🤓 ‘Jeopardy!’ on tap | Morning Newsletter

Welcome to Saturday.

Today, I’m talking about playing the interactive version of America’s favorite quiz show, hosted at just one place in Philadelphia.

But first, our top stories include where your Rite Aid prescriptions may end up, a potentially low return rate of mail ballots ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, and the permanent closure of a family-owned South Jersey bakery.

— Paola Pérez ([email protected])

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I was meeting up with friends at a local craft beer bar and restaurant when I unexpectedly found myself smack dab in the middle of the pub version of “America’s favorite quiz show,” Jeopardy! So I thought, I love Jeopardy! and I can be pretty sharp at trivia. Why not join the fun? Next thing I knew, this event became a staple in my weeknight pick-me-up rotation.

Every Wednesday at 8 p.m., The Brass Tap in Manayunk becomes the site of Jeopardy! Bar League. It’s an interactive experience that brings the popular quiz show from Sony Pictures Television to local hangouts with the help of passionate hosts and mobile technology. It first launched in January, and debuted at The Brass Tap in the first week of February, according to Brittney Wittmer, social media and content marketing manager for Geeks Who Drink. I was surprised to learn that the game hosted at The Brass Tap is the only one of its kind in Philadelphia, and in Pennsylvania (so far).

The bar league functions very much like the real thing — Daily Doubles and leaderboards included — with a few marginal differences. Using a mobile device, a maximum of six players can sign on to a team to answer real questions from the show. All teams can answer, and gain points for correct responses. Guess wrong, and you lose points. There is no penalty for not answering. (The only true benefit of responding fast is getting to pick the next category.) Some teams even give themselves very Philly names like “Joe L Embiid.”

Troy Diggs, the lively Quizmaster at The Brass Tap and lifelong Jeopardy! fan, told me that locals and even people from New Jersey and Delaware come out to play. “I tell potential players that this is as close as you can get to being on Jeopardy! in a bar,” he said. With good food, drinks, and friendly competitive vibes, that’s exactly what it’s like. Personally, I have yet to snag first place (prizes include gift cards and other goodies), but I’m working on it!

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is planning to build a 1,005-car parking garage in the heart of Grays Ferry.

In a column for The Inquirer, nonprofit executive and public policy strategist Ashlei Tracy says this lot will only create more problems for a largely residential neighborhood already burdened by environmental stress.

“While the hospital frames the project as a practical solution for employee parking, this massive development threatens to deepen existing pollution, increase traffic, and chip away at the livability of a community that has long carried the costs of urban expansion without sharing in its benefits,” Tracy writes.

Keep reading for Tracy’s take on why CHOP‘s garage should be reviewed through the lens of Pennsylvania House Bill 109, a landmark legislation that would require large infrastructure projects to undergo environmental equity reviews before approval.

Homes for sale in the Philadelphia metro area are pretty old, relatively speaking.

What was the median age of homes sold in the region in 2024?

A) 88 years old

B) 68 years old

C) 61 years old

D) 65 years old

Think you know? Check your answer.

Hint: The Boss

CURBING PRETENSES

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to James O’Connor who correctly guessed Friday‘s answer: Galapagos tortoise. Philadelphia Zoo’s oldest residents just welcomed three new babies. Their four sisters hatched earlier this year and were named after the Golden Girls.

Michelle Zauner and her band Japanese Breakfast brought the Melancholy Tour to Philadelphia for two hometown shows at the Met on Thursday and Friday.

Go to the show through pop critic Dan DeLuca’s recap of Thursday’s performance and see more pictures by staff photographer Elizabeth Robertson.

On Reddit, an artist named Ellie Moniz shared a very beautiful watercolor of Rittenhouse Square.

And we know parking can be hard to come by, so shout-out to this parallel parker who recently managed to squeeze into a rather unconventional spot. It’s a dicey and, dare I say, impressive maneuver.

One commenter suggested adding “parking under a bucket truck” to the proverbial “Fishtown Olympics schedule.” Another said: “They’re just doing what we’re all thinking.”

👋🏽 Take care, and thanks for hanging with me this morning. Let’s catch up again tomorrow.

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