Historical Echoes: I’ll Take “Happy Birthday, Fed!” for $400, Alex
The Federal Reserve System is getting ready to celebrate its 100th birthday. The quiz show Jeopardy! recently paid tribute to this milestone by having as one of its “Teen Tournament Jeopardy!” categories “Happy 100th Birthday, Federal Reserve!” Barrett Block, a high-school senior, won the game. You can play the same game the teen contestants played (scroll down to the “Double Jeopardy!” round) on a fan-created site called J! Archive. On the site, which by the way isn’t affiliated with Jeopardy!, you can travel back through the past thirty years and test your knowledge on Jeopardy! questions on specific topics like finance, economics, money, and the Federal Reserve.
The American quiz show Jeopardy! began in 1962. It became syndicated with Alex Trebek as host in 1984. The official website gives background information on what’s happening with the game now. It’s also possible to view the archives of all games aired since 1984 on J! Archive as well as search the archives by keyword (search box at top of screen). As you play a game, mouse over the monetary value posted at the top of each box and you’ll see the answer to the question and the name of the contestant who got it right.
In the not-too-distant past (2010), there was a Jeopardy! game with the category “Chairmen of the Federal Reserve,” which you can also play. In this game, no $1,000 question is posted for the Fed category. The contestants must have reached the end of the round before this. Wonder what the question
was . . . .
Going back in time, here are some examples from the deep, dark past:
Game from 1984 with “Money” category in the Jeopardy! round
Game from 1990 with “Economics” category in the Jeopardy! round
Game from 1992 with “Money and Finance” category in the Double Jeopardy! round
Game from 1992 with “Business and Finance” category in the Double Jeopardy! round
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the author.
Amy Farber is a research librarian in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Research and Statistics Group.