Here’s tonight’s Final Jeopardy answer and question for Thursday, February 2, 2017:
Final Jeopardy! category: THE U.S.A.
Final Jeopardy! clue/answer: The Empire State Building says that on a clear day you can see 5 states from the top: New York, New Jersey, Conn. & these 2
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s contestants:
Sean Dennison, a graduate student & teacher from Los Angeles, California |
Warren Toland, a National Guard recruiter from Torrington, Connecticut |
Lisa Schlitt, a microbiologist from Berwyn, Pennsylvania (4-day total: $85,000) |
Lisa made it onto Page 1 of our ToC Tracker with her win yesterday. A win today will likely cement her spot in the next Tournament of Champions. Will it happen?
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[spoiler title=’Click/Tap Here for Correct Response/Question’]What are Pennsylvania and Massachusetts?[/spoiler]
This page on the Empire State Building website is where you can find this information.
The southwest corner of Massachusetts is the part of the state closest to the Empire State Building, and it would be just on the horizon. I personally thought Delaware was the 5th, but its closest point is about 10 miles or so farther away than the closest point of Massachusetts.
From my own knowledge and what people have said in the past on #JeopardyLivePanel, it would not surprise me if the contestants today received a stern “Absolutely no shoutouts in Final Jeopardy! are permitted today” from the producers, as trying to decipher “HI MA & PA” (or other shoutouts that could be construed as state postal abbreviations) would be impossible.
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(contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com)
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Scores going into Final:
Lisa $27,500
Sean $13,600
Warren $4,400
Final results:
Warren $4,400 – $0 = $4,400 (What are Pennsylvania and Delaware?)
Sean $13,600 – $13,600 = $0 (What are Rhode Island and Delaware?)
Lisa $27,500 – $200 = $27,300 (What are Pennsylvania and Massachuss? — ruled illegible and/or incomplete†) (5-day total: $112,300)
†The judges ruled that Lisa’s response was not spelled out enough to be acceptable. It appeared to be squished on the right side of the screen and she appeared to have run out of room and/or time to complete her response.
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Sean $7,600
Lisa $5,400
Warren $1,200
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) FREQUENT FLYERS $800 (17th pick)
Lisa 2200 +2000 (Sean 3800 Warren 1200)
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2) HISTORIC NAMES $800 (3rd pick)
Lisa 6200 +1500 (Sean 7600 Warren 1200)
3) RAINFORESTS $1200 (14th pick)
Lisa 14500 +1000 (Sean 9200 Warren 2400)
Unplayed clues:
None!
$ Left on Board: $0
Game Stats:
Lisa $25,800 Coryat, 30 correct, 2 incorrect, 49.12% in first on buzzer
Sean $13,600 Coryat, 14 correct, 0 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer
Warren $4,400 Coryat, 8 correct, 2 incorrect, 17.54% in first on buzzer
Lach Trash: $7,200
Coryat lost to incorrect responses: $3,000
Lisa Schlitt, stats to date:
112 correct
15 incorrect
5/7 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $9,500)
4/5 in Final Jeopardy
39.78% in first on buzzer (111/279)
Average Coryat: $15,200
Lisa Schlitt, to win:
6 games: 51.84%
7: 26.88%
8: 13.93%
9: 7.22%
10: 3.74%
Avg. streak: 6.077 games.
Avg. Total Winnings: $135,507 (+ a Tournament of Champions berth)
Miscellany:
Here was Lisa’s Final Jeopardy! response:
I haven’t seen the game yet and therefore can’t comment as to the legibility of Lisa’s response. That being said, it seems that based on what you’ve written, it was clear what state she meant, and there’s no other state for which her response could be mistaken. Given all that – would it have been acceptable if she had written “Mass.”? What are the rules in this situation?
That being said, now that I’ve seen the screenshot (thanks!), seems she might have been better off just writing “Mass.” and not trying to squeeze the rest of the name in…assuming that would be acceptable. I defer to your expertise here, Andy!
I really don’t know whether it would have been accepted or not. I’ve had a tough time trying to read the judges lately (case in point: “Grays” vs. “Gray” on the author of the anatomy textbook today).
I would like to think that just “Mass.” would be accepted, but it’s also possible that they asked the contestants to fully spell out their responses as well.
Matt Carberry pointed out on Twitter that “There’s no way you can pronounce Lisa’s response as Massachusetts, nor is it an accepted abbreviation,” which is a really good point.
Absolutely. An excellent point.
It’s good that she only lost $200.
Very smart betting – if Sean had gotten FJ right, he would have had $27,200.
Lisa’s handwriting was terrible.
I would think that if the judges would have accepted “Penn & Mass” that they should have accepted her answer. Sometimes those pens are a little wonky. Sad they didn’t give it to her. Glad she only bet 200.
What a disgrace, give Lisa her $200 back! Everyone knows others have misspelled answers and won & everyone knows she was spelling Massachusetts- what other state begins with Mass? Ridiculous!!
“Clint Eastwoo” was famously ruled incomplete and not acceptable many many years ago.
This ruling is consistent with that, in my opinion.
Disagree with the judges’ decision today. I think Lisa’s answer should have been accepted.
We at home are not privy to extra instructions given by the producers.
I consider it very possible that they may have instructed contestants that responses must be fully spelled out, in order to prevent a contestant writing down “MA & PA” and it being confused as a shoutout to one’s parents.
In light of this, I think the ruling is fine.
I also disagree with the judges’ decision. It was clearly meant to read Massachusetts. If they would have accepted Mass. they should have accepted what she wrote.
All the judges can go on is what is on the screen, not what its apparent intent is.
If what is on the screen can’t be pronounced “Mass-a-chu-sets”, it’s not getting accepted.
Lisa should have been given the credit for a correct answer when she wrote “Mass-a-chu-sets,after all it could be sounded out phonetically, and it would be correct. She is brilliant and in the ranks of Matt Brown, Alex (I forgot last name)and Ken Jennings.
Shirley:
The photo of her response is above in this thread, and I do not see something that could reasonably be pronounced “Massachusetts” on that screen.
The judges also have the ability to track the light pen’s movements to see specifically what letters she wrote down.
Thank you for this website… it is amazing. I noticed that you list Massachusetts as closest state to the Empire State Building – Connecticut is actually much closer. But then we are getting accustomed to being referred to as residents of “Newyorkachusetts.” Just wanted to remind people of our existence between two great cities.
I only did not make mention of Connecticut because it was already mentioned in the Final Jeopardy! clue itself. I was simply referencing why Massachusetts was the correct response and not Delaware or Rhode Island, the two popular incorrect responses to this clue.
Thanks for visiting!
oooooops…. my apology, I misread your comment. Mea culpa!
No worries. Happens to the best of us!