The answer: This Dartmouth professor won $14,100 last night on Jeopardy.
The question: Who is Government Professor Tom Nichols?
Nichols appeared last night on the nationally televised game show where competitors give questions to match answers supplied by host Alex Trebek.
Nichols beat his closest competitor by a mere $701 in a Final Jeopardy showdown to earn a second appearance on the television game show, which will air tonight.
After getting on the board quickly with a $100 answer in the category of "Musical Terms," Nichols lost control of the board and was quickly silenced, until he was able to break back in with a successful question again in Musical Terms, "What is perfect pitch?"
Nichols appeared to have trouble using his clicker early on, repeatedly attempting to buzz in without success until the pitch question.
Although the London Potpourri category in the first round gave Nichols some difficulty, he only gave one incorrect question in the entire round.
Nichols gave correct answers in all the first-round categories, which included Animals, Odd Words, Money, Musical Terms, London Potpourri and "My" Movies, but was unable to dominate any topic or sustain a run in any of the categories.
Nichols repeatedly shifted his weight from one foot to the other until he got into his zone.
After giving the correct question "What is $999,999.95?" in response to the answer "Five cents to be a millionaire," Nichols let a smile creep across his face and began to enjoy himself.
Nichols finished the first round in second place with $1800 behind returning champion John Welsh, who earned $4200.
But the many fans back home in Hanover waiting to hear Nichols mention Dartmouth, were disappointed when, during the player introductions at the end of the round, Trebek only asked about Nichols's recent trip to Moscow.
"I hadn't been there in ten years," said Nichols, who went on to talk about the missing symbols of communism when Trebek piped in and added that McDonalds had replaced the old symbols.
Nichols became more aggressive in the Double Jeopardy round which featured the categories 1953, Business Biggies, Sculpture, Black Americans, Children's Stories and Miscellaneous.
Early on, Nichols landed the first of the round's two Daily Doubles and began his comeback.
Trailing by $1,200, Nichols played dangerously and wagered $1,000 in the 1953 category.
The answer was, "The Ohio Senator, called Mr. Republican, who died July 31, 1953."
Nichols thought calmly for a moment, before giving the correct question, "Who is Robert Taft?"
With that question, Nichols increased his total to $3,400, just $200 behind Welsh.
Nichols's tally fluctuated throughout Double Jeopardy.
At the end of Double Jeopardy, Nichols had amassed $8,800, but he only led the competition by $1,800.
Then Nichols got lucky. If there was one category any government professor would ask for in Final Jeopardy, it would be The White House..
And that is exactly what Nichols got.
The final answer was, "One of two presidents who have died in The White House."
Nichols, with a confident half-smile, named one of the two presidents, with the question, "Who was Taylor?" referring to Zachary Taylor.
The other president who died in office, William Henry Harrison, was named by another player, and the third player did not name either president.
Nichols wagered $5,300, which boosted his total to $14,100 and gave him the win by a scant $701.
Nichols won a spot on the show as a result of a talent search in Plattsburgh, N.Y. this past fall.
He will be the defending champion tonight at 7:00 p.m. on channel 31 and 7:30 p.m. on channel 4.
Nichols was out of town yesterday and could not be reached for comment.
