Double Jeopardy! clue reveals a very obscure fact about Whistler
Did you catch last night’s Jeopardy!? If you did, you probably noticed a BC town got an interesting shout-out.
Monday night’s Final Jeopardy! question was in the Business and Industry category.
The question: “This British Columbia town grew up around a mountain that’s been home to Olympians and ski bums. This sound made by local marmots led to the name.”
The answer: What is Whistler?
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It’s no surprise most British Columbians associate the town with the Olympics after the 2010 Winter Games and its skiers.
However, since when was Whistler named after marmots?
According to Blackcomb Peaks Accommodations, Whistler Mountain hosts not only frequent tourists but hoary marmots too.
“Hoary marmots are well known for the whistling sound they make when they feel threatened by danger. These curious animals, a common sight to see on Whistler Mountain, may be easily mistaken as an exceptionally large beaver or even a small bear,” an explanation on the Blackcomb Peaks site reads.
“The marmots’ whistling can even sometimes be heard by tourists wandering near the outskirts of the village. It is from these silver-grey, brownish ‘whistling’ creatures that the popular ski resort Whistler got its name. Not many people are aware of Whistler’s relation to these furry mountain creatures.”
Before the summer of 1965, Whistler was called London Mountain because of the heavy fog and mist in the region.
However, it was renamed because of concerns about the negative association with the London Fog which was a thick, deadly smog in 20th-century London. This was caused by the burning of cheap coal for residential heating.
“Not only did that branding portray Whistler as an unwelcoming site due to the weather, I’m sure a correlation between a deadly fog of the 20th century and a budding resort region would not be very favorable.”
After being named London Mountain in 1932, it was renamed Whistler Mountain in honour of the whistle made by marmots in the area.