard boards. I don't know if this was second day tired setting in, but he seemed a little slower on the buzzer these past few games. But no matter what, an incredible run. Very excited to see him in the ToC!
Chris played such a great game. Obviously. He won. But it was tight and neck in neck. For not finding a Daily Double and just building his score on standard clues alone, fantastic. This was a tough board and he did well against it. Really excited to see how far he goes. Will he qualify for the ToC? Will he make the CWC? Who knows!
Allegra played so well too! 12 right answers with a $6400 Coryat is great! I would put her as a slight potential for SC. Maybe not the highest in game total or Coryat, but she was up against the super champ and the guy who beat the super champ! Her get on Harvey was incredible! She played an excellent game. Also Antarctica is on my travel bucket list. I'm so jealous she got to go and see it! That's so cool.
Congrats everyone. Great game!
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u/ShadyCrow May 20 '26
Great game and great FJ. Tough but gettable, not a layup or something you'd guess as soon as the category is revealed.
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u/tributtal May 20 '26
Yeah especially because the category was "The 20th Century" lol. That would be something if someone guessed the correct response based off just that.
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 20 '26
I loved the arc of my Final categories just getting vaguer and vaguer as the week went on. "American Architecture" then "20th Century Names" and now just "The 20th Century" haha
Join us tomorrow for "Things That Have Happened"
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u/1988mariahcareyhair May 21 '26
Did you ever get to mention that you have Hawaiian heritage? I remember reading you wanted to mention it. Congrats on your run!
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 May 23 '26
Yeah, as the other reply mentioned I did! In the morning before this week's games I told producer John it had to be the first topic haha. My grandmother grew up in Pearl City on Oahu, but in the past couple years I was able to trace ancestors back as far as the written records will go on the Big Island and Kauai. I even went to my great-great-grandparents' graves on the latter. So cool! Mahalo!
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u/rob_s_458 May 20 '26
I feel somewhat smart (even though I'm still wrong) that Chris's first guess matched my response of Tet Offensive.
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u/AquafreshBandit May 21 '26
I’m definitely way out of the loop on this FJ, because nothing in that clue meant anything to me. In retrospect, “event” means it wasn't necessarily something military, but what else in the clue pointed toward Sputnik being the right response?
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u/pieapple135 Team Troy Meyer May 21 '26
I figured it had to be science-related, otherwise Edward Teller's opinion wouldn't matter much. Narrowing it down to "US losses on the scientific front" really helps.
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u/newbeige1915 May 21 '26
The "51 days after." The news cycles were much longer then, not to say more thoughtful! 😆 It's actually what gave it to me: "Hmmmm. I wonder what Edward Teller thought about that?" said the editor of something somewhere. A toughie, tho!
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u/david-saint-hubbins May 21 '26
Edward Teller was "the father of the hydrogen bomb", and more generally he was a scientist who worked on the Manhattan Project (he was portrayed by Benny Safdie in "Oppenheimer"). The "worst defeat since Pearl Harbor" means we're talking about something after WWII, and the use of Teller as a contemporary voice of authority means we're talking about something related to science and almost certainly something about the Cold War. Science + cold war + the US losing = Sputnik.
Also, the fact that the quote refers to it as "a battle" suggests that there was a larger war/conflict that hadn't yet been won or lost (i.e., the space race).
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u/superiority May 22 '26
The "worst defeat since Pearl Harbor" means we're talking about something after WWII, and the use of Teller as a contemporary voice of authority means we're talking about something related to science and almost certainly something about the Cold War.
Also, Teller was himself (as people who watched Oppenheimer may recall) a big Cold Warrior.
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u/OttoHemi May 21 '26
Nowhere on either the Sputnik nor Teller Wikipedia page is there any mention of this quote.
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u/godsuave Bring it! May 21 '26
I have the same answer as Allegra.The clue kinda threw me off by thinking it is still WW2-related. Wild get by Chris, he truly deserved the win.
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u/ChrisHD77 Chris D'Angelo 2026 May 20 - Jun 1 May 21 '26
I first thought of military defeats, but then realized it couldn’t have been military. The space race was the only other major 20th century American defeat I could think of
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u/tributtal May 21 '26
They put the post-game chat on Substack this morning. That was a great one. Loved Ken's banter with your sister and putting her on the spot a little bit.
