A JEOPARDY! contestant has placed blame on tonight’s ‘unusually rough’ Daily Doubles for her brutal loss and reveals her ‘one regret’ of the game. 

Wednesday’s Jeopardy! game saw returning champion Josh Weikert go head-to-head with two new opponents as he attempted to extend his three-day winnings of $54,001.

The politics professor from Collegeville, Pennsylvania played against Melanie Hirsch, a lawyer from Silver Spring, Maryland and John Rindone, a policy advisor from Brooklyn, New York.

Josh scored the first Daily Double under the category “From Their New York Times Obituary” and bet it all.

“Dead of heart attack in Paris, she was the most exciting opera singer of her time,” host Ken Jennings said.

However, Josh lost $1,800 when he failed to answer with “who was Maria Callas?”

Going into the Double Jeopardy! round, Melanie was in the lead with $6,800 while Josh had dropped down to $2,400.

John, who had not buzzed into many answers at that point in the game, remained in third with just $400.

Melanie then found the second Daily Double under the category “Fossil Fueled,” as Ken read: “North Carolina chose as its state fossil the teeth of this giant prehistoric shark.”

“What is a megalodon?” was the answer the judges were looking for however, Melanie got it wrong – dropping $3,500 from her $11,200 total.

Attempting to redeem herself, Melanie was able to find the third and final Daily Double under “Lion Around.”

“Stage directions in this Shaw play based on a Roman story mention a huge thorn in a paw,” Ken read.

Melanie was unable to answer “What is Androcles and the Lion?” – making her lose out on another $2,500 from her total of $10,100.

Though she had a massive lead the majority of the game, losing back-to-back Daily Doubles squandered any major advantage she had going into Final Jeopardy!

Still, she was in first going into the last round with $12,000 while Josh was just behind with $11,600 and John acquired $2,600.

Ken introduced the final category as “SEAFARING BRITS” as the players placed their wages.

“In 1804, an officer of HMS Warrior formally charged this captain with “calling me rascal, scoundrel, and shaking his fist in my face,” Ken read.

The correct answer was “who was Bligh?” – something all three contestants got wrong.

Melanie made a hefty wager – which ultimately backfired as she missed the final clue and had her score drop to just $799.

She went from first to third, as Josh won his fourth game with $5,201 and John ended with $1,000.

Jeopardy! Set Secrets

Jeopardy! fans don’t see everything behind the scenes from watching on TV. These hidden set features make the show run smoothly:

• Each podium has a hidden riser so that all contestants appear to be the same height.
• After each clue is read, signal lights go off around the game board, indicating players can buzz in and respond.
• Buzz in too early, and you’re locked out for .25 seconds.
• The podiums have a small white light in the lower left corner, which tells Ken Jennings who goes next.
• Contrary to popular belief, the player with control doesn’t have a buzzer advantage on the next clue.
• To the game board’s left is a scoreboard so the players can see their opponents’ scores.
• All contestants must bring three outfits to the studio, but only the host and returning champion change for the next episode.
• There are wardrobe rules, including restrictions on busy patterns, solid white, purple (like the background), and logos.
• Five episodes are taped in a single day, and sometimes more.
• The categories, players (aside from the returning champion), and Final Jeopardy! for a tape day are all drawn randomly to ensure fairness.
• Female contestants are asked not to wear makeup, which is applied backstage, and don’t wear mascara because of sweat.
• Contestants fill out a questionnaire, and producers select five Q&A topics for the host.
• Host Ken isn’t allowed to interact with the contestants until after the game.
• Players can request to sit in a chair while competing without question.

Following the game, Melanie went online to share her thoughts on the game, including the Daily Double clues she slammed as “unusually rough.”

“Obviously, I’d have preferred to have won, but I’m still so happy to have had this experience–and if I’m going to lose, for it to be to a really nice multi-day champion like Josh.

“And I’m tickled with this board, notwithstanding my bad luck on the DDs.

“I got three clues thanks to my children (two kids’ books and archaeopteryx), a movie set in my hometown (Bull Durham), the country where I studied abroad in college (Sri Lanka).

“As for FJ: I’d joked with my husband that Mutiny on the Bounty comes up all the time and had made sure to study it.

“Even so, Bligh wasn’t close to the tip of my tongue in those short 30 seconds, and I’m not kicking myself at all.”