Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 5, 2025, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category History) for Friday, December 5, 2025 (Season 42, Game 65):
A storm in the 1960s blew off what looked like a spout on this sandstone formation that made the news in the early 1920s
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Margaret Dunlap, a writer from Burbank, California
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Youssef Shareef, a cashier originally from Houston, Texas
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Ron Lalonde, a medical physicist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2-day total: $35,601)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Our week of Jeopardy! play ends with Ray Ron Lalonde holding down the champion’s lectern for the second consecutive game. Looking to take his spot and go into the weekend as Jeopardy! champion are Houston’s Youssef Shareef & Burbank’s Margaret Dunlap.
We’re also only ten days from the start of Second Chance competition; don’t forget to check back next Sunday for the Week 1 preview!
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is Teapot Dome?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2025 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Why was the rock in Wyoming’s Natrona County named Teapot Dome when it is missing a handle and a spout? The formation that gave its name to the central Wyoming oil field, and the subsequent bribery scandal that rocked the Warren G. Harding administration of the 1920s, once contained parts that looked like a handle and a spout; unfortunately, erosion and storms weathered away the rock, with the “handle” being lost in 1930 and the “spout” in 1962.
As long as one can associate the 1920s with Teapot Dome and not the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, this should be a gettable Final Jeopardy clue. Then again, I thought yesterday’s was pretty straightforward and it turned into a Triple Stumper…
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, December 5, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: We 5 Kings; Repurposing; Compose Yourself!; All Kinds Of Crummy; U.S. Museums; Let’s Give Star Wars A Hand)
Ron found the Daily Double immediately; unfortunately for him, an incorrect response put him in second place at the break. After 15 clues, the scores were Youssef $2,800 Ron $1,800 Margaret $1,600.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Youssef 5 correct 0 incorrect
Ron 4 correct 1 incorrect
Margaret 3 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Margaret dropped out of high school…to attend college early.
Youssef is a cashier but is also a community college student.
Ron was starstruck by Wayne Gretzky when serving as a dinner theatre waiter in Thunder Bay.
Ron led for most of the segment, but Yousself retook the lead on the 30th clue of the round.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Youssef 8 correct 0 incorrect
Ron 11 correct 3 incorrect
Margaret 5 correct 0 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Youssef $4,800
Ron $4,000
Margaret $3,000
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Border Rivers; Chemistry; Classic Artists’ B-Sides; Stock Symbols; 6-Letter Words; Alexander Pope)
Ron doubled up through DD2; his wager on a late DD3 was excellent and cemented a runaway after Youssef was unable to get in and be correct on either of the last two clues of Double Jeopardy.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Ron 23 correct 6 incorrect
Youssef 13 correct 2 incorrect
Margaret 10 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 6 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Ron $17,200
Youssef $8,400
Margaret $7,800
Margaret was the only player correct in Final Jeopardy, so Ron’s runaway was important for picking up win #3. He’ll go for win #4 on Monday.
Tonight’s results:
Margaret $7,800 + $601 = $8,401 (What is teapot dome?)
Youssef $8,400 – $8,400 = $0 (What is idk)
Ron $17,200 – $300 = $16,900 (What is ???) (3-day total: $52,501)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) LET’S GIVE STAR WARS A HAND $400 (clue #1)
Ron 0 -1000 (Youssef 0 Margaret 0)
2) CHEMISTRY $2000 (clue #5)
Ron 3600 +3600 (Youssef 3600 Margaret 3000)
3) STOCK SYMBOLS $800 (clue #28, $3600 left on board)
Ron 19200 -2000 (Youssef 8400 Margaret 5800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -10
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Ron 2*
Youssef
Margaret
DJ! Round:
Ron 4 5* 2† 2 1 2 5 1 2 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 2*
Youssef 1 5 1 1† 3 3
Margaret 3 4 3 3 4
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Ron 2.89
Margaret 3.40
Youssef 2.33
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 6 (0.09 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Ron $18,600 Coryat, 23 correct, 6 incorrect, 43.86% in first on buzzer (25/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Margaret $7,800 Coryat, 10 correct, 2 incorrect, 17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Youssef $8,400 Coryat, 13 correct, 2 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $34,800
Lach Trash: $12,400 (on 13 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,800
Lead Changes: 7
Times Tied: 4
Player Statistics:
Ron Lalonde, career statistics:
68 correct, 14 incorrect
3/4 on rebound attempts (on 13 rebound opportunities)
40.94% in first on buzzer (70/171)
3/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $6,400)
1/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,000
Youssef Shareef, career statistics:
13 correct, 3 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $8,400
Margaret Dunlap, career statistics:
11 correct, 2 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,800
Ron Lalonde, to win:
4 games: 52.950%
5: 28.037%
6: 14.846%
7: 7.861%
8: 4.162%
Avg. streak: 4.125 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Whether you like it or not, the rules of the show for the last 40 years—which all contestants must agree to abide by before commencing play—states that contestants do not lose points for giving the intended response on a rebound, even if the judges overturn a preceding incorrect response. I am also certain that the show has elected to keep this rule the same way in spite of multiple pieces of viewer feedback arguing otherwise over the decades. Thus, it does not matter at this point whether a viewer thinks it is fair; I do not see this rule changing (and comments arguing against this rule are considered off-limits in this episode’s comments section.) It should also be noted that any remedy was already applied in-game as per the show’s rules; thus, any suggestions that Margaret should be returned to the show are off base, in my opinion.
- Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Ron $17,200 Youssef $8,400 Margaret $7,800)
Ron: Bet no more than $399. (Actual bet: $300)
Youssef: Standard cover bet over Margaret in the battle for second is $7,201. (Actual bet: $8,400)
Margaret: In the battle for second, bet between $1,201 (just in case Youssef makes a bet less than $600) and $6,599. (Actual bet: $601)
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Immediately thought of Teapot Dome, which we studied in high school American History class. Didn’t know the bit about the missing spout and handle. Another good FJ clue. Keep it up.
Same here, we also learned about this when I was in high school American History class. Only difference is that when I was in high school we called it the Teapot Dome Affair. I wonder if they still teach it in high school today.
Fun fact, my American History teacher in high school was George Young who was also our high school football coach. Back in those days, our football team was undefeated for the three years I was in high school. Coach George Young went on to become the General Manager of the New York Football Giants. Coach Young was the General Manager of the Giants for 19 seasons from 1979 through the 1997 season. He led them to two Super Bowl victories (XXI and XXV). Great Coach and General Manager.
Robert, What a great fun fact!!! As a lifelong Giants fan, I have many fond memories of GM Young.
Andy – I haven’t seen the episode yet, so I’m going by what is in your write up. You said that Ron’s wager on DD3 cemented a runaway – but even if he had gotten that correct, 19200 + 2000 is 21200. Youssef had 8400 and there was 3600 left on the board so he could get as high as 12000 – over half of 21200. Maybe I’m missing something.
I decided to clarify my remarks further. Thank you!
I found myself in good company again, since all three on stage players missed this Final Jeopardy as did I. From history I knew of the Teapot Dome scandal, remembered that it involved an oil field. But absolutely did not know Teapot Dome refered a geographic feature, or, that parts had eroded away.
Bill, what do you mean by “since all three on stage players missed this Final Jeopardy”? Margaret got it right and moved to second place. Who is the other on-stage player you are referring to that missed it? Just confused by your statement.
Agreed, í didn’t know the reason it was called Teapot Dome.
I did not come up with the correct response immediately, but well within the 30 seconds to think of it and write it down. I also did not know it was some natural sandstone formation rather than just some odd name for some conglomerate or law firm or something.
I quoted this FJ to my husband and he guessed the Sphinx. When I questioned did he actually think that the Sphinx was a natural formation, he said that he only heard “sandstone form” and he also thought I’d said “snout” instead of “spout”!
I thought it funny that the handle eroded off only a few years after the scandal.
I did not come up with the correct response immediately, but well within the 30 seconds to think of it and write it down. I also did not know it was some natural sandstone formation rather than just some odd name for some conglomerate or law firm or something.
I quoted this FJ to my husband and he guessed the Sphinx. When I questioned did he actually think that the Sphinx was a natural formation, he said that he only heard “sandstone form” and he also thought I’d said “snout” instead of “spout”!
I thought it funny that the handle eroded off only a few years after the scandal.
When you know very little going with what you do know is the easy choice and sometime actually works!
Teapot Dome for the win.
One of my favorite quotations of all time…
“In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I didn’t know this FJ. Been awhile since I have!
Retro congrats to Ron on win #3! 🙂
Would love to see him run it to 8 and then try to get tickets to the show that would be his attempt at win #9.
How about arguing FOR that rule? 😀
There can be no “fix” for this situation, just a mitigation. I think the rule “as is” is the best possible mitigation (of any possibility) even if it does have drawbacks (such as giving two out of the three contestants a minor advantage over the third due to a mistake by the show). [i.e., if the judges had immediately recognized that the first response should be acceptable even though not the expected one, they wouldn’t be in this situation] My personal preference would be for half the original clue amount be taken off the current score of the person who gave the originally accepted response and added to the score of the person originally deemed incorrect (after refunding the originally subtracted amount). But if each possible alternate way of handling this situation could be judged, I believe the additional weight of consistently continuing to handle it as it has always been would make doing so outweigh all other options.
An additional consideration about negative viewer feedback concerning points kept for a correct rebound even after the original response was deemed acceptable and that contestant’s score adjusted upward is the fact that a considerable number of viewers don’t even understand why the original responder gets back “double the lost points”. Perhaps this is not totally the same complaining viewers, but I bet a Venn Diagram of the two groups would show considerable overlap.