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- Meet the Mind Behind the Kennections Quiz
- How “What’s the Kennection?” Puzzles Work
- Zooming In on “What’s the Kennection? #167”
- Why Puzzles Like Kennections Are Good for Your Brain
- Bringing “What’s the Kennection? #167” Into Your Routine
- Real-World Experiences With “What’s the Kennection? #167”
- Final Thoughts: Finding Your Own Kennection
If you’ve ever yelled the correct Jeopardy! response at your TV and then immediately forgotten where you left your keys, “What’s the Kennection? #167” is your kind of puzzle.
It’s part quiz, part riddle, and part “wait, how did I miss that?” facepalm. Created by legendary quiz champion and current Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings, this Kennections installment asks you to do two things at once: answer five trivia questions and figure out the secret theme that ties all of those answers together.
In other words, it’s not just about what you knowit’s about how well you can connect the dots. That’s the “Kennection.”
Meet the Mind Behind the Kennections Quiz
Before we zoom in on “What’s the Kennection? #167,” it helps to know where this whole puzzle phenomenon comes from. Ken Jennings didn’t just win big on Jeopardy!; he transformed that fame into a career built around smart, playful trivia. Over his historic 74-game winning streak, he earned millions in prize money and cemented his status as one of the most successful quiz players in TV history.
From Parade Magazine to Weekly Online Ritual
The Kennections puzzle started life in the early 2010s as a weekly column in Parade magazine. The pitch was simple but brilliant: give readers five trivia questions, each with its own answer, and then challenge them to figure out what those five answers have in common. The hidden thread could be anythinga shared word, a theme from pop culture, a pattern in letters, a geographical link, or some delightful bit of lateral thinking.
Eventually, Kennections migrated online and found a long-term home at Mental Floss, where it runs as “What’s the Kennection?”a weekly quiz that’s now a staple for puzzle fans.
The Book: The Complete Kennections
The success of the series even led to a book, The Complete Kennections: 5,000 Questions in 1,000 Puzzles, which collects more than a decade of these themed quizzes. Each puzzle follows the same structure: five questions, five answers, one secret connection.
It’s like a greatest-hits album of brainteasers, organized for people who can’t resist one more round of “just one more puzzle.”
How “What’s the Kennection?” Puzzles Work
At first glance, a Kennections quiz looks like a straight, five-question trivia set. You’ll see questions about history, geography, movies, music, literature, or pop culture. But hiding underneath those individual answers is a meta-puzzle: the “Kennection” itself.
Step 1: Answer the Five Trivia Questions
Your first job is the obvious one: answer each question correctly. Sometimes they’re fairly accessibleclassic movies, well-known capitals, famous authors. Other times, Ken gets trickier, digging into lesser-known facts, character names, or small details that reward careful pop-culture memory.
Trivia researchers have pointed out that these kinds of questions act like miniature memory tests: each question combines a cue (the question) with a target (the answer), helping you exercise recall in a fun, low-pressure way.
Step 2: Find the Hidden Theme
Once you’ve got your five answers, the real fun begins. Now you ask: What do these have in common? The answers might:
- Share a word or phrase (for example, all have the same last word or a recurring term).
- Belong to the same category (types of animals, spices, cities, musical instruments, and so on).
- Hide a pattern in their letters (initials spelling a word, rhymes, similar endings).
- Connect through cultural references (all characters from a certain book or show, all linked to one historical figure, etc.).
This is where Kennections stands apart from a standard quiz. You’re not just regurgitating facts; you’re pattern-huntingconnecting knowledge in creative ways. Broadly, that’s the kind of mental workout associated with stronger reasoning and better cognitive flexibility.
Zooming In on “What’s the Kennection? #167”
“What’s the Kennection? #167” appeared as part of the series at Mental Floss in May 2025, one in a long-running weekly lineup of Kennections puzzles. Like its siblings, #167 opens with Ken’s signature welcome, reminding you that all five answers share a common bond and daring you to find it.
Without spoiling the specific questions or the final connection, here’s what you can reasonably expect from a Kennections puzzle in this eraand what likely holds true for #167:
- A mix of topics: expect a blend of entertainment, general knowledge, geography, and maybe a curveball from history or literature.
- A fair but sneaky theme: the connection usually feels obvious after you see it, but not so obvious while you’re staring at the answers.
- One or two “aha” answers: often, one answer in the set makes the theme click into place once you notice a pattern.
Think of #167 as a snapshot of what makes Kennections addictive: it rewards both broad trivia knowledge and that delicious moment of recognition when the puzzle’s invisible structure suddenly comes into view.
Strategy Tips for Cracking the Kennection
Whether you’re tackling #167 or any other Kennections puzzle, these strategies can help:
- Write the answers in a list. Seeing them all together on one line or in a column makes patterns easier to spotshared words, repeated letters, similar categories.
- Circle the “weird” parts. If one answer feels oddly specifica particular middle name, an unusual location, a distinctive objectthat detail might be the hook for the theme.
- Check for categories first. Are they all foods? Places? Characters? Historical figures? If so, your theme might be category-based rather than letter-based.
- Look at first and last words. Sometimes all the answers share a word positionlike each ending in a color, an animal, or a common noun.
- Think pop culture crossovers. Ken loves mixing highbrow and lowbrow. A classic novel character might sit next to a superhero and a snack brand, all united by one subtle link.
If you’re tackling “What’s the Kennection? #167” as part of a group, split up the tasks: have one person focus solely on answers, another on spotting categories, and a third on patterns in names/letters. Sometimes the fresh pair of eyes gets the Kennection in seconds.
