Can you beat Philly’s 16-game Jeopardy! champ, Ryan Long?
Philly hasn't had many champions to root for since Super Bowl 2018. At least until Ryan Long walked onto the Jeopardy! stage on May 13. Long, a 39-year-old rideshare driver from Mount Airy, went on to win an impressive 16 times. Long’s streak is the 9th longest in the show’s history, and qualified him for the season-ending Tournament of Champions.
During his run, 33 people tried to beat him. Think you would fare better? We’ve chosen a mix of 10 questions he answered during his time on the show. All you’ve got to do is outscore him. Let’s get to work!
Skeleton Crew
The malleus is a tiny bone in the middle part of this sense organ
What is...
- Eye
- Ear
- Hand
- Nose
That's correct!Boo Hiss! That's wrong! An easy one to start with. Long got this correct to pick up $400.
XX% of other readers got this question right
The Ancient World
New research suggests a device now called the Archimedes screw helped maintain this one of the 7 wonders of the world
What is...
- Hanging Gardens of Babylon
- Taj Mahal
- Great Pyramid of Giza
- Leaning Tower of Pisa
That's correct!Boo Hiss! That's wrong! Long got this Final Jeopardy! question correct to beat fellow Philadelphian, Bradford Pearson, while securing his fifth win and an invite to the Tournament of Champions.
XX% of other readers got this question right
Oscar-Winning Songs
Johnny Mercer's lyrics to this 1961 Oscar-winning song once began, "I'm Holly"
What is...
- Talk to the Animals
- Moon River
- The Facts of Life
- Que, Sera, Sera
That's correct!Boo Hiss! That's wrong! Long didn’t know the answer to this Final Jeopardy! question. Knowing the game was a runaway in his favor, he didn’t guess, and gave a shout out of “What is Hi Mom?” with his answer.
XX% of other readers got this question right
TV
This TV western set in Dodge City, Kansas ran for 20 years, from 1955 to 1975
What is...
- Gunsmoke
- Bonanza
- Cheyenne
- Rawhide
That's correct!Boo Hiss! That's wrong! Long got this correct to add $2,000 to his total.
XX% of other readers got this question right
Places in the Bible
This reluctant prophet boarded a ship bound for Tarshish that was soon caught in a storm
What is...
- Paul the Apostle
- Jeremiah
- Isaiah
- Jonah
That's correct!Boo Hiss! That's wrong! After saying “I seem better at this category than I am,” Long successfully wagered $2,000 in his first Daily Double on the show.
XX% of other readers got this question right
Literature
A contemporary review of a novel by this man said he "commands attention as a kind of literary James Dean"
What is...
- Bradbury
- Kerouac
- Salinger
- Updike
That's correct!Boo Hiss! That's wrong! Long’s third game went down to the wire but he was the only contestant to come up with the right answer to a tricky Final Jeopardy! question.
XX% of other readers got this question right
Trojan War Handbook
This leader of the Greek forces foolishly angered Artemis by boasting of his hunting skills
What is...
- Achilles
- Agamemnon
- Hercules
- Menelaus
That's correct!Boo Hiss! That's wrong! The most expensive clue in the category and Long got it wrong, answering “Achilles.” Lucky for him, nobody else got it right, he kept control of the board, and found a Daily Double in the same category. The answer, this time, was “Achilles.”
XX% of other readers got this question right
Sports Shorts
This team's retired numbers include Stan Musial's 6 & Bob Gibson's 45
What is...
- Milwaukee Brewers
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Oakland Athletics
That's correct!Boo Hiss! That's wrong! Long only faced a handful of sports questions during his run, but knew both of those players were Cardinals.
XX% of other readers got this question right
What College
This college in New Hampshire is part of the Ivy League
What is...
- Dartmouth
- Harvard
- Yale
- Brown
That's correct!Boo Hiss! That's wrong! Long answered incorrectly with “Harvard” in a rough start that saw him trail going into Double Jeopardy!. There he recovered and finished just $1,000 short of a runaway.
XX% of other readers got this question right
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Of Filipino ancestry, Nicole Scherzinger recorded the classic Filipino ballad “Pangako” in this language
What is...
- Malay
- Visayan
- Javanese
- Tagalog
That's correct!Boo Hiss! That's wrong! Long answered correctly and added $800 to his score.
XX% of other readers got this question right
How you did
You
TK / 10
Ryan Long
7 / 10
Average Reader
TK / 10
Oh no! Looks like you made Final Jeopardy! in the red. Don’t beat yourself up, Long has won more Jeopardy! games than anyone else from Philadelphia.
Not bad. If you got lucky and ended up with a Final Jeopardy! in your wheelhouse you might become a champion. Until then, start revising your knowledge of opera, the Bible, and potent potables.
With numbers like this you should be on the Alex Trebek Stage competing. Why are you wasting your time on trivia for fun? Go and take the official Jeopardy test and try to actually beat Long’s record.
Jeopardy! is a game that rewards a breadth of knowledge. These 10 questions show Long’s range, something he’ll look to showcase again in the fall in the Tournament of Champions — a competition between the winningest champions from the past season or two.
Usually, walking into the tournament with 16 wins under your belt would make you a clear favorite. However, seasons 37 and 38 have seen a high spike of “ultra-champions” — competitors who have won more than 10 games. The show has only ever had 13 players achieve this title; Long is one of them. However, to date, four other ultra-champions have qualified for the tournament.
Long has qualified for the Tournament of Champions but faces tough competition
There is hope for him though. Since Jeopardy! lifted its five-game streak limit in 2003, only three of the 12 Tournament of Champions victors have been the player who won the most regular season games. That includes last season, when Jason Zuffranieri won 19 games in regular season play but went out in the semifinals of that Tournament.
Not that he’s sweating the higher level of competition. Long told The Inquirer he’s excited about returning to the Jeopardy! stage for the Tournament of Champions, and he’s looking forward to meeting Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, and everyone else he’ll be competing against.
“I don’t watch the show religiously, because I’m usually working,” Long said. “But I’m aware of these people and I’ve seen their episodes here and there. So it’s going to be nice to actually meet them beyond all of the media stuff.”
Staff Contributors
- Designer and developer: Sam Morris
- Reporting: Sam Morris, Rob Tornoe
- Editing: Molly Eichel
- Digital Editing: Katie Krzaczek
- Photos: Sony Pictures Entertainment