Viewers of University Challenge were left gobsmacked by a particular answer during the quiz. Amol Rajan, the host of the popular BBC quiz show, welcomed a fresh team of students who are set to compete for the title currently held by Imperial College London, last year’s five-time champions.
Monday’s episode saw UCL face off against Cambridge’s Darwin College.
Representing UCL were Calum Jack, Josh Mandel, Olivia Holtermann Entwistle and Sanjay Prabhakar, while Rebecca McClelland, Sophie Willis, Harrison Whitaker and Rowan Stewart competed for Darwin in the nail-biting challenges. During Monday’s episode, Amol posed the question: “Born in 1843, which German scientist gives his name to a set of four postulates, sometimes also named for Jakob Henle, that may be applied to determine whether a disease is caused by a..”
Shortly after this, one contestant buzzed in with an answer. Sophie from the Darwin, Cambridge, team responded: “Koch? ,” to which Amol confirmed: “It is Robert Koch, well done.”
This moment sparked a flurry of responses on social media. One viewer joked: “I think the question setter for #UniversityChallenge gets someone to shout c**k to boost the twitter algorithm,” while another quipped: “It’s not a coincidence is it, when the question setters give someone the opportunity to say things such as c**k and tit at Amol as answers to questions.”
“Somebody has just won a bet in the question writing department on #UniversityChallenge #C**k,” commented a third viewer. Meanwhile, another added: “If I appeared on #UniversityChallenge and my only contribution was shouting c**k (Koch) at Amol Rajan, I’d be happy.”
Despite an initial rocky start to the proceedings, both teams eventually found their stride, with Darwin College charging ahead during the music round, boasting a score of 135 to UCL’s 35. By the end of the gripping match, Darwin were unstoppable, racking up an impressive total of eight buzzers in the starter questions.
On the other side, Josh from UCL bagged five buzzers for his team. Despite each team incurring one penalty each, the tension remained high.
A recent University Challenge episode saw Jamie Salamanca Camacho from Imperial College London become a skyrocketing sensation, referred to as an “absolute machine” after clinching victory over Wadham College, Oxford. The MSc student, studying Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces, captivated viewers with his standout performance during the thrilling second-round matchup.
Imperial made short work of their opposition, leaving audiences awe-struck as they quickly gained an enviable lead. With only minutes on the clock, their points soared to 290 against Wadham’s nil.
Although the team from Oxford picked up 25 points towards the end, it did little to close the monumental gap, leaving Imperial victorious with an astonishing 345 points.
Host Amol Rajan didn’t hide his astonishment at the outcome, stating enthusiastically: “Well, what can I say? (Wadham) you were up against an absolutely ludicrous team. I mean, they are absolutely phenomenal.”
He further expressed his admiration for both teams, stating: “No one could be in any doubt watching you what a bunch of enormously brilliant and clever young people you are, so thank you so much for playing so well. Imperial, that’s a big score and it’s going to scare the other people. Well done.”