This post has been updated with new information. Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Diplomacy) for Tuesday, September 22, 2020 (Season 37, Game 7):
The book “The Eagle & the Elephant” is about the relationship between the U.S. & this Asian country beginning in 1833
(correct response beneath the contestants)
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Today’s contestants:
Reshima Wilkinson, a researcher from Venice, California
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Tyler Brill, a freelance writer from Simi Valley, California
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Dana Hill, a book dealer & stay-at-home mom from Simi Valley, California (1-day total: $25,200)
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: What is Thailand? (Though “What is India?” should have also been accepted, as a book with the same title also deals with US-India relations).
More information about Final Jeopardy:
Seven episodes into the Mike Richards era and we’re already at two Final Jeopardy! controversies. Mike, you’ve got to be better with this.
Not to be at all confused with an Ohio-based group who don’t care about the health and safety of their fellow citizens in the midst of a global pandemic that has already killed hundreds of thousands of people, there are apparently two diplomacy books regarding U.S. relations with Asian countries with titles of “The Eagle and The Elephant”. The Thai book talks about US-Thailand relations since the 1833 Treaty of Amity and Commerce.
The Eagle & The Elephant is also a Raymond E. Vickery, Jr. book about the cooperation between the United States and India. Vickery, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, also served as a former US Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Trade Development under Clinton. Reviews of the book consider it to be very important for understanding how to do business in (or with) India.
Meanwhile, I’m left to wonder here at The Jeopardy! Fan: does anyone at the show actually know how to use a search engine? I feel like there are going to be a lot of unexpected eyeballs on a group that doesn’t deserve them after this clue today. Especially amongst the aging, vulnerable viewership that comprises Jeopardy!’s majority audience.
This Final Jeopardy! clue should have never made it out of the writer’s room; coming on the heels after last week’s Berry Gordy debacle, it seems like the show has let its guard down a bit in Season 37 with the “gotcha” moments. This is, in my opinion, completely unacceptable.
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Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Tonight’s results are below!
Scores going into Final:
Dana $21,600
Tyler $11,200
Reshima $5,600
Tonight’s results:
Reshima $5,600 – $5,000 = $600 (What is Th?)
Tyler $11,200 – $11,195 = $5 (What is India?)
Dana $21,600 – $2,000 = $19,600 (What is Korea?) (2-day total: $44,800)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Dana $9,000
Tyler $3,600
Reshima $0
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Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) THE LANGUAGE OF LIKE $800 (clue #17)
Dana 3400 +2000 (Tyler 1400 Reshima 0)
2) THE MAN, THE POETRY $1600 (clue #11)
Dana 14600 +5000 (Tyler 6800 Reshima 0)
3) AMERICANS IN PARIS $1600 (clue #23)
Tyler 11200 -4000 (Dana 23600 Reshima 3600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 57
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: WESTWARD HO! $800 $1000
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $1,800
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 18 (2.57 per episode average), 1 Daily Double
Game Stats:
Dana $17,000 Coryat, 23 correct, 2 incorrect, 40.00% in first on buzzer (22/55), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Reshima $5,600 Coryat, 7 correct, 1 incorrect, 9.09% in first on buzzer (5/55), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Tyler $15,200 Coryat, 21 correct, 4 incorrect, 43.64% in first on buzzer (24/55), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $37,800
Lach Trash: $7,000 (on 6 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $7,400
Dana Hill, career statistics:
41 correct, 5 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
36.36% in first on buzzer (40/110)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,000)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,800
Tyler Brill, career statistics:
21 correct, 5 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
43.64% in first on buzzer (24/55)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$4,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,200
Reshima Wilkinson, career statistics:
7 correct, 2 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
9.09% in first on buzzer (5/55)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $5,600
Dana Hill, to win:
3 games: 55.268%
4: 30.545%
5: 16.882%
6: 9.330%
7: 5.156%
Avg. streak: 3.236 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- I firmly believe that Tyler has given a response which is sufficiently correct—especially considering that there exists a book on U.S.-India relations with that title—that he should seriously consider protesting this judge’s ruling and ask to be invited back onto the program. Had he been given credit, he would be the winner of this game. Even so, simply the existence of another work by this exact title, referring to a different, plausible country, should have been enough to keep this clue in the writer’s room.
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Could be a problem here. There is another book with exactly the same title that deals instead with US-Thai relations since 1833. Specifically mentions 1833 in the book’s title. See at this link: https://www.amazon.com/Eagle-elephant-Thai-American-khwa%CC%84mlang-Thai-%CA%BBAme%CC%84rikan/dp/9748941515/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+eagle+and+the+elephant&qid=1600782181&s=books&sr=1-1
Thank you, Alan. Greatly appreciated. Mike Richards is 5-for-7 this season in Final Jeopardy. That’s an unacceptable success rate.
I count 7 for 7. I like that success rate.
Technically, 1833 could have let you to exclude India because it wasn’t a country then. I made it that far in my head but then thought “if not India, what would it be?” Then I let myself go with India because there is no reason the US couldn’t have done business there in 1833. Man, what a small thing for it to hinge on.
Judging by his actions over the first seven episodes, Mike Richards seems to think that Jeopardy! is about being persnickety, and he’s going to alienate a lot of his viewership if he continues with these actions.
