Hi, guys. A lot to cover again today! First, the Jeopardy! online test is upon us, a little later than usual this year! Adults, teens, and college students may sign up. The adult test will take place on February 8-10. (You sign up according to the time zone where you’ll be.) Go here to register. And if you’re looking to practice, there are practice tests available on the Jeopardy! message boards, created by members of the board. I plan on doing two a day until the real thing.
First, a reader asked me in a comment on the previous entry whether I had watched Terry Linwood‘s first episode in a rerun Saturday. I hadn’t, but I did today! My mom came to see me and I asked her to bring the tape. We watched it together, and I kept track of my score, which was maybe my personal best at 29800. (Terry’s Coryat score was 12800, Noam Osband’s was 15000, and Genevieve Sheehan’s was 11000.) At the end of Terry’s show my mom commented that he was smart, not knowing about what was in store for him! I was happy to tell her!
Today’s contestants:
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| Anthony Fox (I love how he looks in this picture! And BTW, he is buying a banjo with his winnings!) |
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| Claudia Kasvin (pronounced “Cloudy-a” sometimes by Mr. Trebek) |
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| Gerard Coletta (He’s a librarian assistant! And he talked about his prom in his interview!)
The first round featured a Children’s Literature theme, and that category was the first on the board. I thought the whole thing was fun. The very first clue was a triple-stumper, in Where the Wild Things Are: “The split-jawed type of this constricting snake is native to the islands of Mauritius.”*
Speaking of triple-stumpers, I had an idea: What if instead of entering the triple-stumpers I knew, I put the ones I didn’t, and followed them with further information about the clue and response? I could publish them on days that I am not able to blog about the show. What do you think? I think I (and you?) would learn more. Tell me what you think.
By the first break, I hadn’t answered any clues incorrectly, and had only passed on two. Anthony had 3400, Claudia had 3000, and Gerard had 800. After the break, I didn’t know the next two clues, then the Daily Double appeared, found by Claudia. The category was Curious. She had 3800, Anthony had 4000, and Gerard still had 800. Claudia wagered 1500 on this clue: “A Latin word for ‘to ask’ gave us this adjective meaning curious for knowledge.”* She missed it. She ended the round with 4900, while Anthony had 6000 and Gerard had 600.
Three clues were left uncovered in the Jeopardy round, all in George. In the Double Jeopardy round, the question was not whether there’d be any clues remaining, but how many, as Oprah Winfrey read another category (Oprah Gets Historical). Incidentally, I do like her hair these days. This time there was only one clue left. Not bad.
I swept A Woman’s Place is in the House, about women in Congress and Senate. I was sweeping Food Words and Phrases when Anthony found a Daily Double there. He had 13200, Claudia had 3700, and Gerard had quietly attained 9800. Anthony wagered 3000 on this clue: “California car buyers are protected by the Tanner Consumer Act, known by this alliterative name.”* We both got it right.
Claudia found the next Daily Double, in The Next Bible Book, Alphabetically. (Self-explanatory!) This wound up being the last clue of the game. She had 8100, Anthony had 16600, and Gerard still had 9800. Claudia said she was not confident and wagered only 500. This was the clue: “John 3.”* I shouted two responses before she answered, and both were wrong. She was wrong, too. In fact I don’t think she gave a response.
The Final Jeopardy category was Authors. This was the clue: “This author, whose first name is also an English word meaning a saying or motto, was the first president of the Soviet writers’ union.”* I couldn’t come up with it, and none of the contestants did, either. Claudia lost 3002. Gerard lost all but a dollar. Anthony wagered 3001, which was enough to remain champion for a third day. My Coryat score was 16200. Anthony’s was 15200, Claudia’s was 9600, and Gerard’s was 9800.
*boa, inquisitive, Lemon Law, Jonah, Maxim Gorky
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