What is Ottawa? Jeopardy! champ comes to see for herself - Action News
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Ottawa

What is Ottawa? Jeopardy! champ comes to see for herself

Ottawa Tourism invited Amy Schneider to visit the capital after a clue about the capital stumped her.

Ottawa Tourism invited Amy Schneider to visit after clue about capital stumped her

During her remarkable run on Jeopardy! earlier this year, contestant Amy Schneider was unable to come up with the question, 'What is Ottawa?' A couple weekends ago, Schneider visited the capital to see for herself. (Jeopardy Productions, Inc./The Associated Press)

Amy Schneider earned $1.3 million in prize money on Jeopardy! by correctly answering trivia questions or, if you're a stickler, by correctly asking the questions that matchedthe answers provided.

Schneider's 40-game winning streak, which stretched from November until late January, was the second-longest run in thepopular game show's history. Only Ken Jennings, who hosted the show while Schneider was a contestant, enjoyed greater longevity.

But Schneider found herself stumped when it came to one Final Jeopardy! clue: "An annual event called Winterludeincludes skating on the Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in this city."

Schneider, who hails from Dayton, Ohio, guessed Amsterdam. The correct answer?Ottawa, of course.

LISTEN | Full interview with Amy Schneider:

In response, Ottawa Tourism offered the Jeopardy! star a free trip to the capital so she could become better acquainted. Twoweekends ago, Schneider saw the Rideau Canal with her own eyes.

"I could see why it was a world heritage site," shetold CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning.

Ottawa is a 'beautiful city'

Schneider said she arrived knowing very little about Ottawa.

"I came in with no particular expectations one way or the other, and it was really a great weekend," she said. "It's a beautiful city."

She visited the Tulip Festival, enjoyed local cuisineand even found time to reflect on her Jeopardy! performance.

"The key thing that I realized I missed was that Winterlude is English, and so it wouldn't have been Amsterdam," she said. "That was the one thing that could have clued me in."

Faceoff with Canadian champ Mattea Roach

Recent Canadian Jeopardy! champMattea Roach has calledSchneider, who is transgender, an inspiration. Schneider saidshe was pleased that Roach has expressed pride in being part of a new wave of queer and transJeopardy! contestants.

"I knew another great champion was going to come along at some point," Schneider said."I'm so glad that it was Matteaand... another new face and new type of person."

A young woman wearing glasses is smiling as she rests her chin on her folded hands.
Canadian Mattea Roach appears in an episode of Jeopardy! in a handout photo. Jeopardy! contestant Roach, the 23-year-old patron saint of Canadian nerds, has cracked the Top 10 list for most consecutive regular season wins. (Jeopardy Productions, Inc./The Canadian Press)

In fact, Roach and Schneider are set to face off in the annual Jeopardy!Tournament of Champions later this year.

Schneider said part of her is hoping there will be a question about Ottawa.

"Ask me about Colonel By," she joked."I'm ready to go!"