Jeopardy! Gave Fans Two Unforgettable Contestant Moments This Week, And One Calls Back To Ken Jennings’ Most Infamous ‘Hoe’-ment
Jeopardy! Gave Fans Two Unforgettable Contestant Moments This Week, And One Calls Back To Ken Jennings’ Most Infamous ‘Hoe’-ment
(Image credit: Sony Pictures Television)
The game of Jeopardy! hasn’t changed much over the past four decades, with a formula that makes it one of the best game shows of all time. In fact, there’s plenty to keep it from going stale, as Season 41 continues on the 2025 TV schedule, and this week alone has gifted us with two unforgettable moments. In addition to possibly one of the biggest coincidences in Jeopardy! history, we also got a fantastic callback to one of Ken Jennings’ most viral moments as a player.
Champion Reveals Unbelievable Connection To Final Jeopardy! Clue
This week started off wild, as Emily Croke secured the win on June 23 after correctly responding to the Final Jeopardy! clue that read: “In 1896, the Vassar-educated wife of this man wrote, ‘Thousands of dollars may be paid for a copy of Shakespeare.’” The answer was Henry Clay Folger, and home viewers saw Croke get the win and advance to the next day’s game.
What audiences didn’t see was Ken Jennings’ post-game interview with the champ, where Emily Croke revealed that the “Vassar-educated wife” referenced in the clue was Emily Folger, or — as revealed on Jeopardy!’s Instagram page:
That was my great-great-great aunt Emily.
In fact, not only was Emily Croke related to the couple in the clue, she was actually named after the distant relative. What are the chances that that specific clue would show up on her very first game? I’m even impressed that Croke was so knowledgeable about her lineage (I certainly don’t know about my own great-great-great aunt’s accomplishments).
It’s kind of a mind-boggling, this-is-all-just-a-simulation occurrence, but that’s not where the fun ended.
Ken Jennings Hilariously References His Viral Playing Moment
Ken Jennings may be the venerable host of Jeopardy! now, as well as one of Jeopardy!’s biggest winners, but back in 2004, he suffered a pretty embarrassing moment on the quiz show, when he responded incorrectly to a clue by saying, “What is a hoe?” That moment made an amusing comeback in the June 25 game.
In the category “This Is Not a Drill,” the $400 clue read: “A tool with an angled blade to get unwanted plants out at the root is called a Cape Cod type of this.” Yeah, you can see where this is going. Contestant Micah Fritz buzzed in with the response:
What is a hoe?
Unfortunately, the answer Ken Jennings was looking for was “What is a weeder?,” but even funnier than the unexpected repeat of history was the former super-champion’s reaction. Jennings told Micah Fritz:
It seems like ‘What is a hoe?’ is never correct out here.
Two decades ago, when Ken Jennings made the mistake, he was responding to the “Tool Time” category clue: “This term for a long-handled gardening tool can also mean an immoral pleasure seeker.” Alex Trebek was looking for “Rake,” not “Hoe.”
It actually wasn’t that long ago that the writers executed some A+ trolling of Ken Jennings by referencing this very viral moment in a clue that featured a man wearing a sandwich board. The stock image had been modified to include the phrase “What is a hoe?” on the board.
It seems like this could serve as a cautionary tale to future Jeopardy! contestants to never guess, “What is a hoe?,” but I feel like the writers are definitely biding their time and waiting for the right moment to insert the gardening tool into its field of trivia.
Stay vigilant, Jeopardy! viewers, and it also might not be a bad idea to brush up on your extended family history. Check your local listings for when the game show plays in your area, and starting this fall, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune will be available to stream the next day with either a Hulu subscription or a Peacock subscription.
News
Millionaire Arrives Late at Night – The Kitchen Scene That Changed His World
The mansion was silent that evening, its vast rooms echoing only with the faint hum of the refrigerator. In the kitchen, under the warm glow of a hanging lamp, Grace stood at the sink, rinsing a porcelain bowl. Her hands moved gently, worn from years of service, yet graceful in every motion. Grace, the […]
Rich Man Witnesses Homeless Kid Dancing with His Paralyzed Child — The Outcome Shocked Everyone
Millionaire catches homeless boy dancing with his paralyzed daughter. What happened next stunned everyone. The grand beige mansion stood like a fortress of wealth and privilege. Its gardens were trimmed to perfection. Its windows gleamed like mirrors. Yet behind its towering walls lived not laughter, but silence. silence that carried the weight of sorrow inside. […]
The Millionaire Returns Home and Is Stunned to See His Only Son with the New Black Maid in the Kitch
A wealthy man walked into his kitchen and stopped cold. His son was clinging to the maid, crying uncontrollably. The reason behind those tears darker than you think. Keep watching until the end because the truth will shake you. The black limousine crawled up the long driveway of the Kane estate. Its headlights sweeping across […]
Billionaire Father Shocked to See His Son and Maid Together in This Way
The unexpected return. Picture this. You’re a wealthy bloke who’s been away on business for weeks. You walk through your front door to find your child dot dot dot in a cooking pot surrounded by vegetables on the hob. I know what you’re thinking. This sounds absolutely mental, doesn’t it? But sometimes the most shocking […]
Millionaire Returns Home Shocked to See His new Black Maid and Only Son Crying in the Kitchen
Millionaire returns home shocked to see his new black maid and only son crying in the kitchen. The rain had slowed to a drizzle when Richard Callaway’s black Bentley curved up the long driveway of his countryside estate in Suriri. The tall iron gates closed behind him with a groan, leaving the world and its […]
Maid Lifted Millionaire’s Wife After She Fainted in the Street — His Reaction Left Everyone Stunned
The scream ripped through the street before anyone could even react. A shrill, piercing cry that cut through the hum of traffic. Conversations and the blaring of horns. The blonde woman in the bright purple dress clutched her belly, staggered forward to trembling steps and then collapsed to her knees on the scorching pavement. Ma’am […]
End of content
No more pages to load
