In a Pickle on Jeopardy

Writers for Jeopardy have been digging into the history of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition for answers to questions in recent weeks. Amy Schneider’s incredible winning streak came to end soon after missing a Final Jeopardy question about the Field Columbian Museum on the January 24, 2022, episode.

During the episode airing on Friday, February 4, 2022 (Show #8570), the “Dance Party” category held the answer “At the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, the ‘Street in Cairo‘ exhibit helped introduce this exotic dancing to America.” Third-grade teacher Sara Lefort earned $200 for her response “What is belly dancing?” Women in several villages along the Midway Plaisance demonstrated dancing that caused a sensation among some Americans in the audience.

This answer in the episode airing on Monday, February 28, 2022 (Show #8586) left all the contestants in a pickle: “At the 1893 World’s Fair, this pickle-maker from Pittsburgh offered souvenir pickle charms to those who visited his booth.” The screen showed one of the company’s iconic pickle charms (oriented so as to not reveal the company name):

After two incorrect guesses of “Who is Claussen?” and “Who is Vlassic?”, host Ken Jennings revealed the correct question of “Who was H.J. Heinz?” and commented: “I hope these pickle charms are not euphemisms.” H.J. Heinz displayed their condiment products at the 1893 World’s Fair in the Gallery level of the Agricultural Building. To entice visitors to make the trip upstairs, they offered coupons to receive the little green charms. In later years, the design evolved into a lapel pin.