Warning: This page contains spoilers for the January 4, 2023, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Continental Geography) for Wednesday, January 4, 2023 (Season 39, Game 83):
Until a 1903 secession, this country’s contiguous territory spanned 2 continents
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Sarah Palmer, an executive assistant from Monterey, California
|
Francis Englert, a line cook from Scotch Plains, New Jersey
|
Lloyd Sy, a graduate student in literature originally from Rockford, Illinois (1-day total: $24,490)
|
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
If you missed yesterday’s game, you missed an exciting contest and the end of a streak—Ray Lalonde’s win streak ended last night after 13 victories! Lloyd Sy got to play giant-killer and gets to play from the champion’s lectern for his second appearance. Today’s challengers are Francis Englert and Sarah Palmer!
A little schedule reminder: The Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament resumes tomorrow with the seventh quarterfinal between Zoë Chao, Brianne Howey, and Michael Cera; the final five weeks will be running on Thursday nights at 8:00 PM Eastern. (I’m not the biggest fan of what ABC has done, choosing to break the show up and moving it to a different night. I enjoyed having the show on Sundays, but it’s their network and they can run it the way they want.)
PSA: The best way to keep COVID-19 at bay (and keep Jeopardy! producing new episodes) is for everybody to get their vaccinations as soon as they can, including any boosters as recommended. When wearing a mask, please ensure that your mask covers both your nose and your mouth.
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my new Betting Strategy 101 page!
(Content continues below)
Correct response: What is Colombia?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2023 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
For much of the 19th century, the territory of the modern-day Republic of Colombia contained what is now Panama. However, Panama’s relative isolation from the rest of Colombia (due to the inhospitable terrain of what is known today as the Darién Gap) and its strategic importance (namely, the United States really wanting a canal across the isthmus of Panama), made it easy for a Panamanian independence movement to take shape, and, in the early 1900s, the United States supported Panamanian separation from Colombia, in exchange for rights to the Panama Canal Zone; the Canal Zone belonged to the U.S. until 1999.
We have many new offerings at The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store! Proceeds from the sale of the “Doctor Oz’s Fast-Acting Snake Oil Elixir” T-shirt are being donated to The Trevor Project:
Game Recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: On Your State’S Left; Buy, & Large; Surnames; The Actors In That Movie; Start “Off”; Write Foot)
Sarah did a great job of finding the Daily Double—unfortunately, she saw her score fall back to $0. By the end of the round Lloyd and Francis were both at $6,200.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Lloyd 6 correct 0 incorrect
Francis 4 correct 0 incorrect
Sarah 4 correct 1 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Francis 10 correct 0 incorrect
Lloyd 13 correct 0 incorrect
Sarah 6 correct 1 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Transportation; The National Past Time; Tv Theme Songs; The Silent Type; Just A Little Nuclear Physics; Oh My Gods!)
Sarah immediately found the Daily Double and fared better on this one; Lloyd increased his score by $4,000 on the last one. While Francis did well on the lower-valued clues at the end of the round, Lloyd had dome well enough at the top of the board to lead going into clue #61. Scores going into the final round are Lloyd at $20,200, Francis at $14,200, Sarah at $8,200.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Lloyd 23 correct 2 incorrect
Francis 21 correct 2 incorrect
Sarah 11 correct 1 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 12 (0 today).
Lloyd was the only correct player in Final today; he’s now a 2-day champion!
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, January 4, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Lloyd $20,200
Francis $14,200
Sarah $8,200
Tonight’s results:
Sarah $8,200 – $2,201 = $5,999 (What is Turkey?)
Francis $14,200 – $6,000 = $8,200 (What is Russia?)
