Tonight there was a category on the US quiz show Jeopardy that I'm sure many here would do well with: World Heritage Sites in the USA. It included an answer that winterkjm would appreciate: "The first World Heritage Site in Los Angeles, Hollyhock House (with picture on screen), is part of a UNESCO group of eight major works by this architect." A contestant successfully came up with the right response for that one, but unfortunately the contestants didn't fare as well overall in that category as they did in others.

Surprised! Very cool. Tellingly, the National Park Service and US ICOMOS seem fully engaged (more than ever) and interested about promoting US World Heritage Sites. However, the politics at the White House and within the current Department of Interior leadership ultimately make engagement limited (at least internationally). Thanks for sharing!

Pretty easy when you have been to all sites referenced in each question!

Double Jeopardy Category: WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN THE U.S. [UNESCO]

$400 - The San Antonio Missions Heritage Site in Texas includes this site of a historic siege in 1836; remember?

$800 - Completed in Philadelphia in the 1750s, this building was designated a World Heritage Site in 1979.

$1200 - With about 600 cliff dwellings of the ancestral Pueblo people, this Colorado national park is on the list.

$1600 - The first World Heritage Site in Los Angeles, Hollyhock House is part of a UNESCO group of eight major works by this architect.

$2000 - Occupied c. 700-1400, Cahokia Mounds in Illinois. are remnants of the largest settlement n. of Mexico eponymously called pre-this.

Is the answer to this really Cahokia?

I suppose this could be a bit confusing. The eponymous here refers to the explorer Columbus, so the response would have been: "What is pre-Columbian?" (in Jeopardy, players have to respond in the form of a question).

Also, with the $800 clue, there was a picture of the building, which would make it more easily identifiable to anyone who has seen it or been there (the first two clues in particular are geared to an American audience familiar with US history).

Hopefully we'll see a change in the next few years — thanks for the update!

Oh thanks for those questions, as you say if you know WHS they are pretty straight forward but for the confusingly small number of people in the world not so obsessed they could be trickier.

However that pre-Colombian final answer seems a little easy, you could know nothing about Cahokia and answer it I think, though again I guess the majority of us here are educated to University level and have a decent grasp on broad swathes of history, so what is simple for us probably isn't for a more generalist contestant.

On a similar theme, the UK quiz show University Challenge seems to have a question setter that likes World Heritage Sites, pretty much every other week there is a round on them.

I have noticed so too!

UNESCO World Heritage Sites made it into tonight's Final Jeopardy, whose category was Countries of the World:

It's home to 58 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, more than any other country; the sites include a volcano and a lagoon.

This would be an easy get for pretty much anyone on this website, though it wasn't as easy for two of the contestants, who made incorrect guesses of Indonesia and Turkey (though the latter certainly has the most robust TWHS list).

Although I have been in Europe for the good part of last 8 years, I speak to a close friend of mine in the US almost once a week on Skype. He is taking care of his elderly mother who is an avid watcher of Jeopardy, so, he's been watching it along lately. And each time there is a question about WHS on Jeopardy, he mentions it to me and tries to see if I know the answer, knowing I'm into WHS, although he isn't.

In fact, this past weekend he asked me about "the home country to 58 WHS." Although the answer is easy, I thought the question had an odd addition, "the sites include a volcano and a lagoon." It is correct to say, "the sites include a volcano," but the fact is Italy has 2 WHS that have to do with volcano, so, it is odd. Also, he mentioned that there was sort of confusion about the lagoon on Jeopardy. Which WHS in Italy is a lagoon, he asked me, saying it is a tricky question. I actually could not come up with the correct answer off the top of my head. When we think about Venice, we think about certain things, but not necessarily about its geological formation of lagoon. I have even been to Lido di Venice (where Venice Intl Film Fest takes place). But that's right, the name of this WHS is "Venice and its Lagoon"!

A while ago my friend also mentioned another question on Jeopardy, which went something like" "What is the city in FRANCE where Papacy was one relocated to from Rome." We all know the answer. It would be trickier if it went, "What is the city in ITALY where Papacy was once relocated to from Rome, although this city is not a WHS.