Wilmington for $100: 11 times the Port City was mentioned on 'Jeopardy!'
Daniel Sheehan
- Wilmington has been featured in Jeopardy clues across various categories.
- Questions have referenced local landmarks like the Cape Fear River and Old Baldy lighthouse.
- The city's connection to popular culture, including the filming of "One Tree Hill," has also been highlighted.
In a city older than the country itself, it’s no surprise that Wilmington has racked up a few nationally recognized trivia facts over the years.
North Carolina has been mentioned on Jeopardy hundreds of times, and more than a dozen of those questions revolve around the Port City. Every episode of the show’s 41 seasons in daily syndication is documented on the J Archive, a fan-created website that has archived 546,720 Jeopardy clues.
Here are 11 times the Wilmington area was mentioned (or alluded to) on Jeopardy.
Nov. 1, 2024. Category: Reptiles
Clue: The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher has these animals at the north end of their natural range, including a popular albino one.
Answer: (What is) an alligator?
Sept. 25, 1992. Category: Plants
Clue: This insectivorous plant, Dionaea muscipula, is native to the area around Wilmington, N.C.
Answer: the Venus' flytrap.
May 28, 1992. Category: Sports Figures
Clue: A 7-mile strip of highway near Wilmington, N.C. was recently dedicated to this Chicago Bulls star.
Answer: Michael Jordan.
Oct. 9, 2013. Category: “AZ” Usual
Clue: North Carolina has held a festival of these flowers since 1948.
Answer: Azaleas
March 3, 2025. Category: Around the USA
Clue: The site of dangerous shoals, it’s the ominous name of a promontory on North Carolina’s Smith Island.
Answer: Cape Fear
April 4, 2024. Category: A Beacon in the Night
Clue: Old Baldy, protecting the entrance to this river since 1817, is North Carolina’s oldest standing lighthouse.
Answer: Cape Fear River
Feb. 2, 2021. Category: Authors
Clue: In 2020 this author of “Dear John” returned to familiar territory (love in North Carolina) with “The Return”
Answer: Nicholas Sparks
(This one might be a stretch, but “Dear John” was partially set in Wilmington. Some of the film adaptation was even shot in Oak Island.)
Oct. 25, 2018. Category: North Carolina, Historically
Clue: In 1524 this Italian made it to the mouth of the Cape Fear River; there was no bridge named for him there, though
Answer: Verrazzano
Oct. 17, 2011. Category: The ‘I’s Have It
Clue: In August 2011 this hurricane had winds of 85 miles per hour as it made landfall in North Carolina
Answer: Irene
Nov. 10, 2009. Category: The CW
Clue: Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton might be gone, but North Carolina holds plenty of drama on this series
Answer: One Tree Hill
June 20, 2000. Category: Community Colleges
Clue: Cape Cod Community College is in Massachusetts; Cape Fear Community College is in this state
Answer: North Carolina
Daniel Sheehan covers the city of Wilmington and New Hanover County for the StarNews. Reach him at dsheehan@gannett.com.