Lloyd $20,200 + $8,888 = $29,088 (What is Colombia?) (2-day total: $53,578)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Francis $6,200
Lloyd $6,200
Sarah $2,200
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) SURNAMES $1000 (clue #10)
Sarah 2400 -2400 (Lloyd 2400 Francis 2200)
2) OH MY GODS! $1200 (clue #1)
Sarah 2200 +2000 (Lloyd 6200 Francis 6200)
3) THE NATIONAL PAST TIME $1200 (clue #7, $26400 left on board)
Lloyd 10200 +4000 (Francis 6200 Sarah 5800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 30
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Lloyd 5 3 4 5
Francis 4 4 3
Sarah 5 2 5*
DJ! Round:
Lloyd 5 4 3*
Francis 3
Sarah 3* 4† 2†
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Lloyd 4.14
Francis 3.50
Sarah 3.50
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 12 (0.14 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Lloyd $17,400 Coryat, 23 correct, 2 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Francis $14,200 Coryat, 21 correct, 2 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Sarah $9,800 Coryat, 11 correct, 1 incorrect, 15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $41,400
Lach Trash: $6,000 (on 4 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,600
Lloyd Sy, career statistics:
39 correct, 5 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
32.46% in first on buzzer (37/114)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,090)
2/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,200
Francis Englert, career statistics:
21 correct, 3 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,200
Sarah Palmer, career statistics:
11 correct, 2 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$400)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,800
Lloyd Sy, to win:
3 games: 54.025%
4: 29.187%
5: 15.768%
6: 8.519%
7: 4.602%
Avg. streak: 3.175 games.
Today’s interviews:
Sarah enjoys spoilers along with her sister, but they think they’re the only ones like this. (Spoiler alert: They’re not.)
Francis won an amateur go-go dancing contest.
Lloyd is a big fan of American sports talk radio.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- While I originally wrote this section of Wagering Strategy 101 to apply to Daily Doubles, I think it applies here, too: “…times have changed, and various numbers have been co-opted by groups around the world as codes for various things, good and bad. You’re not going to be aware of all of those numbers’ meanings, and what you think is your lucky number may end up having an inadvertent alternate meaning that you don’t learn of until later and don’t want to be associated with.”
- Today’s box score: January 4, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Lloyd $20,200 Francis $14,200 Sarah $8,200)
Lloyd: Standard cover bet over Francis is $8,201. Because of the evenly spaced scores, you are greatly harming your chances of victory by going over this number. (Actual bet: $8,888)
Francis: Standard cover bet over Sarah is $2,201. Because of the evenly spaced scores, this exact bet gives you the best chance of winning today. (Actual bet: $6,000)
Sarah: Regardless of what you do, you must bet at least $3,800. Because you have to be correct to win, you might as well go all-in to maximize your potential winnings if you do win. (Actual bet: $2,201)
Become a Supporter now! Make a monthly contribution to the site on Patreon!
Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com
When commenting, please note that all comments on The Jeopardy! Fan must be in compliance with the Site Comment Policy.
If you are going to quote any information from this page or this website, attribution is required.
Ah, yes. My two favorite things, history and geography 🙄. I’d consider myself correct if I had guessed the correct continent. I went with England bc I knew they owned a lot of countries at some point in history. I knew that wasn’t right, but it was a guess all the same.
yeah, it helped to know the Canal was built in the TR era.
England was HIGHLY unlikely to be correct because the clue said “contiguous territory”, though I suppose they could have had some territory somewhere that straddled two continents and only half of it seceded.
Gettable one, though if you were reaching for a less obvious solution you might consider Egypt.
Egypt is still on two continents – Asia and Africa.
I was thinking the other side of the globe – thinking what might of used to be in 2 of the 3 of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
At times in Earth’s history, there has been a land bridge between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Possibly one dispersal route out Africa used by early humans.
I also was thinking maybe some country now on the western border of Russia that might have split off from Russia just before the Russian Revolution but really that wouldn’t have exactly fit the clue even if there had been one.
Francis seemed to have been thinking kind of like I was, but the opposite direction. However, I knew it couldn’t be Russia because it still is in both Europe and Asia.
