Giant Killers Trivia Quiz

Answer: What is H&R Block?

Ken Jennings, who would later share hosting duties with Mayim Bialik, won $2,520,700 during his incredible 74 game streak between June 2 and November 30 in 2004. Jennings became the second highest money winner in the history of the show with $4.37 million including tournaments, after Brad Rutter ($4.94 million).

Jennings has parlayed his trivia expertise into appearances on the game shows "Master Minds" and the ABC version of "The Chase" where he shares duties with Rutter and James Holzhauer.

Jennings ended his streak with a Final Jeopardy question on Business and Industry: "Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white collar employees work only 4 months a year." The correct question of course was "What is H and R Block?" the tax preparation company.

Jennings went into Final Jeopardy with a $4400 lead against Nancy Zerg, a realtor from Ventura, California. Ken incorrectly answered "What is FedEx" and lost $5601. Zerg answered correctly, wagering $4401, and won with a final score of $14,401. Zerg lost the next day.

In January 2021, when Jennings was guest hosting the show, contestant Brian Chang trolled him with the incorrect final answer "What is H and R Block?" Chang won the game despite the bad answer and would go on to win 7 games and $163,904.

Answer: What is Bangladesh?

Amy Schneider, a software engineer from Oakland, California, had a phenomenal game run in late 2020 and early 2021, earning $1,382,800 during her 40 game run, the second-longest winning streak in the history of the show. Schneider is the first transgender contestant to earn a place in the Tournament of Champions.

Schneider's fatal Final Jeopardy was on the subject of Countries of the World. The answer was "The only nation in the world whose name in English ends in H, it's also one of the 10 most populous nations." The correct answer was "What is Bangladesh?"

While Schneider had a sizeable lead over Chicago librarian Rhone Talsma (27,600 to 17,600), she failed to come up with any answer while Talsma answered correctly, wagering $12,000 to win the match with $29,600.

Answer: What is Austria?

Amodio earned $1,518,601 during his impressive 38 game streak in the fall of 2021. The graduate student at Yale University was known for his quirky style, using the form of "What is" for almost every question. Amodio is getting his PhD in Computing Science, focusing on artificial intelligence.

Amodio's run ended with the Final Jeopardy category Countries of the World, where the answer was "Nazi Germany annexed this nation and divided it into regions of the Alps and the Danube; the Allies later divided it into four sectors." The correct answer was "What is Austria?"

Matt went into Final Jeopardy $4000 behind Jonathan Fisher, an actor from Coral Gables, Florida. Holzhauer wagered $5000 and incorrectly answered "Poland." Fisher gave the correct answer, doubled his money and won the game with $29,200. Fisher had an extremely impressive run of his own, winning 11 games and racking up $246,100 in winnings.

Answer: Who is Christopher Marlowe?

Holzhauer earned the second highest total in season winnings, coming close to Jennings with $2,462,216 during his 32 game running. Holzhauer, a professional gambler from Las Vegas, was known for his audacious play and huge wagers during Double Jeopardy. He held the single game record of $131,127, as well as five other games over $100,000.

Holzhauer's downfall came on the Final Jeopardy subject of Shakespeare's Time, with the answer "The line 'a great reckoning in a little room' in "As You Like It" is usually taken to refer to this author's premature death." The correct question is "Who is Christopher Marlowe?"

Librarian Emma Boetcher from Chicago hit several daily doubles and led Holzhauer by $3200 going into final Jeopardy. James hedged his bets and Emma went big, winning the game with $46,801. All three contestants got the final question correct. Boetcher won three games and earned $97,000.

Answer: Who is John Irving?

Collins was a previous holder of most wins by a woman for seven years. She earned $428,100 during her 20 game winning streak in April and May of 2014. Collins resides in Wilmette, Illinois, and is a history/art history graduate of Wellesley College. She finished third in the 2014 Tournament of Champions.

Collins final Final Jeopardy was on the topic of Oscar Winning Writers and the answer was "Winning for 1999, this New England Writer is the last person to win an Oscar for Adapting his own novel." The correct question was "Who is John Irving?" who won for "The Cider House Rules."

