We Just Witnessed the Most Hilarious Black History Moment on Jeopardy

The news: Jeopardy serves a dual function: It lets brainier-than-thou types compete for nerd supremacy, while teaching its audience a thing or two on the side. But last night’s episode will live on for other reasons. And they have little to do with the actual questions.

For context, Feb. 17 falls in the middle of Black History Month. This is an annual observance commemorating the struggles and accomplishments of people from the African diaspora. In American schools, administrators use the opportunity to plan appropriately (and inappropriately)-themed lessons. Sometimes these lessons stay with students. Sometimes, they do not.

The contestants on last night’s Jeopardy provide a humorous example of the latter. Here are the contestants:

And here is the board at the end of Double Jeopardy:

Via Imgur

Interpret this as you will. Unless there’s a strategy that says, “Delay winning money and save the easiest category for last,” which is possible, it appears that “African-American History” was the subject all three contestants felt least equipped to tackle. The Imgur comments add another hilarious dimension to the proceedings:

Regardless of how this makes the contestants look, however, they have nothing on this (possibly fake) highlight from the Wheel of Fortune archives:

God bless #Amurica.