Jeopardy! fans couldn’t help but be drawn in by a contestant who had some quirky moments on Thursday. Joel Levinson, a head of content from Ohio, showed his personality from the get go. With his curly hair and mustache, Levinson, during the introductions, gave a seemingly sarcastic side nod to the camera, a shrug, then a smile as he nodded.
Given the clue, “Put on your gauntlet & wire mesh mask,” Levinson leaned back and guessed with a suddenly high-pitched cartoonish voice, “What is lacrosse?”
Host Ken Jennings commented, “Never heard that voice before, Joel.”
But viewers loved it.
Joel bucked the #jeopardy contestants’ goal “don’t be a meme” and what great TV that turned out to be!
— Simi Landau (@MsLandauReads) March 18, 2022
Levinson carried that humor right into Final Jeopardy!, with an answer he clearly knew was incorrect, which was also appreciated.
Joel from today’s #Jeopardy: yes. Just everything about his whole… everything. Amazing FJ response to cap it off.
— Sam (@sgreen3) March 18, 2022
The clue was, “This 1962 classic was dedicated to Albert Schweitzer, who predicted that man ‘will end by destroying the earth.’”
Levinson looked to the sky and clasped his hands above his head as Jennings read his answer.
“You wrote down the nonfiction classic Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret,” Jennings said while chuckling. “I’m afraid that’s not correct.”
Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret is a 1970 novel by Judy Blume. The correct answer was Silent Spring by Rachel Carson.
And though Levinson didn’t know the answer, he knew enough to not bid on it.
Jeopardy! is a syndicated program; visit Jeopardy.com or check your local listings for the TV schedule.
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