Are Jeopardy contestants given the topics of the show beforehand to study from?

I’m not saying that they do or they don’t – although I have heard that they receive general information to study… but I’ve never heard about topics specific to the show. That would be way too easy. Wouldn’t it?
I don’t mean for this to sound rude, but I play along with Jeopardy every night, and I’m far from being a genius.

@ANef_is_Enuf Right. And anyone familiar with Jeopardy! knows that learning the names of the categories in advance would be of little help. Look at any recent show. Important clues are more often in the wording of the “question”—the answer will automatically fit the category. The category names, meanwhile, have become quirky and more-or-less impossible to study for.

I watched three episodes being filmed and at times there were (OH SHIT) looks on the contestants faces when a category was announced.

I don’t think they know in advance. Just some people can retain a crazy amount of data.

They don’t know in advance. But they do watch a lot of Jeopardy and are tuned in to the types of questions and topics. And I don’t know, I don’t find Jeopardy questions that hard; maybe what you’ve got going on is a self-defeating belief.

I watch Jeopardy! faithfully every other day while I am on the treadmill. I know almost all of the answers to many categories but few of those from, say, Pop Music, Sports, or many of the recent Block Buster movies.

If I were a contestant, I would memorize orders and names of US presidents and veeps; capitals of all the countries; t the major rivers, mountain ranges, borders; and leaders of most of the world’s countries.

Then I’d get a good night’s sleep.

It is fun for me to to know the correct responce to a question…that none of the contestents know. That makes me feel smart..which I really am not. LOL

There’s no way they know in advance. Otherwise, more contestants would be getting more right answers. As it is, most of them don’t know jack. Some don’t even make it on the board or they very least they’re so far behind the others it’s sad.