01-07-2025
Classic 'Jeopardy' clip revealed wildest coincidence has happened twice
A post shared by Jeopardy! (@jeopardy)
A few days ago, we brought you the wildest Jeopardy! coincidence that we labeled as NOT a controversy: a contestant named Emily Croke nailed Final Jeopardy, in part because the answer to the clue was her great-great-great-aunt whom she was named for.
While some people questioned if that was fair or not, it was merely an improbable, million-to-one coincidence that has probably never happened before in Jeopardy! history, right?
Wrong! Turns out there was another contestant who had a familial connection to a clue. As the game show shared on Instagram recently, back in 2001, a man named Bill O'Donnell rang in on a clue in which the answer was George Ferris, as in the Ferris wheel. And George Ferris turned out to be ... his great-grandfather!
Watch this interaction with the great Alex Trebek and enjoy:
This is just amazing that it happened not once but TWICE! There should never be any questions about if this is all rigged or something, or if it's unfair. If there just happens to be a family connection, so be it.
