Statistical analysis of 40 years of Jeopardy! data (regular-season games only)
What % of 1990s answers (appearing 2+ times) still appear in the 2020s? Higher = more timeless.
| Domain | Evergreen % | Visual | 1990s Answers | Shared w/ 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geography | 38.9% |
|
1071 | 417 |
| Literature | 21.8% |
|
1485 | 324 |
| History | 20.4% |
|
1856 | 378 |
| Religion | 18.6% |
|
447 | 83 |
| Music | 17.2% |
|
653 | 112 |
| Science | 14.2% |
|
1453 | 207 |
| Pop Culture | 12.3% |
|
1013 | 125 |
| Sports | 11.4% |
|
236 | 27 |
| Arts | 9.6% |
|
612 | 59 |
| Business | 8.0% |
|
628 | 50 |
| Lifestyle | 6.3% |
|
559 | 35 |
| Food & Drink | 5.3% |
|
508 | 27 |
| Language | 3.7% |
|
241 | 9 |
| Wordplay | 1.8% |
|
555 | 10 |
Stumper rate (% of clues where no contestant answered correctly) by era.
% of each year's clues that had a brand-new answer (never seen before). Shows the shrinking pool of novel answers.
Top answers per domain: their peak decade vs 2020s frequency. Negative = declining, positive = growing.
| Domain | Answer | Peak Decade | Peak Count | 2020s Count | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arts | Michelangelo | 1990s | 32 | 4 | -88% |
| Arts | Rembrandt | 1990s | 29 | 9 | -69% |
| Arts | Picasso | 1990s | 24 | 5 | -79% |
| Arts | Van Gogh | 1990s | 17 | 3 | -82% |
| Arts | Georgia O'Keeffe | 1990s | 18 | 6 | -67% |
| Arts | Andy Warhol | 1990s | 13 | 2 | -85% |
| Arts | Gauguin | 1990s | 14 | 6 | -57% |
| Arts | The Louvre | 1990s | 17 | 3 | -82% |
| Business | New York | 2000s | 11 | 2 | -82% |
| Business | California | 2000s | 9 | 2 | -78% |
| Business | Toyota | 1990s | 10 | 2 | -80% |
| Business | Volkswagen | 2010s | 8 | 4 | -50% |
| Business | Boeing | 1990s | 9 | 4 | -56% |
| Business | Ronald Reagan | 1990s | 10 | 1 | -90% |
| Business | Ford | 1984-89 | 6 | 5 | -17% |
| Business | Honda | 1990s | 8 | 2 | -75% |
| Food & Drink | Rum | 1990s | 26 | 3 | -88% |
| Food & Drink | Rice | 1990s | 19 | 0 | -100% |
| Food & Drink | Tea | 1990s | 17 | 1 | -94% |
| Food & Drink | Vodka | 1990s | 18 | 1 | -94% |
| Food & Drink | Champagne | 1990s | 11 | 0 | -100% |
| Food & Drink | Pineapple | 1990s | 11 | 4 | -64% |
| Food & Drink | Cheese | 1990s | 14 | 2 | -86% |
| Food & Drink | Tequila | 1990s | 9 | 3 | -67% |
| Geography | Australia | 1990s | 48 | 11 | -77% |
| Geography | Alaska | 1990s | 40 | 5 | -88% |
| Geography | Italy | 2000s | 30 | 5 | -83% |
| Geography | Canada | 1990s | 21 | 10 | -52% |
| Geography | Switzerland | 1990s | 31 | 6 | -81% |
| Geography | Brazil | 1990s | 20 | 10 | -50% |
| Geography | France | 1990s | 23 | 7 | -70% |
| Geography | Mexico | 1990s | 27 | 4 | -85% |
| History | George Washington | 1990s | 39 | 4 | -90% |
| History | Thomas Jefferson | 1990s | 34 | 3 | -91% |
| History | Abraham Lincoln | 1990s | 25 | 5 | -80% |
| History | Woodrow Wilson | 1984-89 | 26 | 1 | -96% |
| History | Andrew Jackson | 1990s | 32 | 7 | -78% |
| History | Teddy Roosevelt | 1984-89 | 20 | 7 | -65% |
| History | Richard Nixon | 2000s | 26 | 2 | -92% |
| History | Spain | 1990s | 35 | 5 | -86% |
| Language | French | 1990s | 20 | 3 | -85% |
| Language | German | 1990s | 20 | 5 | -75% |
| Language | Spanish | 1990s | 19 | 1 | -95% |
| Language | Arabic | 1990s | 17 | 1 | -94% |
| Language | English | 1990s | 16 | 0 | -100% |
| Language | Greek | 1990s | 19 | 0 | -100% |
| Language | Latin | 1990s | 14 | 3 | -79% |
| Language | Italian | 1990s | 14 | 1 | -93% |
| Lifestyle | Red | 1990s | 16 | 1 | -94% |
| Lifestyle | White | 1984-89 | 15 | 1 | -93% |
| Lifestyle | Blue | 2000s | 12 | 1 | -92% |
| Lifestyle | Yellow | 1990s | 17 | 1 | -94% |
| Lifestyle | Green | 1990s | 15 | 1 | -93% |
| Lifestyle | = | 1990s | 20 | 0 | -100% |
| Lifestyle | Harvard | 1990s | 13 | 1 | -92% |
| Lifestyle | Black | 1990s | 13 | 0 | -100% |
| Literature | Hamlet | 2000s | 34 | 11 | -68% |
| Literature | Macbeth | 2000s | 25 | 6 | -76% |
| Literature | Othello | 2010s | 22 | 5 | -77% |
| Literature | King Lear | 1990s | 21 | 8 | -62% |
