Wolf Blitzer on Jeopardy!: see every question he missed
That’s why it’s worth learning the truth about Blitzer’s Jeopardy! appearances and taking a look at every question he missed. Can you outplay Wolf?
Blitzer’s most famous for his 2009 loss to Andy Richter and Dana Delaney. At the end of the game, he had negative $4,500 while Milbank and Richter had $4,800 and $39,000, respectively. Though he was spotted money for Final Jeopardy, which he got correct, it was a rough game for the CNN anchor. A negative $4,500 total isn’t bad luck—it’s a hole a person digs on their own.
However, Wolf’s loss deserves a little clarification. During another Celebrity Jeopardy! game in 1997, Wolf ended up in second place, beating Arianna Huffington and barely losing to Oliver Stone. He was in the lead at the end of the first round. That games shows that Wolf has at least some Jeopardy! talent.
In the 2009 game, the lopsided score may have been due to Andy Richter’s dominance more than Wolf’s shortcomings. Wolf simply answered fewer questions, and that gave him less time to make up for mistakes. He had far more incorrect answers in 1997, but his 2009 score made headlines.
That said, the questions he missed are still worth trying on your own. Could you beat Wolf? Find out below.
We’ve included every question that Wolf missed by answering incorrectly (in both games, not just the blowout). We’ve also included the ones that nobody in the group answered. Unfortunately, we don’t know how many questions Wolf missed because he was slow on the buzzer or because he didn’t know the answer but somebody else did.
Essentially, this is improved formatting of the work done by the people at J-Archive. You can go there to browse almost every Jeopardy! game in full.
You’ll notice a lot of the misses are in categories with trick premises. For example, the category “E Times 3″ requires three Es in each answer, a rule that Wolf just couldn’t seem to grasp.
Wolf’s 1997 game
| The Category | The Clue | Wolf’s Response | The Correct Response |
|---|---|---|---|
| That Newfangled Rock ‘N Roll | The name of this Florida band combines a blonde actress & the head of a “murderous” family | No Response | What is Marilyn Manson? |
| Lobbies | You may see sharks swimming in the lobby aquarium in this Las Vegas hotel named for a desert illusion | What is Oasis? | What is The Mirage? |
| Manimals | On “Another Saturday Night” you’ll find him “Sitting” on a “Peace Train” until “Morning Has Broken” | No Response | Who is Cat Stevens? |
| Lobbyists | Former senators Alan Simpson & this man co-chair Project Independence to reform campaign finances | Who is Thompson? | Who is Bill Bradley? |
| It Used To Mean | Once meaning “lacking religious beliefs”, it now means cheating on your spouse | No Response | What is unfaithful? |
| It Used To Mean | Now it’s a den in which you’d find an animal lion around; a long time ago, it was “a coach” | No Response | What is a lair? |
| Presidential Nicknames | As a youth, this Georgian was nicknamed “Hot”, short for “Hot Shot” | No Response | Who is Jimmy Carter? |
| Presidential Nicknames | Men who slandered his wife Rachel found out quickly why he was called the “Duel Fighter” | No Response | Who is Andrew Jackson? |
| Presidential Nicknames | This “Bachelor President” was affectionately nicknamed “Old Buck” | No Response | Who is James Buchanan? |
| Lobbyists | Bob Chase, the president of this teachers’ union, has a regular column in the Washington Post | What is the American Federation of Teachers? | What is the NEA? |
| Art *Final Jeopardy | The Italian name of this 15th century masterpiece is “L’Ultima Cena” | Who David? (sic) | What is The Last Supper? |
Wolf’s 2009 game
| The Category | The Clue | Wolf’s Response | The Correct Response |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Situation Comedy Room | Ted sets up Mosbius Designs, his own architecture firm, in the apartment he shares with Robin on this sitcom | No Response | What is How I Met Your Mother? |
| Wolf It Down | The name of this pasta, similar to penne, means “little mustaches”–doesn’t sound so tasty now |
What is fettucine? | What is mostaccioli? |
| What A Decade In the U.S. | The 1850s saw a bad one of this 5-letter word that refers to an economic crash & the fear-driven rush to sell | What is a crash? | What is a panic? |
| “E” Times Three | King David & Jesus both hailed from this town | What is Jerusalem? | What is Bethlehem? |
| “E” Times Three | An accused person in court, along with his counsel | What is a defendant? | What is the defense? |
| “E” Times Three | Selected some material from a larger work | What is annodated (sic)? | What is excerpted? |
| In The Bookstore | “If you can read, you can cook”, she wrote in the introduction to her classic “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” | Who is Julia Childs? | Who is Julia Child? |
| In The Bookstore | She’s the funny woman behind the book, “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea” | No response | Who is Chelsea Handler? |