I was looking at the other side of the world also. I probably should have gotten this one, but N and S America wasn’t even on my radar :/
Current FJ streak: 2L
I thought about N & S America for a second, but erroneously remembered Central America as being part of South America instead of North America. Had there been no date given, I would have thought it might be Mexico due to Texas secession.
Including the results of yesterday’s game, how many times has someone gotten ten Final Jeopardy clues correct in a row?
My current count – James Holzhauer, Tom Cubbage, Ben Ingram, Larissa Kelly, Ken Jennings, Amy Schneider, Ray Lalonde. Does this look right, or am I missing someone?
I’m glad you mentioned the celebrity tournament as I forgot all about it. I had to remember who was in the finals and how many more matches were left.
Goegraphy is always my favorite subject so this was gettable. The clue pointed me to that region because of the Panama Canal being built.
I’m glad to see Lloyd is strong enough to win another game AFTER defeating a 10+ game winner. If I’m not mistaken, this moves the record to 5-11 in favor of giant killers losing their next game.
Meanwhile, I really wish Jeopardy would just publish a list to confirm which wagers are banned and which ones aren’t. That way, people know what wagers are and aren’t allowed and would save themselves and the contestant who wagered what they did a lot of energy, either from accusations or explanations. Hopefully Lloyd wins another game tomorrow and diverts any possible attention away from a wager that was probably made just because that was the lowest cover bet where every digit was the same number.
I don’t know what Lloyd’s ethnicity is and won’t presume what it might be. I do know, however, from my many Asian friends and from teaching the International Class at my church that in Chinese culture, the number 88 symbolizes fortune and good luck. This has to do with the fact that the word for 8 sounds similar to the word fā (發, which implies 發財, or wealth, in Mandarin or Cantonese). Because of this, the number 8 is considered to be the luckiest number in Chinese culture. In August of 2008, the US Mint even produced a special “8–8–08 Double Prosperity Set,” priced at $1228.88. That set featured one 24–karat American Buffalo One–Half Ounce Gold Uncirculated Coin and one 22–karat American Eagle One–Half Ounce Gold Uncirculated Coin. It was done to celebrate Chinese culture. Perhaps, Lloyd’s wager was something similar. I see no reason to question this wager.
Since 88 is a number often tied to white supremacy in American culture, I would feel bad for Lloyd if he had to explain his wager to all the people who don’t know about the number being lucky in Chinese culture. I don’t question it myself, but I know there are people who can – and will – question it.
A sequence of four eights is also associated with a pro-democracy uprising in Burma, and the first night game in Wrigley Field — both of which occurred on August 8, 1988.
Random thought, but I think Sarah would’ve been best served by a wager of $3,801.
Why? If Lloyd and Francis both make the bet you suggested and get it wrong, their final scores will each be $11,999. So betting $3,801 on Sarah’s part serves as a bit of a bumper in case one or both of them try to outplay the other, wager $1 less, and beat the one that wagered $1 more by $1. If that happens, a bet of $3,800 on Sarah’s part runs the potential risk of a tie-breaker, which the other contestant would take. And seeing as neither contestant is likely to bet $2 less than they need to, $3,801 means that Sarah is guaranteed to eke out a win if she’s the only correct respondent. Of course, it’s all moot with how Final actually turned out, but it’s still a thought.
That scenario relies on both Lloyd and Francis being incorrect and Sarah being correct, so she might as well go all in as Andy said in the original post.
The Panamanian secession from Gran Colombia was the first thing to occur to me, so I put Colombia down. Glad that was right! Turkiye did come to mind, sure, but it’s still on two continents per Sporcle standard even though the European portion is much smaller than in Ottoman times. (Sarah’s incorrect spelling should be accepted since that was the erroneous translation for a century.)
2 for 3 this week isn’t bad! Watch me blow the next two…
Batting .667 this year sounds good until you realize there’s only been 3 clues this year 🙂
I didn’t realize Central America was part of a continent so I was thinking Eurasia but I knew Turkey was stll part of two continents so couldn’t think of anything.
all land that isn’t an island is part of a continent (and many islands are considered to be included with continents as well)