Collins lost to Brian Lougnane, an investment operations manager from Scituate, Massachuetts, who went into Final Jeopardy with a $1600 lead. Collins missed the final question, guessing "Michael Chabon" while Brian answered correctly and wagered $10,000 to win with $22,600. While Chabon does have numerous awards, including a Pulitzer Prize, by 2014 he had not yet won an Academy Award.

Answer: What is the Sydney Opera House?

Zuffranieri was fifth on all the time season earnings list, with $532,496 earned during his 19 game streak in 2019. He is a math teacher at Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico. His streak was snapped by Washington DC researcher Gabe Brison-Trezise.

Zuffanieri's Waterloo was on the Final Jeopardy subject of World Landmarks, and the answer was "The Eighth Wonder" by composer Alan John and librettist Dennis Watkins, is about this building that opened in 1973. The correct question was "What is the Sydney Opera House?"

Jason went into Final Jeopardy with $21,000 while Gabe had $11,200. Jason incorrectly answered "What is the Prado?" (wagering $1500) while Gabe gave the correct answer and doubled his money to win with $22,400.

Answer: Who is Julius Caesar?

Madden earned $430,400 during his 19 game winning streak between July 5 and September 19, 2005. Madden was a high school quiz bowl champion.

Madden was part of Brad Rutter's team in the 2018 All Star Draft, which won the overall competition and $1 million. Madden's total Jeopardy! earnings are $775,773.

Madden's last Final Jeopardy question was on Ranks and Titles and the answer was "In 1950, Pius XII was Pontifax Maximus; exactly 2,00 years earlier, this man held a title of the same name." The question was "Who is Julius Caesar?"

Both Madden and Victoria Groce, a musician Decatur, Georgia, had the correct answer. Groce went into Final Jeopardy with a $5800 lead on Madden, and made a large enough wager to win the game with $22,801.

Answer: What is the Seattle Space Needle?

Matt Jackson earned $411,612 during his 13 game run in September and October 2015. He is a paralegal from Washington DC; both of his parents are attorneys and his mother is a federal judge. Jackson graduated from Yale University with a degree in Philosophy in 2014. His streak ended on October 14, 2015.

Jackson finished second in the 2015 Tournament of Champions and finished second on Ken Jenning's team in the 2018 All Star Tournament.

Jackson's last Final Jeopardy was on the subject of US Landmarks and the answer was "For its fiftieth anniversary in 2012, the roof of this landmark was temporarily painted its original color, Galaxy Gold." The correct question was "What is the Space Needle in Seattle?"

Matt had a slight lead ($17,800 to $17,600) over Michael Baker, a travel media editor from New York. While none of the contestants got it right, Matt bet big while Baker hedged his bet, winning with a final total of $15,201. Matt guessed "The Kennedy Center" while Michael guessed "Dodger Stadium."

Answer: What is "It's A Wonderful Life"?

New York City bartender Rogers won $411,000 during his 12-game streak in September and October of 2017. Rogers become a fan favorite with viewers for his quirky style and wild hair. The bartender hosted quiz nights around New York for a decade before he appeared on the show, giving him a broad knowledge base.

Rogers lost to Scarlet Sims, a mom from Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Their final jeopardy topic was Movie History and the answer was "A 1947 study chided this holiday film's "attempt to discredit bankers... a common trick used by Communists." The answer of course is the Frank Capra classic "It's A Wonderful Life" (1947). While Austin answered correctly, Sims was $4600 ahead heading into Final Jeopardy, and bet large enough to win with $33,201.

Answer: What is "Too Big To Fail"?

Wilson, a doctoral candidate in Theater, won $265,200 over the course of a 12 day run in September and October 2016. He lost to Margie Eulner Ott, who made a bold wager on the topic of "The Economy".

Wilson won only $5000 in the 2017 Tournament of Champions,

Wilson's last Final Jeopardy was on the "The Economy" and the answer was "Systematically important financial institution" is an official status known more informally by these four words. The question: "What is Too Big to Fail?"

Wilson went into final Jeopardy with a $2000 lead ($19,000 to $17,000) but Ott went big and wound up beating him with $34,000.