After decades on the air, the TV trivia game showJeopardyrarely makes mistakes. Recently, however,Jeopardyhad a significant fluke.
The incident in question involved a clue given to contestants about the gameTetris. The research team seemingly was fooled into believing aTetrishoax that started earlier this year.
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The clue in question reads: “The 7 rotatable blocks used in this video game have names like Orange Ricky, Hero & Smashboy.” Contestant Jessica rang in and succeeded in getting the answer right, answering with a seemingly hesitant “What isTetris?” Any hesitance would be understandable, as all of the names given for theTetrisblocks in the clue are completely false. Presumably, she was still able to figure out the answer to the question based solely on the premise of a video game featuring rotating blocks.
The confusion here originates with a Tweet. Back in February, a Tweet surfaced that claimed to show photos of an instruction manual from aclassic copy ofTetris. The instruction manual contained a section labeling the blocks with unique names, including “Rhode Island Z,” “Cleveland Z,” “Blue Ricky,” and “Teewee,” in addition to the three that Jeopardy labeled. However, it turned out that the manual shown in the Tweet was a complete fabrication, and no such names had ever been given to the blocks.
Since one of the contestants was able to answer the question successfully, presumably there’s no harm, no foul. However, it still leads to the question of howJeopardy’s full team of researchers, who presumably check the information thoroughly while putting together a clue for the show, managed to get fooled here. It’s certainly not the first time thatvideo game clues have appeared onJeopardy, either.
While the block names are complete fabrications, the success thatTetrishas seen recently is anything but. The series got refreshed recently with the release ofTetris 99, a multiplayer battle royaleTetristitle for the Nintendo Switch, which sees regular collaborations with other games. A similar version ofTetris, intended for up to 100 players, will also be available on mobile devices withTetris Royale.
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