Sergeant First Class Randy Pike was in 3rd place in Jeopardy!. The leader had $14,000. The second-place person had $7,600. Pike had $5,600: still in the game but he needed some help.
There was one category left: if Pike could sweep that category, he would have $11,600 — not counting a Daily Double on the board — and at least be very much alive in final Jeopardy.
The final category: Canadian cities.
$1600 — "An intersection in this provincial capital is the original western terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway."
No one had an answer. You had to know that British Columbia was the furthest western province in Canada and come up with its capital: Victoria. Vancouver would have been wrong, but plausible. Pike could have looked to his left and read the name of his opponent: Victoria. No answer means you don't get money, but you don't lose money either.
$1200 [Daily Double] — "The swan is a symbol of this Ontario city; each year, white & black swans are released into the Avon River."
Pike guesses Edmonton, though Edmonton is not in Ontario. If you know the Avon River, Stratford is the only logical guess. If you are on Jeopardy!, chances are you know something about Shakespeare. Pike bet $5400, so he was down to $200.
$2000 — "This Alberta resort was the first municipality to be incorporated within a Canadian national park."
Pike guessed Whistler, which is in British Columbia. The question referred to an Alberta city. I knew this question because I have been to Banff. Lake Louise and Jasper were viable guesses, much more than Whistler. Now Pike was down to -$1800.
$400 — "In 1992, this city's Velodrome, once used in the Olympic Games, was transformed into an environmental biodome."
Pike likely thought this would be the easier answer left. Canada had hosted only one Summer Olympics, 1976 in Montréal. There was only one possible guess. Pike gave no answer. Still at -$1800.
$800 — "Residents of this Saskatchewan city are called Moose Javians."
The clue mentions Saskatchewan and we know the word "Moose" is in the answer. Yet, Pike says "What is Winnipeg?" The woman who was in 2nd place laughed at that answer. The residents of Moose Jaw would have been horrified at that guess. Pike finished at -$2600 and could not participate in Final Jeopardy.
If Pike got all 5 questions correct, including his Daily Double wager, he would have had $15,800 and would have been in the lead. Getting some of the answers would have kept him alive; 1 correct answer and we might not have written this story.
Dan and Victoria may or may not have known the answers, but strategy called for them to stand back and let Pike sink or swim on his own. Then again, all 3 contestants left this category for the end of Double Jeopardy.
Realistically, a Jeopardy! contestant not from Canada could have come up with 2-3 answers from the list. Stratford and Montréal were viable Jeopardy answers. Moose Jaw might not have come quickly for an answer.
Banff was the toughest answer. Even Americans who have heard of British Columbia might not quickly tune in that Victoria is the capital. Speed matters.
Jeopardy host Alex Trebek has had to deal with contestants lack of knowledge about Canada. Trebek is from Sudbury, Ontario, which would have made for a fine answer to a Jeopardy question about "Canadian cities."
Of the 5 questions, Pike only gave 3 answers. In 2 of them, Pike guessed an answer from the province next door: Winnipeg for Moose Jaw and Whistler for Banff. Maybe Western Canada was the problem. Guessing Edmonton, several provinces away from Ontario, defined "wild guess" but then again, Edmonton is in Canada.
CanadianCrossing.com U.S. OTA TV coverage
Geography is a weakness for a lot of people, including Jeopardy! contestants. Those in North America could use some improvement, especially with Canada and the United States. Travel helps too. I knew Victoria, Stratford, Banff, and Montréal in great part because I have traveled there. I've been to the Biodome and Banff National Park.
A little reading doesn't hurt either, such as reading stories at CanadianCrossing.com.
video credit: YouTube/Trade Marck
photo credit: Jeopardy!
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