'Jeopardy!' Fans Stunned by 'Super Easy' Final Jeopardy! Clue

Tuesday night's 'Final Jeopardy' clue on Jeopardy! seemed incredibly easy for some viewers — [...]

By Michael Hein

Tuesday night's "Final Jeopardy" clue on Jeopardy! seemed incredibly easy for some viewers — namely, those with a good memory for trending topics on Twitter. The clue read: "In 2019, this public university attempted to trademark the word 'The' for use on clothing and hats." Those who remembered the tweetstorms of that era had the question right on the tips of their tongues.

The contestants took an agonizing 30 seconds to write down their answers and their wagers for this "Final Jeopardy" round. None of them needed the full time, and all three got the answer correct — "what is Ohio State University?" Ohio State University requested a trademark "The Ohio State University" for t-shirts, hats and other merchandise in 2019. Still, it was turned down by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, according to a report by TV Line. This week's guest host, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, was clearly startled by their ready answers.

In fairness, Jeopardy! is a trivia game that rewards extensive knowledge on obscure niche topics, so everyone is bound to know the answers to some questions. The catch here is that recent stories like these are not always as obscure as they seem in the age of social media and trending topics.

Still, that didn't stop critics from wondering if the show itself is losing touch with questions like this. Here is a look at what users are saying about the "easy" Jeopardy! clue.

'Go Bucks'

First and foremost, many, many Ohio State fans responded with praise for the school. As die-hard fans, this clue seemed all too obvious to them.

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Catching Up

Fans catching up on Jeopardy! after missing Tuesday night's episode were left to doubt whether this was really the climactic clue of the night.

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Champ

Jeopardy! champion Doug Dodson took to Twitter to announce that he would not have gotten this question had he been on Tuesday's episode. He saw this as an example of what makes trivia contests so exciting.

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Too Easy

On the other hand, some viewers complained that the question really did seem too easy for the "Final Jeopardy" moment.

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Congratulatory

Others were more positive about the experience, congratulating themselves and others for knowing the answer to this one. Among many fans, trivia brings out humility more than competitiveness.

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How

Some users speculated about why this answer was easy for so many people to remember — perhaps because it got so much news coverage, or because many comedians riffed on it at the time. It was also relatively recent.

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Real Winner

Finally, many Ohio State fans joked that their school was the "real winner" of Jeopardy! On Tuesday night. The competition continues on weeknights at 7 p.m. ET. Check your local listings to find Jeopardy! in your area.

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