The program is almost 50 years old. The form of a question shtick is just that — to differentiate it from other quiz shows.
I used to vanpool with a guy who had been on Jeopardy back in the Art Fleming days (no, Alex Trebek has not been on forever). My friend won the first day, but then bet the whole amount in Final Jeopardy on the second day and ended up losing. The question was something about Bette Davis.