Jeopardy Recently Featured Montana As a Category! Did You Watch?
Jeopardy! is an American juggernaut. With nearly 40 seasons, literally hundreds of thousands of clues, and an entire database that tracks it all, it's no wonder just how much people love this game show. With a number of clues that high, there are bound to be Montana-themed ones in there. As it turns out, an episode last year featured an entire category all about Montana.
It was the Last Episode for Guest Host Bill Whitaker
On the May 14, 2021 episode, Whitaker announced the categories for the first round of play, and "Montana" was one of the categories. It's not the first time Montana has been featured on Jeopardy! and also not the first time an entire category was dedicated to the Treasure State.
Montana had a category on the September 21, 2015 episode of Jeopardy! when Alex Trebek was still host. Once again, the category featured in the first round of the game, and none of the responses to the clues were guessed incorrectly by the contestants. Maybe they've all been to Big Sky Country? Who knows.
Montanans Likely Knew Every Response
At least, I did. How do you think you'd do if you heard the clues? Here's the entire category of answers straight from that episode in 2021, and let's see if you know the questions:
- $200: At Three Forks, Montana, the Gallatin, Jefferson, and Madison Rivers come together to form this much longer river. What is the Missouri River?
- $400: Eragon author Christopher Paolini is a longtime Montana resident, while this 4-time Oscar nominee was born there. Who is Michelle Williams?
- $600: The vastness of the wild blue yonder gave Montana the nickname this "Country", which appears on its state quarter. What is "Big Sky Country"?
- $800: Bozeman in southern Montana is one of the gateways to this national park. What is Yellowstone?
- $1,000: With only about 109,000 people, this city is Montana's most populous. What is Billings?
Let's hope that Montana continues to be featured in America's favorite game show. It's awesome when it happens because I can run a category in Jeopardy! for once.