Thanksgiving is in a unique spot on the calendar, nestled between the all-too-brief Halloween season and the all-too-long Christmas stretch that typically eclipses any sort of Turkey Day festivities. The holiday brings families together, for better or worse, and we wanted to be sure we had some conversation fodder before the Thanksgiving meal starts and Uncle Darren starts talking about the price of gold.
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Here’s our list of the top Thanksgiving questions that have appeared on Jeopardy! in the last few years. We’ve got to give a tremendous shoutout to the dedicated team at the J! Archive, whose documentation gives us what might be the most impressive archive of a game show ever.
A Pop Culture Thanksgiving
This category originally appeared in the first round of the November 21, 2018 episode.
$200: A traditional folk song finds it “in the straw” & “in the hay”
$400: The song “Zombie” by this group is about the blood shed over Irish freedom
$600: A 1933 Popeye short is called “I _ What I _”
$800: Justin Theroux starred in this HBO series in which 2% of the world’s population had disappeared—was it the rapture?
$1000: Gangly banjo player David Akeman, a star of the Grand Ole Opry & “Hee Haw”, had this nickname (this was a “triple stumper” where no one got the right answer)
Answers for A Pop Culture Thanksgiving:
$200: Turkey, $400: The Cranberries, $600 Yam, $800: The Leftovers, $1000: Stringbean
Life In Plymouth Colony
This category originally appeared in the November 26, 2019 episode.
$200: Arriving in Plymouth in December 1620, the Pilgrims spent several months on the Mayflower while building their new homes, initially using grasses and reeds, to make this type of roof, like back in England
$400: In 1621, what’s sometimes called the first Thanksgiving lasted 3 days in celebration of this gathering of the autumn crops
$600: Re-enactors today at Plimoth Plantation wear what the actual Pilgrims did, like what they’d worn in England. The image of black hats and buckled shoes came from artists during this British era
$800: Ill-nourished after their first winter, the Pilgrims learned to plant corn and use herring for fertilizer from this guide and interpreter (this clue stumped all three contestants)
$1000: After more than a decade of grinding corn by hand, life became easier for the Pilgrims of Plymouth once they built this type of mill, whose name is from Old English for “to grind”
Answers for Life In Plymouth Colony:
$200: Thatched, $400: The harvest, $600: The Victorian Era, $800: Squanto, $1000: A grist mill
Thanksgiving
Yep, that’s the entire category name from the first round of this November 23, 2010 game. We appreciate the simplicity.
$200: In 1863, this president declared a national day of Thanksgiving to be held in November
$400: This department store’s beloved Thanksgiving Day parade has been floating through New York City since 1924
$600: Traditionally used to make Thanksgiving pies, this gourd is rich in vitamin A
$800: One of the 2 NFL teams that traditionally hold games on Thanksgiving Day
$1000: Since 1957 this country has been celebrating Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October
Answers for Thanksgiving
$200: Abraham Lincoln, $400: Macy’s, $600: Pumpkin, $800: The Detroit Lions or the Dallas Cowboys, $1000: Canada
Thanksgiving At Alex’s House
This lineup comes all the way from the November 27, 2002 episode, hosted by the eternally great Alex Trebek. These clues were given by the show’s Clue Crew from around Alex’s home during Thanksgiving.
$200: We should all give thanks to this U.S. president who proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving in 1789 (shockingly, a triple stumper right off the bat)
$400: While dinner is being fixed, Alex & I are watching this NFL team that played more Turkey Day games than any other (once again, all three contestants failed to guess correctly)
$600: I’m decorating with a cornucopia inspired by the magical horn of Amalthea, who nursed this Greek god when he was a baby (and the third triple stumper of the category)
$800: If we eat enough of these cranberries we won’t get scurvy because they’re chock full of this vitamin
$1000: The sedative effects of turkey have been attributed to this amino acid, sold as a sleep aid until 1990
Answers For Thanksgiving At Alex’s House
$200: George Washington, $400: The Detroit Lions, $600: Zeus, $800: (Vitamin) C, $1000: Tryptophan
A Thanksgiving Feast
Another classic, this category appeared in the first round of the Thanksgiving episode that originally aired November 27, 2003.
$200: In cold water, changed often, turkey takes about 30 minutes per pound to do this (not drown)
$400: The pineapple in this salad must be canned, not fresh, or the salad’s main ingredient won’t set
$600: You can make dessert the easy way by combining Libby’s pumpkin pie mix with evaporated milk and these
$800: Breadcrumbs are often the basis of this Thanksgiving staple food
$1000: A simple method of doing this to sweet potatoes is to bake them with a mixture of butter and brown sugar (this stumped all three contestants in the game)
Answers for A Thanksgiving Feast
$200: Thaw, $400: Jell-O/Gelatin Salad, $600: Eggs, $800: Stuffing, $1000: Candying
‘Jeopardy!’ Scattergories
The following prompts come from a variety of games and categories, but they’ve all got something to do with the holiday.
Check Your Calendar, $200: Colorful nickname for November 27, 2020, knowing that Thanksgiving is November 26
Monday Is Fun Day, $400: Named for its online bargains, it’s the Monday after Thanksgiving
That ’70s Or ’80s Show, $600: “Thanks for that on the spot report, Les”; turns out Thanksgiving turkeys can’t fly during a 1978 episode of this Ohio-set sitcom
A Year Ending In 9, $800: A year before the Pilgrims even landed, a Thanksgiving of sorts was held by newly arrived settlers to Virginia
American History, $1000: At the first Thanksgiving in 1621, the Pilgrims shared a feast with these native people of Massachusetts (this was another triple stumper)
Answers For Miscellaneous
$200: Black Friday, $400: Cyber Monday, $600: WKRP in Cincinnati, $800: 1619, $1000: The Wampanoag
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