The Easy New England ‘Jeopardy!’ Clue That Stumped All the Contestants

Was this really that tough of a question about New England? I mean, it was only worth $400 for a reason, and you'd think at least one of the contestants is familiar enough with the award-winning topic.

That said, I'm a totally biased superfan of the television show that stumped them all (plus, I live here), and was just reminded of this when it happened a few months ago. A colleague and I were chatting about old television series' that dropped on our various streaming apps, but I digress.

Here's the clue that stumped the contestants:

Okay, I will submit to the fact that we're talking Celebrity Jeopardy!, but still. It was with The Terminal List star Constance Wu, Jalen Rose (former Michigan Wolverine and Indiana Pacer), and actor Ike Barinholtz from The Mindy Project and Mad TV.

While Jalen answered, "What is New England?" Constance asked "What is Massachusetts?," and Ike decided to pass, saying he had never seen Gilmore Girls.

Let's start with Jalen's answer in the form of a question. His "What is New England?" answer has so much wrong with it I don't really want to say anymore. I hope he doesn't really think New England is a state, and was just having a confused moment. I'm going with a confused moment due to pressure. We've all been there.

Meanwhile, Constance's answer "What is Massachusetts?" is so legit and appropriate if you're unfamiliar with Gilmore Girls. In reality, when I think of clam chowder, I think of Massachusetts as well.

As for old money, that's definitely a Connecticut thing. However, if you're not familiar with the Gilmore Girls and choose to focus on the chowder part of this New England-based clue, then Massachusetts is a totally understandable answer. Even Rhode Island would make sense, being home the Classic Coast of Newport.

This is what Yankee Magazine posted on its Instagram page after this episode of Celebrity Jeopardy!:

A bit of clarification: on our website we break down the distinctions between the New England states. That’s where Jeopardy pulled the word chowder. Personally, we would say Connecticut is known for a lot of things (like its superior New Haven-style pizza). 🍕

What are your thoughts?  Here's the video of how it went down.