Jeopardy's Great Barrier Reef Gaffe

On Jeopardy January 25, 2022, the final clue in the category of Sea Life was, “In 2018, National Geographic reported that half of this was dead, 'akin to a forest fire after a devastating fire.'” All three contestants correctly answered the Great Barrier Reef. This was day 40 of Amy Schneider's dominant performance watched by almost ten million people. The long-running syndicated show sat comfortably as the highest rated non-sports program across broadcast and cable television during her record-run.

Shame on Jeopardy researchers for not doing their homework! So, almost ten million folks heard that the Great Barrier Reef was half dead in 2018! Shame on Jeopardy researchers for not doing their homework! They totally did not get the facts correct The best data on the Great Barrier Reef coral cover is provided by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), who have been measuring over 100 reefs every year since 1986. AIMS data show that coral cover fluctuates dramatically with time but at present the amount of coral on the reef is at record high levels. This record high, despite all the doom stories by reef science and management institutions and Jeopardy spreading this falsehood to ten million people. ¹ References

1. Peter Ridd, “Record coral cover of Great Barrier Reef shames climate alarmists, media,” wattsupwiththat.com, July 23, 2021

Jack Dini——Bio and Archives

John William Dini, know to all as ‘Jack’, passed away at the age of 89 on June 17, 2026. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio on Nov. 14, 1936.

He published two books, a technical book on materials science and coatings and another on environmental issues. In retirement, he wrote extensively on various environmental issues for online publications.

He was a skilled leaded glass hobbyist, creating more than 20 lamps and many panels. He was a jogger for many years, competing in over 300 long distance races. He was a slow runner, not wanting to take the glory away from others. His secret was to start slow and taper. He and Anne traveled extensively, visiting over 70 countries.

He is survived by his wife, Anne, of 67 years, and sons Mike, Steve, and Paul. If you were to meet him somewhere, he would sum up his life as ‘peaches and cream’.