Jeopardy! has been on the air for decades, but the game show has kept things fresh over the years. However, one new type of category had everyone frustrated, from contestants and fans to the host of the show.
New ‘Jeopardy!’ Category Has Players Stumped
In a recent episode of Jeopardy!, players could choose clues from a “Sounds” category. The contestants were played a sound effect along with a description of the noise and had to guess what they just heard.
For example, one clue read, “It’s a fun activity for kids at the shore, especially once they learn the ideal 20-degree angle.”
That clue ended up stumping all three contestants. Brett Myer attempted to answer with a guess of “listening to seashells,” but the answer was actually “skipping stones.”
The category continued to confuse the contestants and any correct answers were few and far between.
Another clue stumped all three players when it asked them to identify the sound of a trumpet with the clue, “It’s the title of a novel by E.B. White and the sound heard here.”
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Ellen McRae scored points when she correctly answered “flippers” for a clue that had the players guessing about mechanisms on a pinball machine. Myer ended up being the biggest winner in the category, with two correct answers.
He correctly identified the sound of a gas stove, along with giving the right phrase (“cooking with gas”). Myer also won points for his answer of “a howitzer,” with a clue that hinted the sound effect was a “small cannon” named after baseball player Howie Moss.
Viewers Ask Game Show ‘Please Never Do [That] Again’
Throughout the course of the game, host Ken Jennings seemed as frustrated as the players must have been with their subpar gameplay. The new category was a creative idea, but identifying sound effects while also trying to figure out the clues seemed to be a little too much for players.
The “Sounds” category wasn’t a hit with fans either, with one person tweeting, “Please, never do ‘sounds’ category again.” Jeopardy! is always working to keep the game show new and interesting, but it looks like this idea was a dud.