Happy Tuesday! It’s Day 2 of Season 38! Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Scientific Etymology) for Tuesday, September 14, 2021 (Season 38, Game 2):
2 of the 3 men for whom armalcolite, a dark gray mineral discovered in 1969, is named
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s contestants:
Elizabeth Hunter, a community theatre artistic director from Somerville, Massachusetts
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Daniel Lee, a tutor from Ridgewood, New York
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Matt Amodio, a Ph.D student from New Haven, Connecticut (19-day total: $642,601)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts: No, Daniel Lee is not the same Daniel Lee that played last season. There was a pretty bad mistake made yesterday by the web team. Considering that this sort of action perpetuates negative stereotypes against Asian-Americans, this was not a mistake that the show needed to be making these days. On to Matt Amodio, he put up a very dominant performance yesterday, but only at times. His “in first on buzzer” percentage was well below his average from last season, so he might be vulnerable here, especially if the Daily Doubles don’t fall entirely his way.
Also, I might be in the minority here, but I don’t hate the new set. The blue-and-black background actually gives me the same curtain vibes that I get when I see clips of the Art Fleming version that resurface from time to time; that version made use of curtains on-set. It almost seems as though they went for the “throwback to Fleming a tiny bit” look. I think it works well.
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: Who are (2 of) (Neil) Armstrong, (Buzz) Aldrin, and (Michael) Collins?
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.)
While it was later found in locations on Earth, Armalcolite was first discovered in the Sea of Tranquility in July 1969 on the Apollo 11 mission, manned by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Armalcolite was later named after the three of them.
Speaking from a writing perspective, this is the sort of clue that generated a forehead slap when I realized what the correct answer was. This is the sort of clue that I really liked and I hope that we see more of these in the post-Mike Richards Jeopardy! world.
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Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Tonight’s results are below!
Scores going into Final:
Matt $35,200
Daniel $16,400
Elizabeth $6,000
Tonight’s results:
Elizabeth $6,000 + $5,000 = $11,000 (Who are Armstrong & Collins?)
Daniel $16,400 – $4,401 = $11,999 (Who are ? + ?)
Matt $35,200 + $1,000 = $36,200 (Who are Armstrong & Aldrin?) (20-day total: $678,801)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Matt $17,600
Daniel $3,200
Elizabeth $1,200
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) THE WILD WEST $400 (clue #15)
Matt 7600 +7600 (Daniel 1800 Elizabeth 800)
2) THE OLD TESTAMENT $800 (clue #2)
Elizabeth 1600 +2000 (Matt 17600 Daniel 3200)
3) 17th CENTURY NAMES $2000 (clue #4, $31600 left on board)
Daniel 4400 +4400 (Matt 17600 Elizabeth 3600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 300
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 0 (0.00 per episode average), 2 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Matt $28,000 Coryat, 29 correct, 1 incorrect, 49.12% in first on buzzer (28/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Daniel $14,000 Coryat, 17 correct, 2 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Elizabeth $4,800 Coryat, 10 correct, 1 incorrect, 15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $46,800
Lach Trash: $4,400 (on 4 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $2,800
Matt Amodio, career statistics:
637 correct, 66 incorrect
33/37 on rebound attempts (on 74 rebound opportunities)
53.37% in first on buzzer (601/1126)
39/44 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $145,000)
14/20 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $26,560
Daniel Lee, career statistics:
17 correct, 3 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,400)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,000
Elizabeth Hunter, career statistics:
11 correct, 1 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,000)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $4,800
Matt Amodio, to win:
21 games: 91.905%
22: 84.465%
23: 77.628%
24: 71.344%
25: 65.568%
Avg. streak: 31.353 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- I wonder how many sports fans will be caught out by the fact that the NFL moved to 10 minutes for its regular season overtime periods in 2017.
- Today’s is the 7th regular-play game since 2004 with a Daily Double efficiency of 300.
Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com
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A few months ago someone posted a copy of the Customs declaration form they had to submit because they were returning to the U.S. They declared moon rocks and moon dust samples.
Fun little puzzle FJ.
Haha! I agree with your ‘forehead slap’ comment, Andy.
‘forehead slap’, so agree. Im so mad at myself for not getting this one.
I concur. 1969 should automatically cause people to think ‘moon landing’ in trivia.
I’m glad they included the year in the clue. This one would be pretty tough without that.
Cinch FJ today, though I’m not convinced it would’ve been an instaget without the year written into the clue.
I agree with you that the set changes are nice. I can’t say I’m a fan of the new opening music, however. Remember when people played real instruments?
What a great clue. And of course I didn’t get it, even though 1969 is such an obvious hint AND I’M SITTING HERE LOOKING AT A FRAMED NEWSPAPER OF THE MOON LANDING 4 feet away.
New sets and new versions of the music always take some getting used to.
We’re creatures of habit and our routine has changed slightly. There’s going to be pushback. 🙂
Matt’s $17,600 J! Round score was exceeded by James just six times, which I presume is the highest non-James J! score, most of which he needed. Had he just $2,400 less he wouldn’t have had a lock entering FJ!
And Daniel had a lock on second, and then bet a dollar too much. If not for Elizabeth having the ‘I don’t want to end the game with zero’ wager in Final Jeopardy, he could’ve ended up in third.
I got this one, mostly from the year, but also the moonwalk was on my 9th birthday, so you don’t forget something like that. Suspect most people will think of the two guys who actually got to walk on the moon, while poor Michael Collins had to circle overhead.
I like the set. The stars and black on the top seem reminiscent of the Greatest shows with Ken, Brad and James.
Really liked the dedication of the soundstage in Alex’s memory. Classy move by Sony Pictures (one they have definitely needed from the last few months). After looking at the photo more, i think i know where that plaque is, and it should be one of the first things new contestants see when they get off the bus as they arrive on the lot for the day of their taping.
Overall, not a bad start to a new season, all things considered. Noticed that Jimmy McGuire, from the Clue Crew, also seems to be the new stage manager; good choice, John Lauderdale was great, he leaves big shoes to fill. Hopefully, he chose to retire and the decision was not made for him, as i have heard may have been the case for some others on staff that i remember. Best of luck to Jimmy. And, Johnny is still there, so there is some semblance of tradition carrying on.
I got this one also due to the moon landing as a big event in the newspapers. Aldrin and Armstrong were my guesses though our contestant michael bet a little too much and ended up in third today. A fun category and I like the new set so far.
Matt is pretty dominant today despite not getting the last two daily doubles. At least he was gracious enough to let his opponents take them to get an early lead. Still Matt came out on top but still I hope he breaks another record and soon tomorrow.
Matt just reached the rarefied air of 20 wins, a multiple of 10 matched by only three others, with 10 wins only by nine others. His reaching 30 would be amazing, but if winning tomorrow he’d break his tie with Julia Collins. Hope he does!
RIP Turd Ferguson. Norm Macdonald passed away today. He used that name in one of the SNL Jeopardy spoofs. It was mentioned at least a couple of times on the actual show.