On a personal level, today’s episode was a lot like yesterday’s, in that I answered a few triple-stumpers, one of them was a Daily Double, and one of them I only kind of count because I didn’t answer it out loud. (Am I ready to be on the show yet? Please?) Here they are:
For 1200 in Musical by Song and Singer: “Oh What a Circus” by Che and Company.* (I listened to this terrific soundtrack a lot as a teenager.)
For 1200 in Fun with Words: “Found in a Dostoyevsky title, it’s one of the few English words that both start and end with with ‘und.'”
A Daily Double in Fun with Words: “It’s the New World country that takes its name from a Latin word for a metal.”
For 1200 in A Little Bit of Everything: “Although first cultivated in China, this flower’s name is from the Greek for ‘gold flower.'” (This is the one I didn’t answer out loud.)
And for 1600 in Bird ‘R’s: “I was run out of town on this marsh bird whose short-billed species are sometimes called crakes.”
How did you guys do today?
One-day champ Randall Johnson of VA was off to a fast start today, sweeping the first category of the game, Lesser-Known Composers. He gained more because he hit a Daily Double in that category, too. Randall kept rolling while Brett Garner of UT seemed to keep faltering. Brett did end the Jeopardy round with 2600 though, while Megan Kardine of PA had 2000. Randall had earned 7600. Randall threatened to run away with the game, until he lost 3000 on a Daily Double in Double Jeopardy, giving him 7000 while Megan had 4800. By the end of Double Jeopardy, the game was no runaway, except for poor Brett, who was in the hole at -2200. (I think this is the first time that has happened since this blog began!) Randall had 9800 and Megan had 6400.
The Final Jeopardy category was Canadian History, and here is the clue (ding!): “A river is named for this man born in Scotland in 1764, the first European known to have crossed Canada.” I had never heard of this man or his river, but Randall and Megan had. (Did you guys know it?) They both got it right. Megan nearly doubled her total, but Randall wagered enough to win even if Megan had wagered it all (assuming he got it right, too, of course). He becomes a 2-day champ.
*Evita, underground, Argentina, chrysanthemum, McKenzie