“Jeopardy!” has been dishing out some fun facts and fascinating trivia on social media. And in the latest installment, the game show dropped a hint about a certain 1950s candy.
“In the 1950s these candy dispensers were adorned with heads; they’ve now been adorned with almost 2,000 different ones,” “Jeopardy!” posted to Instagram on Wednesday.
Can you guess the candy?
Spoiler Alert: You’ve Probably Tried That Candy
That fun fact was inspired by a clue from Wednesday’s show. But “Jeopardy!” gave away the answer in its caption to the post.
“From Popeye and Mickey Mouse to Harry Potter and Hello Kitty — PEZ candy dispensers have been a staple in American pop culture for more than 60 years,” the game show revealed. “But did you know that PEZ candy was invented in Vienna in the 1920s as a tobacco alternative? Originally only available in one flavor, the name PEZ comes from the first, middle, and last letters of PfeffErminZ, the German word for peppermint.”
The Austrian candy company makes more than 3 billion of those tiny rectangular blocks per year. It has rolled out more than 25 different kinds of Pez over the years. Meanwhile, some Pez dispensers have fetched eye-popping sums from collectors, one of them going for as much as $13,000.
‘Jeopardy’ Is Searching for Alex Trebek’s Permanent Replacement
For its part, “Jeopardy!” is in the midst of a search for a permanent host. The show has been without one since legendary host Alex Trebek died of stage 4 pancreatic cancer on Nov. 8, 2020.
Since Trebek’s death, the show has had a string of guest-hosts, beginning with former “Jeopardy!” champ Ken Jennings. Following him were “Jeopardy!” executive producer Mike Richards, former “Today” show co-host Katie Couric, “Doctor Oz Show” host Dr. Mehmet Oz, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker, former “Jeopardy!” All-Star Buzzy Cohen and now actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik.
“Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie comes after Bialik. Then it’s CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s turn. After him will be George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, LeVar Burton, David Faber and Joe Buck.
And what are producers looking for in a replacement? Well, actually, this one is going to be up to Sony executives, Richards recently said on the Wall Street Journal’s podcast “The Journal.”
Richards added that they’re making the decision based on “analytics and real testing,” not subjective impressions, even though that’s how these decisions have often been made.
“In the end, we’re a pretty cerebral group, the ‘Jeopardy!’ team,” Richards said.
