Jeopardy! fans are known to scour over every detail of the long-running game show — no matter how minuscule — due to their deep interest and longstanding fandom. Now, one eagle-eyed viewer is pointing out a specific, obscure and subtle change — but one, they claim, could make an impact on the game itself.
Taking to the Jeopardy! subreddit on Thursday, May 15, u/syllish called out the show’s switch from “incandescent lights to LED [lights]” on what they called the “‘hey you can answer now'” lights. While it’s unclear exactly which lights the Redditor is referring to, it’s most likely the indicator lights on either side of the Jeopardy! board, which viewers cannot see while watching at home. The official Jeopardy! website has a GIF of what these indicator lights look like.
This action “illuminates a series of lights on both sides of the gameboard to let the contestants know that their devices are now armed and that they can ring in,” the site explains.
It’s also possible that the user could also be referring to the white light that illuminates the contestant’s podium after they buzz in to answer the clue; whoever’s podium lights up white indicates to host Ken Jennings (and the audience) that they were the first to buzz in.
As for the Redditor’s theory, “LED lights turn on faster than incandescents – and I bet that’s affected the buzz timing for contestants over the years,” the user mused. “So I’d love to know when it happened, because it’s definitely LEDs now.”
There was one answer to their query. “Jeopardy started to switch from incandescents to LEDs for the signal lights somewhere between 2010-2013,” another person responded, though it was unclear where they got their information from.
Of note, as anyone who has bought lightbulbs — or holiday lights — over the past decade can attest, the cool-tone LED lights have become much more popular than the warm incandescent lights, due in part to their environmental friendliness and longevity.
