Who is Jean Polly? If you know the answer, then you may know the Central New York woman herself — or maybe you would’ve done well on “Jeopardy!” this past week.
Jean Armour Polly, of Jamesville, N.Y., was part of “Final Jeopardy!” on the Thursday, July 4, episode of the long-running game show. Host Ken Jennings gave the contestants the following “Tech Talk” clue:
“In 1992 Jean Polly told new web users to do this & later explained, ‘they need some skill... never know if there are going to be sharks,” Jennings said.
Two of the three contestants got the “Final Jeopardy!” question correct, and Isaac Hirsch won the episode with a final total of $28,801. He also won Wednesday’s episode and returned Friday night.
The correct response: What is “surf the web?”
But how did Polly popularize the phrase?
Polly, a Syracuse University alumna, was an early adopter of what became the world wide web when she was an assistant librarian at the Liverpool Public Library. In 1981, the library set up a black Apple 2 Plus, becoming one of only two libraries in the country with a computer.
Not all librarians loved the idea of expanding beyond books, but she embraced it. In 1992, she published “Surfing the Internet: An Introduction,” a beginner’s guide to using the net for a library journal in the Wilson Library Bulletin.
She told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard in 2019 that she came up with the article title after seeing a picture of a surfer, a wave and the phrase “information surfing” on a mousepad.
“I said, ‘That’s my metaphor.’ It’s hard. You need some skill. You never know if there are going to be sharks,” Polly said.
Polly, who is now retired, also co-founded PUBLIB, the first online listserv for public librarians and later worked for NYSERnet, a nonprofit research group that was one of the state’s first internet providers. She also wrote books to help parents find safe websites for kids and families, earning the nickname “Net-Mom.”
In 2019, Polly was inducted into the Global Internet Hall of Fame. She is the first librarian to be honored.
Now she’s been honored by “Jeopardy!” – proving she can still go viral in 2024.
“My phone is blowing up. Apparently I was the Final Jeopardy question tonight!” Polly wrote on Facebook Thursday. “For the whole story you can go to my site.”
“Jeopardy!” airs weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on Fox 68 (WSYT) in the Syracuse area. Jennings, who won a record 74 consecutive times in 2004, now hosts the iconic series previously hosted by Alex Trebek.
Ken Kennings, left, gives the "Final Jeopardy!" clue on the game show "Jeopardy!" Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Video still)Video still