It's Jeopardy! Kids Week, which is heartrending enough with the amount of pressure put on small children—there's more than a little bit of the Roman Arena in tuning in to watch tiny dreams be crushed. But last night's Final Jeopardy was a shitshow from top to bottom.
Thomas was in second place heading into Final Jeopardy. The question was: "Abraham Lincoln called this document, which took effect in 1863, 'a fit and necessary war measure.'" Thomas knew the answer. He just spelled it wrong.
He added a "t" to "Emanciptation Proclamation," and for what seems like the first time ever, the Jeopardy! producers ruled a misspelling a wrong answer. Thomas was crushed.
Then Thomas had to watch Skyler—who is a HUGE Civil War buff—nail the answer after wagering $30,000. Skyler had more than twice Thomas's score, and could have guaranteed a victory with a small wager. But he went for it, and ended up with $66,600, a kids' record and the third-largest one-day total in the show's history.
And then Thomas had to stand there, fighting back tears, as the credits rolled. Life isn't fair.
Thomas told his local paper appearing on Jeopardy! was "a neat experience."