Monday Morning Brief | Stamps on Jeopardy!

Watch as Linn’s Stamp News managing editor Chad Snee discusses the stamp-related clues used in two recent episodes of the popular television quiz show Jeopardy!

Full Video Transcript: 

Greetings fellow stamp enthusiasts! Welcome to the Monday Morning Brief for February 15.

It’s always a thrill for me when stamps take center stage in front of an audience of millions of people. Such was the case on two separate occasions on the hugely popular and entertaining TV quiz show, Jeopardy!

In a story published on Linns.com, associate editor Mike Baadke revealed that the Feb. 1 episode featured the 10¢ Booker T. Washington stamp from the 1940 Famous Americans series under the category “African-American History.”

Host Alex Trebek read this clue: “This institute founder was the first African-American featured on a U.S. postage stamp.” Unfortunately, the contestant who buzzed in first incorrectly asked, “Who is W.E.B. Du Bois?”

One week later, on the Feb. 8 episode, U.S. stamps were a featured category in the Double Jeopardy round. In this case, just one of the five clues pictured a stamp: the 2015 nondenominated (35¢) Spoonbill postcard-rate stamp. None of the three contestants posed an answer to the clue Trebek read: “The Coastal Birds postcard stamp set includes this wading bird that’s named for a prominent facial feature.”

In a groundbreaking move, the United Nations Postal Administration issued six stamps Feb. 5 promoting worldwide equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Sergio Baradat, who created the stylized, symbolic designs, said that, through these stamps, the United Nations is saying that LGBT people “deserve respect and happiness and love.”

To wrap up, a friendly reminder: Don’t forget to vote in Linn’s 2015 United States Stamp Popularity Poll. Online voting in the 2015 poll, via Linns.com, closes March 4. Completed paper ballots must be postmarked by March 4. Paper ballots are available in each issue of Linn’s, and photocopied ballots are accepted.

For Linn’s Stamp News and the Scott catalogs, I’m Chad Snee. Have a great week enjoying our wonderful hobby. Cheers!