Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Science Fiction) for Tuesday, March 9, 2021 (Season 37, Game 117):
In a 1952 sci-fi story, a time traveler returning to the present finds a dead one of these insects on his shoe
(correct response beneath the contestants)
The Jeopardy! community is mourning the loss of Brayden Smith, who passed away on February 5. The Brayden Smith Memorial Fund has been established, dedicated to furthering the educational aspirations of Southern Nevada students.
Today’s contestants:
Zach Shrier, a financial advisor from Los Angeles, California
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Lindsey Shi, an attorney originally from Germantown, Maryland
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Laura Portwood-Stacer, an author & editor originally from Livonia, Michigan (2-day total: $42,601)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts: Laura rode a strong Jeopardy! round to a second win on yesterday’s game; she’s only made one unforced error in her two wins. If she can keep incorrect responses to a minimum, the chances are good that she will pick up win #3 today.
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: What is a butterfly?
More information about Final Jeopardy: (The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2021 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Ray Bradbury’s 1952 short story “A Sound of Thunder” is seen as one of the origin stories of the well-known “butterfly effect” from chaos theory; the idea is that a butterfly’s wings flapping in one part of the world can have effects in other parts of the world; “A Sound of Thunder” used this as a cautionary tale about time travel; a time traveler named Eckels, going back in time to a dinosaur hunt, kills the aforementioned butterfly (whose remnants return to the present on his shoe). The death of that butterfly caused a rift in the timeline, revealing an alternate history—including one where a fascist political candidate has won a recent presidential election.
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Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Tonight’s results are below!
Scores going into Final:
Zach $13,800
Lindsey $11,400
Laura $7,600
Tonight’s results:
Laura $7,600 – $6,201 = $1,399 (What is a cockroach?)
Lindsey $11,400 + $10,000 = $21,400 (What is a butterfly?)
Zach $13,800 + $9,001 = $22,801 (What is a butterfly?) (1-day total: $22,801)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Zach $8,200
Laura $4,400
Lindsey $3,800
Opening break taken after: 17 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) SPORTS & GAMES IN SHAKESPEARE $1000 (clue #11)
Zach 1200 +1200 (Laura 1800 Lindsey 2000)
2) 16-LETTER WORDS $1200 (clue #20)
Lindsey 7800 -3800 (Laura 7200 Zach 13800)
3) YOU LOSE! $800 (clue #26, $4000 left on board)
Lindsey 6000 +3000 (Laura 7200 Zach 13800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 101
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 157 (1.34 per episode average), 2 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Zach $13,600 Coryat, 22 correct, 2 incorrect, 36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Lindsey $13,000 Coryat, 19 correct, 3 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Laura $7,600 Coryat, 9 correct, 0 incorrect, 15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $34,200
Lach Trash: $12,800 (on 9 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $7,000
Laura Portwood-Stacer, career statistics:
50 correct, 3 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 12 rebound opportunities)
26.04% in first on buzzer (44/169)
3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,000)
1/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,667
Lindsey Shi, career statistics:
20 correct, 3 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$800)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,000
Zach Shrier, career statistics:
23 correct, 2 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,200)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,600
Zach Shrier, to win:
2 games: 41.529%
3: 17.246%
4: 7.162%
5: 2.974%
6: 1.235%
Avg. streak: 1.710 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- I thought that Lindsey underbet the final Daily Double, especially considering that it was an $800 clue and he was in a distant third. Had he bet everything, he would have led going into Final.
- It was surprising—and is very unusual—for Laura to lose her buzzer mojo as much as she did; she went from 21 and 20 times in first in her first two games to 9 in Game 3.
- The current amount donated to Stand up to Cancer: $52,002.
Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com
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I’ve read everything Ray Bradbury has written.
Back to hard clues after a brief reprieve yesterday, I guess…. no idea what mindset I would have had to be in to make that connection in 30 seconds. Thinking through insects and 1950s sci-fi stories didn’t do it for me, that’s for sure!
I think having knowledge of the concept “butterfly effect” is going to be crucial here. I think people who aren’t familiar with the story but familiar with the concept could still get there.
I am familiar with the concept, but always heard it in the context of a butterfly flapping its wings. A crushed insect on a shoe didn’t register with me.
I wasn’t familiar with the story–but still came up with butterfly, thanks to not only a small amount of chaos theory familiarity, but also other works derived from that, such as the movie “The Butterfly Effect” with Ashton Kutcher.
Although I also had a side thought that it might be a moth–as in the original computer “bug”.
I noticed that they forgot to put John Focht on the ToC Tracker on the Jeopardy website. They always put 4 game-winners on there. I wonder if the people who run the website just forgot to put him on.
I read it in high school. It scared the living daylights out of me.
Don’t worry, folks. The drought of non-Zach winners is over.
I did not like Lindsey’s FJ wager. If he had bet 3801 (or a tad more), he would’ve had enough to cover Laura if he got it right and little enough to beat Zach if he and Zach got it wrong and Zach wagered to cover. It ended
Are contestants given pads/pens even calculators prior to FJ or to they have to figure in their heads?
Contestants are given Sharpies and index cards.
Any ardent fan of the Big Bang Theory program was yelling “What is a butterfly” at their screen. Everyone has an Achilles Heel, and pop culture seemed to do Laura in despite strong showings the other two days.
This Chiefs fan was screaming at the TV when coach Andy Reid’s picture came up. Didn’t know butterfly, though.
I can’t speak to the statistics of this, but IMHO it seems that Sports is a common blind spot for J! contestants, bigger than World Geography.
It is comical. I didn’t know who Jimmy Butler was, either, though. NBA, we’re just not that into you.
I agree with this. The classic example, of course, was the entire column of football questions that were Triple Stumpers a few years back. Alex had fun with that one.
Did contestants know their winnings would be donated to pancreatic cancer charity?
The contestants’ winnings are not being donated; Jeopardy is MATCHING the day’s winnings by the contestants and donating that amount to charity. The contestants still get their winnings.
This category triggers a Klavin. Couldn’t miss.