Popular Mechanics:
There is an art to a Jeopardy! clue. Its answers-in-search-of-questions exude a certain tone and tenor that’s different from trivia offerings from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, HQ, The Weakest Link, or even a throwback like You Bet Your Life. But the writer’s room is also a factory, one that must churn out 61 clues per episode, which adds up to hundreds of thousands of clues aired during the show’s long run.
Jeopardy! has always been my favorite game show but I never gave the process of the creation of the clues much thought.
They were always phrased a bit differently than, say, a question someone might ask you off the cuff.
My favorite Jeopardy memory, besides the shows that two friends of mine each appeared on, is the period where I’d be washing clothes at a local laundromat while Jeopardy was on the store’s tv, and getting in more than three correct answers before any contestant could.
I remember the store’s owner seemed impressed, which I quickly disabused. “I’m not very smart. I’m just full of random crap.”
Exactly how I’ve always described my Jeopardy “skill”. 🙂