Eighth-grader Thomas Hurley III wagered $3,000 on the final Jeopardy! question about Abraham Lincoln last week and his correct response was ruled inaccurate because of a minor spelling error.
The category was Famous Documents and the final answer delivered by host Alex Trebek:
According to Trebek, “Because he misspelled it badly … that’s unfortunate. The judges are ruling against you.”
As the second runner-up, the middle school student took home $2,000 for his efforts.
He admits, “I was pretty upset that I was cheated out the final question. It was just a spelling error.”
The winner that day, an admitted Civil War buff, wagered $30,000 on the final ‘Jeopardy!’ question and won $66,000, nearly a single day record on the show.
Lest there be any cries of foul, Trebek was quick to point out that the questions are formulated long before the identify of contestants are known.
As expected, social media lit up with a mixed bag of opinions on whether or not the kid got shafted. We found these on the game show’s Facebook page:
“Really, grow up people and the kid needs to suck it up and be a man…that’s how we learn to be men and not mama’s boys!!!”
“Learn how to accept defeat kid or you will be disappointed for the rest of your life.”
“The kid got the answer wrong. Stop teaching our kids that everyone is a winner. You are setting them up for a rough life. In the real world everyone isn’t a winner.”
Ouch!
Check out the video below:
Photos: Video Screen Grabs