Jeopardy Quiz: Will Your Memory Bank Beat Ken Jennings?
Written by Jessica Holom
Last updated · 9 min play time
Can you answer the questions that stumped Jeopardy's longest-running champions? These 20 put everyone from Jennings to Holzhauer out for the count!
Answer: This intellectual beat out the top Jeopardy champions on QuizGriz.
Question: Who is [insert your name here]?
To become a Jeopardy champion, first, you must take a Jeopardy test. Pass that, and you may be randomly selected to audition. Perform well there, and you'll then be in the pool of contestants invited to compete on the live show.
Everyone from Ken Jennings to James Holzhauer has made their way from that online Jeopardy test to their long-running streaks at the podium across from Alex Trebek.
Are you of their caliber? Take this Jeopardy Quiz to find out.
Test your General Knowledge
What do you know about Kanye West? How about Beethoven or Shakespeare? Do you have any idea what an autosome is? Our fun online Jeopardy Quiz will determine whether you have the knowledge and the memory bank to compete against Jeopardy's long-running champions.
Take our educational Jeopardy Quiz and learn if you could hold your own with Ken Jennings. The questions in this quiz are those that stumped the game show's top competitors. Covering everything from pop culture to science, art, and history, this Jeopardy Quiz will prompt you to submit your application for the real trial test.
Do you know who wrote "the genius biographies" box set? Could you name U.S. national parks? What Nobel Peace Prize winner was considered "Ireland's greatest person"? Being a Jeopardy champ with this Jeopardy Quiz means having broad trivia knowledge across multiple sectors.
Take our Jeopardy Quiz now to see whether you could compete with the best and brightest!
Try all of our General Quizzes
There are some of us who are experts in one specific niche. But for those who like to test their knowledge across multiple dimensions, our general quiz collection will scratch that itch.
Combining pop culture questions with history and everything in between, this quiz series will grow your general knowledge to make you a more well-rounded trivia competitor. Try our Daily Trivia quizzes, which are a hodgepodge of general knowledge.
Quiz written by
Jessica HolomJessica Holom is a freelance writer and digital nomad with a background in literature, art, and writing. She believes curiosity never killed a single cat and enjoys learning, world-exploring, and writing about both.
Jeopardy Quiz Questions
20 Questions · 1.9K Plays · No comments
Question 1
Located on Sunset Blvd, the Hollywood Palladium became the setting of this N.D.-born man & his orchestra in 1961
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AWho is Lorin Maazel?
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BWho is Sir Colin Davis?
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CWho is Ludwig van Beethoven?
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DWho is Lawrence Welk?
Who is Lawrence Welk?
The theater on Sunset Boulevard, known as the Hollywood Palladium, was made famous by the Lawrence Welk Show, which ran from 1955 to 1976. His "champagne music" reached the live audience at the Hollywood Palladium, as well as television and radio audiences.
Question 2
Many of the 70,000 white-collar employees of this firm work seasonally for only four months
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AWhat is Amazon?
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BWhat is Federal Express?
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CWhat is Google?
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DWhat is H&R Block?
What is H&R Block?
Ken Jennings' streak ended on this rather simple question. He guessed FedEx instead of H&R Block, which does tax prep. H&R Block reached out to Jennings to offer their tax services following his loss...or huge win; he did walk away with over $2.5 million, after all.
Question 3
Before and After: 1918 pandemic infectious disease plus simple foamy Italian custard
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AWhat is influenzabaglione?
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BWhat is sciaticannoli?
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CWhat is propositiramasu?
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DWhat is conjunctavitisfogliatella?
What is influenzabaglione?
This one's a portmanteau (two-word combo). Influenza – or the 1918 "Spanish flu" pandemic – infected around a third of the global population across two years and in four waves. Zabaglione is an Italian custard that can be eaten warm or cold. Put them together, and what do ya get?!
Question 4
10 miles west of this city lies the skiing village of Snowmass
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AWhat is Aspen, Colorado?
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BWhat is Beijing, China?
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CWhat is Jackson Hole, Wyoming?
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DWhat is Sun Valley, Idaho?
