When we opened our Amazon Echo Dot a few months ago, I had no idea what to do with it.

In fact, I asked my fiance if he thought we'd ever use it for something other than asking Alexa to play a song or to check what the time/temperature is.  I had no idea that the device had all kinds of hidden skills and games inside of it until one of our promotions techs asked me if I'd tried playing Jeopardy on it yet.  Little did I know that if you say "Hey Alexa, let's play Jeopardy" it'll launch the iconic games how theme song, Alex Trebek's voice and your chance to answer six clues that were written for the game board but not actually used in the show.  At the end of the game, it tells you how you ranked against other players across the country.

I LOVE trivia games, but I'm not any good at them.  I play Jeopardy with Alexa every day, but the one thing I've learned from doing that? I have NO business every trying to get on the show.

AJ Freeman, of Eagle, is a completely different story.  According to the Idaho Statesman, Freeman's been taking the online test to submit yourself as a contestant for the game show for over five years. Persistence paid off and he was eventually invited to be part of a live audition in Seattle.  After meeting with the shows crew, playing a few practice rounds to get a feel for what it's like using the show's buzzer system and doing a screen test interview he played the waiting game.

In December, he got the call that he had finally been chosen to be on the show! He filmed his episode and it will finally air on Tuesday, March 20. Obviously, he can't share if or how much money he won during his appearance, but he did give the Statesman some facts about what really goes on on the set of the hit TV show!

Jeopardy's "Not So Dirty" Little Secrets

  • The production crew films five episodes a day
  • There's no actual time limit for Final Jeopardy, you're seeing an edited down version of the thinking process on the TV show
  • Each contestant has to give producers three fun facts about themselves that Alex Trebek can talk about as he's introducing the contestant
  • Less than 400 of the 10,000 people who pass Jeopardy's test actually make it to the show every year

Think you have what it takes to be like Freeman and make it onto the Jeopardy stage? Try your luck at these Idaho themed Jeopardy questions or take the official online Jeopardy practice test HERE. 

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