A lot of people who go on Jeopardy! use their 30 minutes of fame to go big or go home.
But on the Oct. 17 episode, one guy went small...and stayed?!
Reigning champ Manny Abell was lagging behind opponents Carlos Nobleza Posas and Fran Fried going into Final Jeopardy — he had $1,000, while they were tied with $12,300 each. The category was "Asian Geography," and I guess they all felt pretty confident because JFC they all wagered a lot.
Craziest ending to @Jeopardy. Can’t believe it.
The question was "It's the only country that borders both the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf." The contestants guessed Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Tibet.
But no one got the answer right (it's Iran), and thanks to Manny's only slightly less aggressive betting, he won a whole dang dollar.
The, er, unusual finish is so rare that it's only happened one other time in Jeopardy! history, way back in 1993.
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Coincidentally, that $1 champ was also a member of the armed forces!
Anyway, viewers had a lot of thoughts on Manny and his near-loss. Some drew some comparisons between the show and Price is Right.
Others saw it as a brief distraction from mourning recent 12-day champ Austin Rogers' defeat.
And some were just liiiiiving for the high stakes finish.
Manny right now, probably.