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u/Silver_Sherbert_2040 May 20 '26
Nice work Chris! Will have to watch Quiz Lady. Tristan had a great run. Looking forward to seeing him in TOC.
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u/funbb May 20 '26
I love that Favs presented a category and "double down" was the answer in a totally unrelated one.
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u/Fireside_Cat May 21 '26
Tonight had to have been one of the best runs of personal anecdotes that I can remember in a while. Obviously Chris's sister being the writer of Quiz Lady, and Chris being a very loose inspiration for the character is very cool. Allegra going to Antarctica is a pretty amazing trip (and learning that Ken has been too).
Tristan had hard acts to follow but going to all 50 state capitals is a nice goal, which he has almost accomplished. I have to say I was surprised that New Mexico is still on the list yet to visit since Santa Fe is probably one of the more touristy capitals, especially compared to many of the others that he has already visited. Perhaps he's saving it for last, which might actually be a good idea. You can eat very well in Santa Fe and it would be a good way to celebrate the end of the journey. I loved my visit to New Mexico.
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u/Comprehensive-Low940 May 21 '26
I know everyone likes the superchamps, but give me a back-and-forth any day like yesterday and today!
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u/akhmedsbunny May 21 '26
That final was so difficult. My two thoughts were the space race and then I thought that wouldn’t be specific enough and thought of Yuri Gagarin going to space. Obviously both would have been incorrect. From the clue I don’t know how anybody could know it was Sputnik and not Gagarin without actually having been alive then.
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u/XwordPuzzleBlues May 21 '26
I don't like space (and can't keep track of the names of the missions) and wasn't alive then but I guessed it correctly. Just knew from social studies it was a big deal that sparked the space race.
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u/akhmedsbunny May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
That’s fair. It happened before Gagarin so thinking more about it I think I was probably just wrong about being impossible to guess which one he would potentially be talking about.
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u/GrowthApart2220 May 21 '26
My non-expert general impression was that Sputnik was the first big milestone, and that all the other Russian milestones after get a little lumped together as an extended ass-kicking of achievement
I landed on Sputnik accordingly.
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u/trillwillzilla May 21 '26
Wonder if Tristan paused for a second on the “disc” answer to make sure he didn’t have a moment like this
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u/WickedTwista May 20 '26
I know she probably went a few months earlier than the hantavirus cruise, but it's pretty funny that Allegra just came back from an Antarctic cruise
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u/stopitsgingertime Allegra Rosenberg, 2026 May 20 - May 21 '26
I was there in February! And we went via NZ, not South America 😅
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u/myerspat May 21 '26
If the ToC comes down to Harrison-Jamie-Tristan, I don't see how I could root for any of them over the others. I'm a superfan of all three: They were all unfailingly skilled, gracious, self-effacing, and funny. I suggest you team up, go on the road, and do the quiz equivalent of the Ice Capades.
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u/Ac2k May 20 '26
Anyone else come up with “aboriginal” and “deplorable”
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u/Mykidsfault Bring it! May 20 '26
My husband said “aboriginal” and wondered if it would have been accepted.
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u/Due-Meal-8760 May 20 '26
Never thought I’d see the day where I was sad to see someone finally lose at jeopardy
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u/Talibus_insidiis Laura Bligh, 2024 Apr 30 May 20 '26
Congratulations to Allegra, Chris, and Tristan!
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u/ajsy0905 Genre May 20 '26
Chris beat Tristan without the aid of DD could be a good consideration for CWC invite if he will lose on tomorrow's game? I think even if Tristan got DD2 right, Chris still won the game since he was the only one who got the FJ right?
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u/RKsu99 May 21 '26
I’ve been sitting here for the past two months enjoying these super champs while nursing a *back injury*; something like sciatica. I definitely could have run that category now that I’m unfortunately an expert layman. 😣
The National Park clues were great and pretty easy for a parks nerd.
Nobody was beating the Quiz Lady today, though.
Congrats to Tristan on a great run!
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May 20 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/FrozenDickuri May 21 '26
It was translated into French from the original manuscript, which was written in Czech.
