Pursuit of the trivial

Today is National Trivia Day! Seems like a great time to point out that the annual Jeopardy! online test is just around the corner. It only takes 15 minutes, so go ahead, sign up and give it a try.

I've blogged about Jeopardy! more than once in past years to help get everyone excited for their chance to meet Alex Trebek. (Although there are multiple missing parentheses--and the term "most hardest"--in that first link, I am actually quite intelligent and am confident I would perform well if I ever made it on the show.)

I actually haven't watched full episodes of Jeopardy! much since I was in high school, but I see it all the time in other TV shows and movies. Here are some of the best ones, in ascending order of awesomeness.

9. Mama's Family



That's about as funny as that show ever got.


8. Golden Girls



Betty White is just unstoppable.


7. Cheers



Perhaps the most famous one, but not my favorite.

6. Seinfeld

There's an even better Jeopardy! moment when George, operating at full(er) mental capacity due to an unexpected period of celibacy, nails every answer while solving a Rubik's Cube, but I couldn't find the video.

5. Family Guy



There's also this clip, but the one above is funnier, plus it led to a fantastic "life imitating art" moment.

4. White Men Can't Jump



The first movie on the list. Here's a rundown of some things you've seen more than once if you've watched all of the above clips: 1) People cheating off their neighbor's screen in Final Jeopardy; 2) Woody Harrelson in the studio audience; 3) Mentions of Cary Grant.

3. Groundhog Day



Had I been in the same situation as Phil Connors, I would've probably  spent at least one day out of every 50 just messing with people like this.

2. The Simpsons

 I can never find the Simpsons clips I want online. In this Christmas episode, Marge goes on Jeopardy! to win money that the family owes the town. She ends up $5200 in the hole, which Trebek tries to collect from her as she leaves. "I asked if you understood the rules before the game and you said you did." So great.

1. Saturday Night Live

SNL Celebrity Jeopardy 4-15-00 - watch more funny videos

How could the top spot be anything but SNL's "Celebrity Jeopardy?" The video above is the best of the best (or at least the best one that doesn't feature Turd Ferguson). Lorne Michaels is a smart guy, but he hasn't handled his extensive video library very intelligently. There should have been a Celebrity Jeopardy DVD in stores years ago--there might even be enough for two volumes! Come on, Lorne.

If you choose to leave a comment, make sure it's trivial! And good luck on the test!