| Literature | Mark Twain | 1990s | 25 | 5 | -80% |
| Literature | The Tempest | 2010s | 18 | 5 | -72% |
| Literature | Stephen King | 1990s | 28 | 5 | -82% |
| Literature | Julius Caesar | 1990s | 20 | 3 | -85% |
| Music | Mozart | 1990s | 25 | 4 | -84% |
| Music | Beethoven | 1990s | 23 | 3 | -87% |
| Music | Tchaikovsky | 1990s | 21 | 3 | -86% |
| Music | Carmen | 2010s | 12 | 7 | -42% |
| Music | Madonna | 1990s | 15 | 7 | -53% |
| Music | Wagner | 1990s | 21 | 4 | -81% |
| Music | Chicago | 2000s | 11 | 7 | -36% |
| Music | Aida | 2000s | 13 | 4 | -69% |
| Pop Culture | Frasier | 2000s | 16 | 6 | -62% |
| Pop Culture | Casablanca | 2010s | 12 | 6 | -50% |
| Pop Culture | Cheers | 2000s | 11 | 7 | -36% |
| Pop Culture | M*A*S*H | 2000s | 13 | 6 | -54% |
| Pop Culture | Bewitched | 2000s | 9 | 6 | -33% |
| Pop Culture | The Simpsons | 2000s | 9 | 7 | -22% |
| Pop Culture | All In The Family | 2000s | 7 | 6 | -14% |
| Pop Culture | The Sopranos | 2010s | 12 | 5 | -58% |
| Religion | Moses | 1990s | 25 | 5 | -80% |
| Religion | Solomon | 1990s | 19 | 5 | -74% |
| Religion | Buddhism | 1990s | 22 | 4 | -82% |
| Religion | Noah | 1990s | 21 | 4 | -81% |
| Religion | David | 1990s | 15 | 6 | -60% |
| Religion | Paul | 1990s | 22 | 4 | -82% |
| Religion | Peter | 1990s | 18 | 4 | -78% |
| Religion | Samson | 1990s | 19 | 3 | -84% |
| Science | Mercury | 1990s | 35 | 16 | -54% |
| Science | Mars | 1990s | 34 | 9 | -74% |
| Science | Venus | 1990s | 30 | 12 | -60% |
| Science | Saturn | 1990s | 19 | 9 | -53% |
| Science | 3 | 1984-89 | 30 | 3 | -90% |
| Science | Jupiter | 1990s | 19 | 10 | -47% |
| Science | Neptune | 1990s | 18 | 8 | -56% |
| Science | Carbon | 1990s | 18 | 3 | -83% |
| Sports | Basketball | 1990s | 17 | 5 | -71% |
| Sports | Golf | 1990s | 18 | 4 | -78% |
| Sports | Baseball | 1984-89 | 12 | 8 | -33% |
| Sports | Football | 1984-89 | 11 | 4 | -64% |
| Sports | Tennis | 2010s | 9 | 6 | -33% |
| Sports | Soccer | 1984-89 | 10 | 5 | -50% |
| Sports | Hockey | 2000s | 10 | 4 | -60% |
| Sports | Wilt Chamberlain | 2000s | 9 | 2 | -78% |
| Wordplay | = | 1984-89 | 91 | 0 | -100% |
| Wordplay | X | 1984-89 | 5 | 1 | -80% |
| Wordplay | Go | 1990s | 4 | 2 | -50% |
| Wordplay | Georgia | 1984-89 | 3 | 2 | -33% |
| Wordplay | Ireland | 1990s | 7 | 2 | -71% |
| Wordplay | C | 1990s | 4 | 0 | -100% |
| Wordplay | Poland | 1990s | 6 | 2 | -67% |
| Wordplay | Humpty Dumpty | 2010s | 5 | 0 | -100% |
Top 5 answers per domain in each era. See what's changed.
How much should you weight recent seasons vs older ones, by domain?
| Domain | Recommendation | Evergreen % | Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geography | Moderate | 38.9% | Mix of persistent and shifting answers. Slight recency bias. |
| Literature | High Recency | 21.8% | Answers change significantly over time. Focus on recent seasons. |
| History | High Recency | 20.4% | Answers change significantly over time. Focus on recent seasons. |
| Religion | High Recency | 18.6% | Answers change significantly over time. Focus on recent seasons. |
| Music | High Recency | 17.2% | Answers change significantly over time. Focus on recent seasons. |
| Science | High Recency | 14.2% | Answers change significantly over time. Focus on recent seasons. |
| Pop Culture | High Recency | 12.3% | Answers change significantly over time. Focus on recent seasons. |
| Sports | High Recency | 11.4% | Answers change significantly over time. Focus on recent seasons. |
| Arts | High Recency | 9.6% | Answers change significantly over time. Focus on recent seasons. |
| Business | High Recency | 8.0% | Answers change significantly over time. Focus on recent seasons. |
| Lifestyle | High Recency | 6.3% | Answers change significantly over time. Focus on recent seasons. |
| Food & Drink | High Recency | 5.3% | Answers change significantly over time. Focus on recent seasons. |
| Language | High Recency | 3.7% | Answers change significantly over time. Focus on recent seasons. |
| Wordplay | High Recency | 1.8% | Answers change significantly over time. Focus on recent seasons. |