Knowing the answer they were going for, and thinking about it fornseveral minutes, I think I know how they wanted you to get there.
The white elephant is a national symbol of Thailand, and was even on the Siamese flag during the 19th century.
The existence of the other book with the same title still makes it a pretty persnickety clue, but I think that is the line of thought they were after. Add that to the fact that 95% of people are going to think “Asia + elephant = India” and… booooooo.
Can’t wait to see how this plays out
What is this Ohio group that seems NOT to care about Covid deaths you referred to? Thank you. Love this site. Go Buckeyes!
If you type the book title into a search engine, you’ll find what I’m referring to.
Not any search engine I use. Can you elaborate? Also from Ohio.
There is an Ohio-based group called “The Eagle and the Elephant” that I discovered this morning in my research who object to the actions being taken by leaders to limit the spread of COVID-19. (I personally vehemently disagree with their viewpoint.)
Thankfully, Google seems to block the site. However, it does appear in other search engines.
B. Hamren https://www.theeagleandtheelephant.com/
The e-mail says that What is India? is the correct answer and this says that What is Thailand? is the correct answer, mentioning What is India? parenthetically.
The first line of the post also says, “This post has been updated with new information.”
My first thought was Thailand just because my husband rode an elephant there. I wasn’t brave enough to try it.
Whoever is coming up with FJ answers isn’t doing that well.
Our second Tuesday to have a triple stumper in the Final.
And the second Tuesday where it shouldn’t have been a triple stumper and the game ends in controversy.
I don’t think this is so controversial. although the FJ answer could have been written better.
The phrase “starting in 1833” is important. 1833 was the year the Roberts Treaty was signed, which was the first treaty between the US and the then-kingdom of Siam (the first treaty between the US and any Asian nation). That’s what the category “Diplomacy” was referring to. If you know your American history, this is pretty easy.
The book about US-India relations by the former Clinton Admin official doesn’t start in 1833 (when India was basically run by GB), so India doesn’t work as an answer.
Nevertheless, it would have been easy enough to have the question read:
The 1997 book “The Eagle and the Elephant …”
Much better.
From Wikipedia: The 150th anniversary of Roberts’ mission was marked in 1982 by issuance of the first edition of The Eagle and the Elephant: Thai-American relations since 1833, followed by multiple re-issues including a 1987 royal celebration edition and a 1997 golden jubilee edition.
You are correct. I edited my post.
Well that should answer the search engine question at least. Alex said he figured someone would say India.
I have a good feeling that Tyler will be invited back soon. I disagree that they are being persnickety. I have found no other program goes back to make things right like Jeopardy does.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this Final Jeopardy. The response must satisfy every part of the clue and category title. Siam was a country in 1833; India wasn’t. India didn’t become an independent nation until 1947. The U.S. didn’t establish diplomatic relations with India until 1946. There is no way that India can be an acceptable answer to this clue in a Diplomacy category.
The U.S. had trading relations with that area of the world—regardless of its name—dating back to that time. “Beginning in 1833” doesn’t necessarily mean that relations began in 1833; it could also mean that the scope of the book began in 1833. It was problematic enough.
I agree with other posters that the 1833 date is key: It makes Thailand strictly right and India at best much less right. I also agree that the wording of the question could have been better. It I were in charge of making the decision about whether or not to bring Tyler back, I would need to give it a lot of thought. Fortunately, it’s not my call.
It’s a call that I could see going either way. This incident from 2016 means it’s certainly not a slam dunk, as Mike Drummond was not brought back, but it’s certainly worth contacting the show.
Contestants from the Washington DC market were either 1st or 2nd in almost every statistical category last season. I expect better gameplay once the pool is no longer West-Coast only.
If you really want to be persnickety, Siam is the correct answer, and Thailand should be deemed incorrect, given the time period specified. BTW, Siam became Thailand in 1939. Amazing how the world has changed in 2020…First Covid, then record fires in my home state of California, now the powers that be are messing with Jeopardy! What is the world coming to?
I did well in this game – got 2/3 Daily Doubles right and 4/5 in the “The Man, The Poetry” category.
“Persnickety” is an anachronism . . .
“Persnickety” is an anachronism . . .” is a non sequitir.
How sesquipedalian PFF and GKW. 😜
That is another non sequitir. A word can’t be an anachronism.
An artifact that belongs to another time . . .
At best, obsolescent . . .
That happens to be from my favorite Twilight Zone episode, but you’re obviously playing the role of the totalitarian dictator that declares someone or something obsolete for no good reason. That is much worse than being persnickety, a perfectly good word, and also one of my favorites.
I believe the contestant that wrote “Th” was unsure of the spelling if Thailand and therefore did not finish it.
I think that it is much more likely that the contestant only thought of their answer too late and only had time to write ‘Th’.
Considering the exact wording of the question, it doesn’t seem persnickety to me that India was considered a wrong answer. Since India didn’t become a nation until 1947 which is over 100 years after the date referenced in the clue, it couldn’t be a correct answer. Also, it is actually quite frequent that you find the same title by different authors covering different information.
(Admin note: A comment regarding the September 29 episode was removed as it is a spoiler for those who watch episodes out of order.)