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A reader calls with disturbing news: Jeopardy! — the best game show ever — has barred Canadians from applying as contestants.

I’ll take Canadians Are Way Too Smart for $200, Alex. Could this rumour really be true? I didn’t believe it.

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And yet there it is on the Jeopardy! website (yes, they exclaim the name!). Potential contestants are told to take an online test, which could lead to a live audition in an American city. To take the test, however, a person must register and provide a zip code which, of course, Canadians don’t have.

Dig a little deeper in the site and you come across a Q & A section.

Q:ARE CANADIANS ELIGIBLE TO TAKE THE TEST?

A: “At this time we are precluded from accepting registration information from Canadian residents. We are currently evaluating this matter.”

Wow. And we thought Donald Trump would build that wall, like, after the election.

Here’s the awkward part. The iconic host, the ever-gracious Alex Trebek, a household name in a household game, is not only Canadian-born but rather fond of Ottawa, arguably his second home north of the border.