A Blind Contestant

Eddie Timanus made Jeopardy! history in 1999 by becoming the show’s first blind contestant. Timanus is a sports journalist for USA Today, but he became a bit of a celebrity in the trivia world. After his five-show winning streak, he went on to participate in Who Wants to Be A Millionaire and showed up as a “lifeline” twice for that game show.

Some accommodations were made for him to compete on a more level playing field. He had a listing of the categories in braille and the show left out video answers for the games he was in. Trebek’s announcement of his opponents’ earnings during Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy! helped Timanus know what to wager. Also, an audio cue replaced the lights that were referenced earlier. A “ding” told him when the buzzer was active. He returned to Jeopardy! for “Million Dollar Masters” in 2002, the “Ultimate Tournament of Champions” in 2005 and “Battle of the Decades” in 2014.