Thank you to those of you who posted your Coryats so far this year. I assigned each person’s score a number, and had my friend (who knew nothing about the contest) choose one of those numbers. The winner is…Shubha (a former Jeopardy! contestant)! Congratulations. Shubha, let me know which of the three prizes you want.
Today’s contestants:
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| Gitta Neufeld |
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| Amanda Sonmor |
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| Abie Hadjitarkhani |
Amanda, a two-time champion going into today’s show, was off to a fast start today, with 6000 at the first break. I was on a roll myself. I think I missed only one or two to that point. I asked on the Jeopardy! boards if I should count this one in Games, and a discussion ensued but no consensus: “In other words, this summer camp game could be called ‘Seize your enemy’s banner.'” I said “flag football,” while the answer they were going for was “capture-the-flag.” I’m curious what you guys think – acceptable? Abie had 1600 and Gitta had 800 at the first break.
Amanda found the Daily Double in the round, in War. She still loomed large with 7200 while Abie still had 1600 and Gitta had 1000. Amanda wagered 1800 on this clue: “‘Operation Rolling Thunder’ was the 1965 U.S. bombing campaign designed in part to stop men and supplies coming south on this road.”* Amanda and I both missed it.
I swept Biopic-nic and Middle “C” in the Jeopardy round, and was sweeping Parts of the Whole when Amanda found the first Daily Double in the round, just a few clues in. She had 5600, Abie had 4800, and Gitta had 400. Amanda wagered 1600 on this clue: “eyepiece, declination setting scale, azimuth fine adjustment.”* Amanda missed it, and I’d say she mangled the pronunciation of “binoculars” at the same time. Have you ever heard anyone else say “bi-noculars,” like with a long “i” sound?
Abie found the other Daily Double just a few clues later, in Death by…. He had 5600, Amanda had 4000, and Gitta had 2400. He wagered 2000 on this clue: “…air crash of his Mig fighter plane while on a training mission near Moscow, March 17, 1968.”* I missed this one, and so did Abie.
At the end of the round, Amanda had 11200, Abie had 6800, and Gitta had 9200. The Final Jeopardy category was The Old Testament, which seemed to suit Gitta, as she was described as a “Judaic teacher trainer” when she was introduced. This was the clue: “In the book of Job, his name means ‘accuser,’ and that was his role in God’s court.”* I thought this one was a toughie. Abie and, naturally, Gitta got it right. Abie wagered 2400, which tied him with Gitta until she added 9100 to her score. Even though it wouldn’t have mattered in the end, I would’ve wagered more than just to tie Gitta, since you could pretty much assume that she’d get it right. Anyway, Amanda missed this one. Gitta, then, who didn’t seem to shine in this episode, is the new champion. Today’s Coryats: Mine was 22400, Gitta’s was 9200, Abie’s was 8800, and Amanda’s was 14600. (If you still want to post yours even though the contest is over, please do!)
*Ho Chi Minh Trail, telescope, Gagarin, Satan