NJ congressman beats 'Jeopardy!' computer Watson

WASHINGTON (AP) — Turns out it really does take a rocket scientist to beat Watson, the "Jeopardy"-winning computer.

U.S. Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey — a five-time champion during the trivia show's original run 35 years ago — topped the IBM computer Monday night in a "Jeopardy"-style match of congressmen vs. machine at a Washington hotel.

Though Holt isn't the first human to beat Watson, the victory adds to the 62-year-old Democrat's already-impressive resume: a former State Department arms control expert and ex-leader of the federal Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.

"I wonder if Watson wasn't having a low-voltage night, because I certainly didn't expect to score higher than the computer," he told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday.

He built a lead in categories including "Presidential Rhyme Time," in which the correct response to "Herbert's military strategy" was "Hoover's maneuvers." The congressman also correctly identified hippophobia as the fear of horses.