Why Puzzles Like Kennections Are Good for Your Brain
Games like “What’s the Kennection? #167” aren’t just fun time-wasters; they’re also sneaky brain workouts. Different studies have looked at trivia and word puzzles as part of mentally stimulating activities that support cognitive health:
- Trivia and quiz games exercise memory, recall, and attention, especially when you’re retrieving information you’ve learned over time.
- Word and number puzzles have been associated with sharper cognitive performance in adults, particularly around reasoning and problem-solving tasks.
- Social trivialike playing Kennections with friendsadds a layer of connection, laughter, and shared experience, which can help mood and reduce feelings of isolation, especially for older adults.
Does doing “What’s the Kennection? #167” guarantee you a ten-year younger brain? Probably not. But as part of a lifestyle that includes mental challenges, movement, and social interaction, puzzles like this are an easy, enjoyable way to keep your mind active.
Bringing “What’s the Kennection? #167” Into Your Routine
One of the best things about Kennections is how flexible it is. You can enjoy #167 solo on your phone, share it at a family gathering, or sneak it into a classroom as a stealth learning tool.
Game Night Version
For a casual game night:
- Project or read each question out loud.
- Give teams a couple of minutes to lock in their answers.
- Once all five answers are revealed, set a timer and let everyone race to discover the Kennection.
You can award points both for correct answers and for identifying the theme. Someone will almost certainly shout, “Ohhh, now I see it!” which is how you know the puzzle has done its job.
Classroom or Training Use
Teachers and trainers can also borrow the Kennections format. Instead of random trivia, you can design your own five questions around a unit you’re teaching and hide an educational theme as the Kennection. Students answer content-based questions and then think critically about how everything fits together.
If you’re introducing “What’s the Kennection? #167” to a class, you can:
- Use it as a warm-up at the start of class to wake up everyone’s brain.
- Have students work in pairs or small groups to emphasize collaboration.
- Follow up by asking how they spottedor missedthe Kennection, to reflect on different thinking styles.
Real-World Experiences With “What’s the Kennection? #167”
To really appreciate “What’s the Kennection? #167,” imagine a few different moments where this particular puzzle shows up in real life.
A Lazy Saturday Morning Kennection
Picture this: It’s Saturday morning. Coffee in hand, you’re scrolling through your usual news and entertainment sites when the headline “What’s the Kennection? #167” catches your eye. You tap, skim the intro from Ken, and decide, “Okay, just five questions. I have time.”
The first question feels straightforwardyou know that one instantly and feel strangely proud for someone still wearing pajamas. The second question takes a second, but you dredge up the answer from some distant corner of your brain, probably filed next to the theme song of a show that hasn’t aired in a decade. By question four, you have all your answers written down, but the theme still isn’t obvious.
Then you glance back at your list and notice a subtle patternmaybe a shared type of thing, maybe a recurring twist in the names. Suddenly everything falls into place. The Kennection clicks. You get that little surge of satisfaction that feels way bigger than the few minutes you’ve spent. That’s the magic: #167 quietly turned a lazy scroll into a mini victory.
Family Game Night, Kennections Edition
Now picture a different scene: a family game night where everyone is a little burned out on the same old board games. Someone suggests trying an online quiz instead, and “What’s the Kennection? #167” becomes the main event.
One cousin is the movie buff who crushes the film-related questions. Another is weirdly good at geography and nails any map-based clues. The quieter family member, who usually sits out loud games, suddenly becomes the hero when they notice the connection between the five answers. Within minutes, you’ve turned a simple online puzzle into teamwork, banter, and shared bragging rights.
Later, when people talk about the night, no one remembers the exact wording of the questionsbut they remember the moment when the Kennection hit and everyone started saying, “How did we not see that earlier?”
Office Brain Break
In a workplace, “What’s the Kennection? #167” can also serve as a quick team-building exercise. Drop the link in a group chat with the message, “Mini brain breakanyone else see the Kennection?” Within a few minutes, you’ll start seeing partial answers, wild guesses, and at least one co-worker getting way too competitive about being the first to crack the theme.
Beyond the laughs, something subtle is happening: people are practicing exactly the kinds of skills the workplace lovespattern recognition, creative thinking, and collaborative problem-solving. And unlike a formal training session, nobody feels like they’re “doing a workshop.” They’re just having fun.
Why #167 Sticks With You
You might not replay “What’s the Kennection? #167” itself over and over, but its structure tends to linger. Once you’ve solved a few Kennections puzzles, you start seeing “secret themes” in everyday life:
- Noticing that three songs on your playlist all come from the same movie soundtrack.
- Realizing that several items in your cart are all tied to a single hobby.
- Spotting subtle wordplay or recurring names in headlines.
That’s the lasting experience of a puzzle like #167: it doesn’t just challenge you in the moment; it gently trains your brain to keep looking for patterns, connections, and stories beneath the surface of random facts. And once you start thinking that way, it’s hard to stopwhich is exactly why fans keep coming back every week for the next Kennection.
Final Thoughts: Finding Your Own Kennection
“What’s the Kennection? #167” is more than a one-off trivia quiz. It’s a compact showcase of what Ken Jennings does best: blending sharp knowledge, clever construction, and a playful challenge that invites you to think just a little differently.
Whether you tackle it alone, share it with friends, or remix the format for your classroom or office, you’re not just chasing answersyou’re training your brain to connect seemingly unrelated things into one satisfying picture. That’s the real Kennection: turning scattered facts into a moment of “aha!” that feels surprisingly meaningful for a five-question puzzle.
