Any of our American chums browsing this very site - and indeed plenty from elsewhere, we imagine - will no doubt be familiar with Jeopardy!, the US quiz show where contestants must respond to general knowledge clues with a question as their answer. If that didn't make much sense, sorry - it's not the easiest format to describe!
Anyway, the show has been running for as long as we can remember with a whopping 8,000+ episodes now under its belt. Aside from the entertainment factor, viewers also enjoy the show as a way of learning cool little bits of trivia. Sadly, though, the showmakers have just made a rather comical error.
You can see it for yourself in the clip below, where show host Alex Trebek presents the following clue:
"The 7 rotatable blocks used in this video game have names like Orange Ricky, Hero & Smashboy"
The contestant gives video game classic Tetris as their answer, which turns out to be 'correct'.
The thing is, though, this is completely incorrect. Back in February, Twitter user @vecchitto shared the following images online, claiming that the original instruction booklet for Tetris revealed the fancy block names. It went viral and was picked up by a number of news outlets, but it was all a trick; a quick look in the real manual reveals that this page never existed and was completely made up as a prank.
The show even posted the clue online, tagging the official Tetris account in for good measure as it brags about its new find. As you can see, the folks at Tetris were a little confused.
At least the contestant got the wrong answer right, though. We guess?
[source twitter.com]
Comments 41
Ahem, let me get this out of the way so nobody else has to
(Clears throat)
BOOOOOOOMMMEEEEERRR
Sigh...people don't do their research anymore. Hey I saw this thing posted on the internet it must be real. Let's put it on our show! And you know what? Add it to our Twitter too! We'll look really cool and hip to gamers lol.
This is a tetris moment
What is fact checking?
Correct!
NL dissing on a TV show for not checking their facts? God I swear I had something for this...😉
You can't stop me from calling a tetris block "Smashboy" now.
Totally Real Fun Fact: In the FDS version of the original SMB if you put in the Konami code, you can play as Simon Belmont!
Can't wait for this to be on Jeopardy!
I remember watching that last night and thinking are they talking about Tetris? This are fan names...
"Smashboy"? SomeBODY ain't the sharpest tool in the shed if they actually believe that.
"Epic Fails for $1000, Alex."
Welcome to the future, where the truth can easily be rewritten and no one truly cares...
Later on in that episode, they asked which of the four Pac-Man ghost names doesn't rhyme. While the answer was Clyde, they incorrectly stated Pinky's name as Dinky.
"How embarrassing" - RLM
Same episode that Alex messed up the ghosts names from Pac-man too!
Look, Tetris is a very technical game. I vote in favor of the blocks having names. It gives the game some character. Would also make live spectating a Tetris event alot more fun
Alex even messed up the ghosts from Pac-Man, namely:
Inky
Pinky
Dinky
Clyde
Tetris Official's response was great. Love the fact they didn't address it properly or correct them with facts, just trolled them.
Some people even go as far as to make up stuff online, present it as fact and then totally diss anyone who dares to say it is wrong.
I have seen it many times. I remember correcting someone online and boy did I cop an earful. I have never seen (or heard) such absolute vulgarity in my life. The worst thing is that many people will just blindly believe whatever it is that they read / see / hear, whether it be true or not. Sad to see that it has even spread to TV now. Although I must admit that hearing the Tetris blocks thought to have names such as “Smashboy” and “Orange Ricky” is hilarious. 😆
I mean. If these names went viral like they did, they might as well be real at this point, am I right? After all she was even able to say the right answer, that's gotta count for something.
“At least the contestant got the wrong answer right, though.” This made me chuckle .
Reminds me of that Only Fools and Horses episode where Del goes on a gameshow (hosted by Jonathan Ross) and rings Rodney to help with a question who then gives him the 'wrong' answer, then when the show called Del to say it was actually correct he thought it was a prank and told them to give the money to charity.
Where's all the "FAKE NEWS" people from drift articles when you actually need them to call out Jeopardy?
@HobbitGamer I'm here for the #FakeNews
Apparently people will rush to believe any hoax prank related to a Nintendo product these days.
As Abraham Lincoln famously said - "don't believe everything you read on the Internet".
@mousieone Yeah, I was literally watching this at a realtive's house at the time, and I was really confused. I only knew the "answer" because it said blocks with names, and I instantly thought Tetris.
At least the Smash brothers question was right? It said in ultimate you can play as link, DK, or what hegdehog? Answer being Sonic
How did no one notice the obvious Photoshop on the manual's page tho?
@Mii_duck
I’m gonna put it on my open space door tomorrow...
This is brilliant
@SenseiDje - sadly I can't claim that line as my own, but I can't remember where I heard it.
@Toy_Link What is the FDS? Famicom Disk System?
I've never seen the abbreviation before, sorry if this seems like a silly question.
I once had a gym instructor I called Orange Ricky.
@Knuckles
Yes, I was referring to the Famicom Disk System
That's the big prank? Made-up names? I mean...the answer was actually Tetris, even if there's no Hero or Smashboy or whatever
Fake news accepted as truthful fact by not just the show, but the contestants as well...
Doesn’t surprise me- it is a sign of the times we’re living in. This is a microcosm for the world at large, the vast majority of which are being duped by media every single day, unbeknownst to them (arguably to the point of willful ignorance though).
That old saying- believe none of what you hear and half of what you see... it’s outdated. Believe none of what you hear and none of what you see. Twitter especially. I came across a post earlier today showing old photographs from the early 20th century- crazy stuff, like Einstein sticking his tongue out, a guy running and jumping head first into a barn to test a helmet... and I’m like... wait a sec. There was no way they could capture an object in motion in 1912. This has to be fake. But it was all really well done to the point you wondered if it was real. And there was no disclaimer saying it was just for laughs, I think the whole point was to see how many people they could trick.
Deceit is the currency of the day.
My question is did she win? My 2nd question is: Did she win by more than the fake Tetris question was worth? My 3rd question is: Why would a Russian video game name pieces after US states and colorful Ricky's?
@Gravitron To answer your third question, US Localization process, to where most of the original stuff is thrown out the window.
Somehow I find this very inspiring.
I think it would be cool if each Tetromino had a name that starts with the letter that is reminiscent of its shape.
The T-shaped Tetromino could be Thom. The other 6 maybe
Z - Zach
S - Sara
L - Lisa
J - John
O - Olga
I - Ivan
I picked only names with four letters, because each shape is made of four blocks.
And Ivan and Olga as a reference to the Russian roots. ^^
And always a male and a female name, for gender fairness.
This is almost as bad as that time when the newspaper from Mexico posted about a Pokémon Gun version! LMAO
Me: What do the writers of the show think is Tetris but is actually an internet joke?
@KingBowser
At least Alex corrected himself after the break since someone actually caught the mistake. (This actually happens a lot more since the Clue Crew works throughout the taping to check answers and such... but nobody's perfect unfortunately...)
Tap here to load 41 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...