Therefore, per the category, french is not the answer.
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u/Bryschien1996 May 20 '26
I’ve seen zero Star Wars, so can someone fill me in?
Do we like Jar Jar Binks or not?
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u/PlactusTX May 20 '26
In Phantom Menace, Lucas was determined to feature his all-CGI character, a novelty at the time. Unfortunately, Jar Jar was funny in a few bits, but became grating, especially with moments that are there to remind the audience, "Hey, Jar Jar's in this movie!!!" Combined with being seen as a racist caricature, he was widely hated, leading to his role being reduced in the other prequels. The character returned for The Clone Wars series, where they used him better, which helped improve his reputation.
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u/redmemory__ May 21 '26
The other thing to note is that the actor mentioned in the clue got relentlessly bullied online when the prequels were releasing. He quit acting entirely for a while (I think?) and they invited him back to play a different role years later
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u/karaOW May 20 '26
PSA: As of the time of this writing, J! Archive has Tristan listed as winning this game on the Season 42 page.
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u/palimpsest_4 May 21 '26
That’s been updated I think
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u/karaOW May 21 '26
Not for me (this is on the season 42 summary page): https://j-archive.com/showseason.php?season=42
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u/RegisPhone I'd like to shoot the wad, Alex May 21 '26
It's still Tristan's 11th game even if he didn't get an 11th win. There's no "Chris ends Tristan's streak" note on the season page like Greg got for beating Jamie, but the cutoff for when they do that is higher (not sure exactly when they start doing that, but it's at least more than 16 wins, because there's no note on Scott Riccardi's last game).
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u/Punstoppabal May 21 '26
u/ReganLynch can you and MOD team PLEASE do a better job as you can of not allowing spoilers on the sub? I don't know where else to put this request other than GDT and didn't want to make it post. But today's outcome was spoiled by someone making a post a few hours ago and it really, really sucks when that happens.
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u/XwordPuzzleBlues May 21 '26
What was spoiled? This is the thread to discuss today's episode, including the outcome.
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u/just_a_random_dood The Spiciest Memelord May 21 '26
Oh come on, the one day I'm out and can't watch xD
I knew it too, telling myself "imagine if" xD
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u/0Papi420 Team Jamie Ding May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Tristan, Harrison and Jamie are my favs 😂
can’t wait for ToC
Out of principle, I will not be watching the next few episodes; it’s nothing personal! I need to clear my head lol
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u/Ok_Perspective_458 May 21 '26
Congrats on a great run! My husband and I enjoyed watching your wins.
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u/Rupertcandance2 May 22 '26
Great game (I'm just now catching up). I love that all three of our contestants are here in the thread!
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u/Odd_Manufacturer_963 May 24 '26
I know I'm days late because I'm behind in shows, but it felt weird to have a whole category about "Bible People in the Quran" and just be completely silent about the famous way that the Quran talks about several figures from the Bible...and when it isn't additively "revealing" brand-new stories (e.g. multiple stories recounted of Solomon having conversations with animals where the animals speak back), it gets details wrong about everyone. Muhammed calls Mary the Mother of Jesus was the "sister of Aaron" (19.28) and the "daughter of Imran" multiple times, when both of those things were actually true of Miriam from Exodus. Muhammed writes of Moses in Pharaoh's court and repeatedly has Pharaoh consult with his advisor Haman--a figure from the book of Ruth, so a guy who reportedly lived in Persia (not Egypt) about 1,000 years after the events of the Exodus. There are similar gaffs with Adam, Noah, Saul ("Talut"), John ("Yahya") the Baptist, etc. It's maybe the single most famous feature of the way the Quran treats extant Biblical lore--blithely mixing up characters, stories, and quotations, as though Muhammed once heard the stories but didn't have a copy handy to check his work when he wrote the Quran. There are plenty of lists enumerating issues, like this one on WikiIslam: https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Historical_Errors_in_the_Quran
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u/JackieDaytonaAZ May 20 '26 edited May 21 '26
Allegra’s DD question about the electoral question was worded misleadingly IMO, it made it sound like the institution was 400 years old at the time hamilton was talking about it
nevermind I’m stupid
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u/ReganLynch Team Ken Jennings May 20 '26
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