What is Aspen, Colorado?
10 miles west of Aspen, Colorado, Snowmass is a Rocky Mountain ski resort ready for some swoosh, swoosh! The village resort features the biggest of the four Aspen/Snowmass mountains.
Question 5
This Utah national park is named after the sandstone feature pictured here
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AWhat is Arches?
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BWhat is Yellowstone?
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CWhat is Canyonlands?
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DWhat is Zion?
What is Arches?
During "Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time," Ken Jennings – the all-time Jeopardy champion – walked away a winner once again, beating out equally strong opponents, Rutter and Holzhauer. Being that Jennings attended Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City, he might have had the edge in guessing this Utah national park, home to the longest natural arch in North America.
Question 6
Often roasted, squab refers to a baby bird of this type
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AWhat is a partridge?
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BWhat is Big Bird?
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CWhat is a pigeon?
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DWhat is an eagle?
What is a pigeon?
Three Jeopardy contestants guessed goose, turkey, and partridge for this one, but they all got it wrong. From the Swedish word, "skvabb" – meaning "loose, fat flesh" – squabs are baby pigeons, often eaten.
Question 7
Applied as an abrasive for grinding and polishing, this birthstone, combined with gold, is an official color for Florida State
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AWhat is diamond?
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BWhat is garnet?
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CWhat is emerald?
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DWhat is quartz?
What is garnet?
One of the Jeopardy champions with the biggest payouts, Holzhauer doubled down on the Daily Double but came up short. Guessing that the birthstone was a diamond, it's actually the garnet's abrasive powders that make it perfect for grinding and polishing.
Question 8
Grabbed by a Frenchman in a 1901 novel, a girl is “perhaps carried off to” this awful destiny
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AWhat is "the seven circles of hell"?
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BWhat is "a fate worse than death"?
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CWhat is "Never Neverland"?
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DWhat is "the inferno"?
What is "a fate worse than death"?
The phrase, "a fate worse than death," first appeared in 1810. Edgar Rice Burroughs' <i>Tarzan of the Apes</i> popularized it when the book was published in 1914. The phrase is used when Jane is being carried off by an ape.
Question 9
"The genius biographies" box set by this author features books on Leonardo da Vinci & Ben Franklin
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AWho is Martin Kemp?
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BWho is Doris Kearns Goodwin?
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CWho is Walter Isaacson?
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DWho is Stephen King?
Who is Walter Isaacson?
<i>The New York Times</i> best-selling author, Walter Isaacson, is known for his authoritative biographies of everyone from Einstein to Steve Jobs. <i>The Times</i> once wrote, “If anybody in America understands genius, it’s Walter Isaacson.”
Question 10
This 2019 Kanye West Album features tracks “Follow God” & “Closed on Sunday”
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AWhat is Ye?
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BWhat is Lemonade?
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CWhat is Yeezus?
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DWhat is Jesus is King?
What is Jesus is King?
His 2019 album, <i>Jesus is King</i>, debuted in the top spot on the Billboard 200. But that doesn't mean Jeopardy fans know West's jams. Three Jeopardy champions – Ken, Brad, and James – were stumped when it came to the rapper's latest during the episode, "Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time".
Question 11
When she and her husband were coronated in 1999, she wore a gown conceived by Lebanese designer Elie Saab
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AWho is Haya?
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BWho is Rania?
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CWho is Noor?
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DWho is Jill?
Who is Rania?
For $600 in the category, "Haute Couture," Brad sunk the answer, "Rania," with his mistaken, "Noor." Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan has been married to Abdullah II since 1993 and was proclaimed queen in 1999.
Question 12
Earning the title, "Ireland's greatest person," in a 2010 poll, this politician won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998
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AWho is John Hume?
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BWho is Basil Kelly?
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CWho is Alan Abernethy?
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DWho is Colin Firth?
Who is John Hume?
The $2000 clue in the category, "GOAT (Greatest of All Time)," was a loss for all three competing champions. John Hume was the co-recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize (along with First Minister of Northern Ireland David Trimble) for heading up the process of bringing peace to Northern Ireland.
