So last night I’m flipping channels after dinner when I stumble onto Jeopardy. Figured I’d watch since it was Final Jeopardy time. Saw the category pop up: “U.S. Geography.” Oh man, I thought I knew this stuff cold.
The Clue That Tripped Me Up
The clue read: “The only state whose capital city begins with the letter ‘D’.” I’m scratching my head, mentally running through state capitals. Denver? No, that’s Colorado’s capital but starts with ‘D’. Wait, is Denver actually the capital? Crap, I always mix that up.
My guessing process went like this:
- First I blurted out “Delaware!” Then remembered Dover starts with ‘D’… but wait, is Dover actually the capital?
- Started doubting myself and said “Nah, must be something like… Dakota something? But there’s two Dakotas!”
- Finally settled on shouting “Des Moines!” at the TV like an idiot. Iowa’s capital, right?
The Gut Punch Reveal
When Alex Trebek’s ghost read the answer, I nearly choked on my soda. It was Delaware with capital Dover. I’d talked myself out of my first instinct! One contestant wrote “Juneau” – that poor dude clearly panicked. Another scribbled “Dover” correctly but spelled it “D-O-V-O-R” which they ruled incorrect (brutal!).
The winner was this teacher from Ohio who bet everything. She looked as surprised as I felt when her total jumped to $23,000. Meanwhile I’m sitting there in sweatpants realizing I just failed elementary school geography.
Whole thing reminded me why I record these episodes now – so I can pause and actually Google state capitals mid-show. Maybe I’ll crack open my kid’s old atlas later. Or maybe just stick to watching cooking shows where I don’t feel this stupid.
