Ken Jennings: "Jeopardy!" GOAT Quiz

Answer: Seoul, South Korea

Ken was born in Washington State, but his family moved to South Korea, where he lived for 15 years. He graduated from the Seoul Foreign School, where he obtained an International Baccalaureate diploma, one that is recognized in many universities worldwide.

Answer: Armed Forces Network

Ken began watching "Jeopardy!" at an early age, and described himself as being addicted to the show at age 10. According to his website, "His only lifeline to American pop culture during those years was TV on the Armed Forces Network, where he watched "Jeopardy!" religiously after school every afternoon."

Answer: Brigham Young University

Ken initially enrolled in the University of Washington, but transferred to Brigham Young University, where he graduated with a double major in English and Computer Science. During his time at BYU he was roommates with Brandon Sanderson, who went on to be a well-known science fiction/fantasy author. Ken also met his wife, Mindy, at BYU. They married in 2000 after both graduated.

Answer: Software engineer

Ken was introduced as a "software engineer from Salt Lake City, Utah" throughout his appearances in 2004. He worked for CHG Healthcare Services, a healthcare staffing firm. He kept this job during his "Jeopardy!" appearances, taking time off every few weeks to record the programs in Los Angeles. Following the streak, he took a leave of absence to write his first book.

As of 2020 he described himself as a full-time freelance writer.

Answer: What is H&R Block?

The clue was "Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year." Jennings' response was "What is FedEx?" He explained that he was thinking seasonal was a reference to the Christmas holiday season. Following the loss, H&R Block offered to provide Jennings with free tax planning and financial services.

Answer: No. He competed on other shows after Jeopardy!

According to Wikipedia, Ken Jennings appeared as a contestant on the TV game shows "Grand Slam" in 2007, "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?" in 2008, and "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" in 2014. He was a member of his college quiz bowl team prior to "Jeopardy!", but there is no indication that those competitions were televised. Jennings has also been on the Game Show Network show "Masterminds" as part of a panel of experts rather than a contestant.

Answer: No

The Tournament consisted of two games, aired over three days. Watson won both games, but got the Final Jeopardy question wrong in the first game, answering "What is Toronto?" in the category "U.S. Cities". Watson's total score was $77,147, thus winning the million dollar prize (which IBM donated to charity). Jennings came in a distant second with $24,000, and Rutter scored $21,600.

Following the tournament, Jennings wrote an article for Slate Magazine "My Puny Human Brain", where he described what it was like to compete against the computer.

Answer: The Answer Is...: Reflections on My Life

"The Answer Is..." was written by Alex Trebek, the host of Jeopardy!

The other books were all written by Ken Jennings. "Braniac", published in 2006, is a survey of trivia fads including TV shows, pub trivia and the "Trivial Pursuit" board game, and includes information about his appearances on "Jeopardy!". "Maphead", published in 2011, recounts his ongoing fascination with maps and geography, and discusses the people who share this interest. "Because I Said So" discusses advice often given to children, and rates the accuracy of such claims as "Don't cross your eyes or they'll stay like that".

Answer: Greatest of All Time

The GOAT Tournament had three contestants: Ken Jennings, who had the longest winning streak on the show; Brad Rutter, who had the highest total monetary winnings on the show; and James Holzhauer, who set multiple records for the highest amount won in a single game. Following his win, Jennings has referred to himself as the Greatest of All Time in ads for the show "Masterminds".

On an early game of the 2020 - 2021 season, Ken Jennings read the clues for a category entitled "Mountain G.O.A.T.s" about famous mountain climbers, illustrating that many areas have "Greatest of All Time" celebrities, not just game shows.

Answer: Consulting producer

As a consulting producer, Jennings' position includes both on-screen and off-screen responsibilities. The Jeopardy press release announcing his hiring said "Ken will present his own special video categories, develop projects, assist with contestant outreach, and serve as a general ambassador for the show."

Although many fans (myself included) wondered whether this was a way to line up Jennings as the next "Jeopardy!" host when Alex Trebek retires, both Jennings and the "Jeopardy!" Executive Producer said that question was not part of the discussion when Jennings was hired.