Question 13
When this Batman actor was caught looking sad in a 2016 interview, he became the meme the internet always wanted
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AWho is Robert Pattinson?
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BWho is Andrew Garfield?
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CWho is Christian Bale?
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DWho is Ben Affleck?
Who is Ben Affleck?
Although Holzhauer went with the wrong Batman – Christian Bale – it was Ben Affleck who became the center of a meme. "Sad Affleck" references the underwhelming reception of <i>Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice</i> and an equally underwhelming interview the actor did not long after its release.
Question 14
On the Channel-side of this French region, Monet was frequently spotted painting along the cliffs
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AWhat is Normandy?
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BWhat is Champagne?
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CWhat is Dover?
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DWhat is Brittany?
What is Normandy?
Although Holzhauer guessed Brittany, it was actually Normandy across which Monet meandered, painting, in the 1880s. The juxtaposition of the cliffs and the sea allowed the artist to explore shifting light.
Question 15
Instead of dedicating his third symphony to Napoleon, Beethoven called it this, for “the memory of a great man”
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AWhat is "Monument"?
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BWhat is "Memorial"?
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CWhat is "Eroica"?
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DWhat is "Memories"?
What is "Eroica"?
In the $1200 clue category, "It Comes Third," the trio of champions had a tough time with this one. Jennings guessed "Emperor". Close, but no cigar. "Eroica" – meaning "heroic" – was Beethoven's third symphony and one of his most celebrated compositions.
Question 16
DNA's non-sex chromosomes, called autosomes, can show us our ethnicity; this many pairs of autosomes is the norm
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AWhat is 46?
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BWhat is 23?
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CWhat is 2?
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DWhat is 22?
What is 22?
Betting big on Double Jeopardy, Brad Rutter lost on the category, "I Just Took a DNA Test." Answering with "2," the correct response was 22. The 22 autosome pairs determine our ancestry and genetics.
Question 17
Winning two Best Director Oscars, neither of these two foreign-born directors has won Best Picture
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AWho are Francis Ford Coppola & Sofia Coppola?
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BWho are Alfonso Cuaron & Ang Lee?
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CWho are Bong Joon-ho & Guillermo del Toro?
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DWho are Martin Scorsese & Quentin Tarantino?
Who are Alfonso Cuaron & Ang Lee?
Again, in the third night of "Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time," Ken, Brad, and James came up short when it came to pop culture. The foreign Oscar-winning directors in question were Alfonso Cuaron of Mexico, who helmed <i>Roma</i> and <i>Gravity</i>, neither of which won Best Picture, while Ang Lee of Taiwan took home best director for <i>Life of Pi</i> and <i>Brokeback Mountain</i>.
Question 18
Western movie extras would hang out on the corner of this alliterative name, made famous in 1940 when one gunslinger was gunned down by another
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AWhat is the Wild West?
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BWhat is Gower Gulch?
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CWhat is Gunslinger Gate?
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DWhat is Deadwood Deal?
What is Gower Gulch?
Gower Gulch was a corner location known for its cowboy extras. They waited around for their role in Columbia Studios' frequent westerns. If they landed a speaking part, they might be paid $5 – or even $10 – a day!
Question 19
In the play, As You Like It, the line, "a great reckoning in a little room," is believed to refer to this poet's early death
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AWho is Christopher Marlowe?
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BWho is Emily Brontë?
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CWho is William Blake?
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DWho is William Shakespeare?
Who is Christopher Marlowe?
Holzhauer may have walked away with $2,462,216 over 32 games, but he was (likely) just one game short of beating out long-running Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings. This is the question he lost on, but not because he didn't know the answer (he guessed Marlowe, the Elizabethan playwright and poet); rather, he wagered too little on it. Go big or go home.
Question 20
This condition was thought to arise from an excess of black bile, the origin of its name
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ABlack Plague
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BMelancholy
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CBildungsroman
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DConsumption
Melancholy
Melancholy was thought to arise from too much black bile, one of the four humors, in your body. It turns out that black bile doesn't really have anything to do with it, but that's still where our origin for the word melancholy lies!
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