Jeopardy! fans must remember the October 16, 2024 episode, when the show witnessed one of the controversies in a particular answer. The competition was between Rishabh Wuppalapati, Rachel Cassidy, and Jay Eversman. Both Rishabh and Rachel were competing quite closely.
The correct answer was "Columbia," both contestants were correct. However, the issue arose when fans referred to the handwriting from Rishabh's board, where some "illegible" alphabets could be seen.
The game show host declared Rishabh's answer "correct." Because of that ruling, Rishabh emerged as the winner of Final Jeopardy. It later on sparked an intense debate among fans.
While many fans accused the show of a "favorable" ruling, some took to various social media platforms and Reddit boards to share their opinions.
Some fans even referred to that incident as "Rachel was robbed" of her win, as shared on Reddit. Regarding Rishabh's handwriting, show producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss recently chimed in and shared more information.
Jeopardy!'s Sarah Whitcomb Foss shared information about "illegible" handwriting incident
Monday, October 21, 2024, episode of the official Inside Jeopardy! podcast, hosted by Sarah Whitcomb Foss and Sam Buttrey, discussed vital information.
One of the discussion topics was how Rishabh Wuppalapati's "illegible" handwriting from the October 16, 2024 episode caused a stir among fans. Shedding some light on the incident Jeopardy! producer shared,
"Of course, you'll remember Rishabh wrote 'Fayetteville’' first, crossed it out, and then, in the final seconds, realized it was 'Columbia.' He wrote his response as quickly as possible. I know some people said, 'It should not have been accepted,' 'You couldn't read it,' 'It was chicken scratch.'"
She shared that she has been through many similar situations. A few situations were so intense that not every word was "completed." Fans must remember what official Jeopardy.com says about such situations and rulings.
"Written responses to the Final Jeopardy! clue does not have to be spelled correctly, but they must be phonetically correct and not add or subtract any extraneous sounds or syllables."
Referring to that, the producer shared that the decision in Rishabh's case was not merely carried out by the show host, Ken Jennings. As Sarah revealed, many people were associated, including judges, staff members, and more - which have been kept unanimous.
Sharing more about how Rishabh's handwriting was recognized and then considered a valid, correct answer, Sarah revealed,
"In this case, I felt, as Ken did, as did our co-head writers Billy Wisse and Michele Loud — we all reviewed this before the ruling was made. That we could make out every one of those letters in 'Columbia.' And as a result, Rishabh goes on to win."
The podcast co-host, retired champion Sam Buttrey, teased about how Rishabh should do his college's thesis by typing via keyboard rather than a stylus pen.
They discussed various fan comments, including many fans who, over the years, have suggested using keypads to write down the clues/ questions in the trivia.
The reason for not using Keyboards was discussed in the latest podcast episode.
"That's another thing I want to comment on. People were saying, 'Jeopardy!, when are you going to get with the times and stop having people write with the stylus you should have them typing it in," shared Sarah.
She continued,
"What people don't realize is if we were to do that, how easily — we all have phones and mobile devices, how often does autocorrect come in for you? Because your fingers think you're typing something and because of placement, you might type a different letter."
Jeopardy! producer added that the contestants on the game show are given a limited period, i.e., 30 seconds, to answer a question. Hence, if there was a chance of a typing error, how would it look to have a "typing" error and, as a repercussion of that, "losing a game of Jeopardy!"
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