Warning: This page contains spoilers for the February 6, 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 Inventions) for Monday, February 6, 2023 (Season 39, Game 106):
1917’s “Elements of Trench Warfare” said this Old West item was “difficult to destroy” & “difficult to get through”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Jesse Lampert, a sales executive from Los Angeles, California
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Tanya Parrott, a librarian from Gainesville, Virginia
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Matthew Marcus, a software developer from Portland, Oregon (2-day total: $66,000)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
We’re into a new week on Jeopardy! as Matthew Marcus returns as a 2-day champion to face Tanya Parrott and Jesse Lampert. One comment regarding things that have come in regarding Matthew’s accent: While Matthew was born in New York, he did move to the UK at a very young age—his accent is definitely real and not a put-on.
While I’m here, I think it’s important today to give a general comment on the state of the world these days: When you are trying to take the middle ground in a debate between “a minority wants to be permitted to exist” and “the other side doesn’t want the minority to be permitted to exist”, you are not supporting the minority, are actively working to harm them, and you deserve any social consequences that come your way for taking your so-called “middle ground”.
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 barbed wire?
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.)
Barbed wire, used extensively in the Old West as it was very capable of restraining cattle, at a much cheaper cost than many alternatives, was invented in the 1860s and 1870s, with Joseph Glidden receiving a patent for modern barbed wire in 1874. Barbed wire was cited in “Elements of Trench Warfare” as “the material most employed in the construction of obstacles”. Other advantages were cited as “giving the alarm”, “to cause delay and confusion to the enemy”, and “it offers no obstruction to the view and fire of the defense”.
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: Months That Start With Feb; Wine Tasting 101; U.S. Museums; Add A Letter At The Start; Doctor Who; Parts & Labor)
Matthew had the best time on the buzzer early, but he fell back down $2,000 just before the break with a missed Daily Double. The game stayed very close through the second segment, with only $800 separating Tanya in the lead from Jesse in third.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Jesse 4 correct 0 incorrect
Matthew 7 correct 1 incorrect
Tanya 3 correct 0 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Tanya 8 correct 0 incorrect
Matthew 11 correct 2 incorrect
Jesse 7 correct 0 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Train Routes; Hot Tunes; Prisoners Of War; S-SS-ing The Situation; The Iliad & The Odyssey; You Can Call Me Homer)
Tanya, for some reason, seemed to want no part of the Daily Doubles—she bet $1,000 on both of them. That is not the way to play this game in 2023. As it was, she was $2,800 back of the lead going into Final—having left $7,400 on the table is a crucial error to make as a challenger. Scores going into Final were Matthew at $13,400, Tanya at $10,600, and Jesse at $4,600.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Matthew 21 correct 5 incorrect
Tanya 15 correct 1 incorrect
Jesse 11 correct 1 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 15 (1 today).
Tanya’s conservative Daily Double wagering proved to be the difference—she likely would have won with more money going into Final! As it was, everyone got Final correct, and Matthew is now a 3-day champion. He’ll go for win #4 tomorrow.
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Monday, February 6, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Matthew $13,400
Tanya $10,600
Jesse $4,600
Tonight’s results:
Jesse $4,600 + $4,599 = $9,199 (What is barbed wire?)
Tanya $10,600 + $1 = $10,601 (What is bard barbed wire?)
Matthew $13,400 + $8,000 = $21,400 (What is barbed wire) (3-day total: $87,400)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Tanya $4,200
Matthew $3,800
Jesse $3,400
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) MONTHS THAT START WITH FEB $600 (clue #15)
Matthew 3400 -2000 (Tanya 1000 Jesse 1600)
2) YOU CAN CALL ME HOMER $1600 (clue #9)
Tanya 5000 -1000 (Matthew 9400 Jesse 3400)
3) S-SS-ING THE SITUATION $1200 (clue #18, $15600 left on board)
Tanya 8400 +1000 (Matthew 9800 Jesse 4600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -67
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Matthew 3 2 1 2 1 3 2 3*
Tanya 1 2 1
Jesse 3 2 3 4
DJ! Round:
Matthew 3 4 3 4 2 2
Tanya 1 3 4* 5† 1 1 1 2 3*
Jesse 3 4 5
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Matthew 2.50
Tanya 2.08
Jesse 3.43
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: TRAIN ROUTES $1600
Total Left On Board: $1,600
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 15 (0.14 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Matthew $15,400 Coryat, 21 correct, 5 incorrect, 42.86% in first on buzzer (24/56), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Tanya $11,800 Coryat, 15 correct, 1 incorrect, 25.00% in first on buzzer (14/56), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Jesse $4,600 Coryat, 11 correct, 1 incorrect, 21.43% in first on buzzer (12/56), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $31,800
Lach Trash: $11,400 (on 10 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $9,200
Matthew Marcus, career statistics:
80 correct, 8 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 10 rebound opportunities)
46.47% in first on buzzer (79/170)
3/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $11,000)
2/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $22,133
Tanya Parrott, career statistics:
16 correct, 1 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
25.00% in first on buzzer (14/56)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $0)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,800
Jesse Lampert, career statistics:
12 correct, 1 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
21.43% in first on buzzer (12/56)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $4,600
Matthew Marcus, to win:
4 games: 77.642%
5: 60.282%
6: 46.804%
7: 36.340%
8: 28.215%
Avg. streak: 6.473 games.
Today’s interviews:
Jesse worked as a 10th-grade English teacher right after college.
Tanya created a pioneer experience as a teacher, including fake buffalo chips.
Matthew finished second in a London Times cryptic crossword contest.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Selecting six top-row clues and betting $1,000 on Daily Doubles is not a path to victory on Jeopardy! in 2023.
- As a Jeopardy! fan, I want to see aggressive gameplay from all contestants, and I feel that I did not get that today.
- Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Matthew $13,400 Tanya $10,600 Jesse $4,600)
Matthew: Standard cover bet over Tanya is $7,801. However, Tanya has been betting really conservatively. If you think that conservative betting will continue, betting between $2 and $1,399 would be an interesting play. (Actual bet: $8,000)
Tanya: Limiting your bet to $1,399 guarantees you second place and defends against a cover bet from Matthew. (Actual bet: $1)
Jesse: You have to be correct to win, as Matthew falls to $5,599 if he makes a cover bet and is incorrect. Thus, you might as well go all-in. (Actual bet: $4,599)
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I’m guessing this will be a triple get since even if one doesn’t know the quote, it’s “figurable outable”
I think “figure outable” works a little bit better. 🙂
a little bit betterable 🙂
A little bitable betterable even. 🙂
Ooh… starting off Monday with an easy one! 😀 Hopefully, that’s a good portent for the rest of the week.
Like a Monday crossword 😀
I also found this one easy. In McLean, Texas there is a “Devil’s Rope Museum.” This invention had a powerful effect on the concept of private property in the lives of farmers, ranchers, and Native Americans.
It’s also a collectable for many people.
It was invented in DeKalb Illinois.
I encountered barbed wire on Minnesota farms many times when I was a kid in the 1960s and I can’t imagine it’s not still in use on Midwestern dairy farms, so calling it an “Old West item” really seems like a stretch to me! (Though I know Gene Autry did make two different movies about its introduction to the sort-of Old West.)
It was basically first used in the Old West for cattle containment.
I, too, grew up (in the Southeast) around barbed wire being used “all over the place”. [And, Tim, most people I knew also called it “barb wire”, except those who called it “bob wire”, but I think that was just an accent rather than ignorance.]
I was aware of it being used in the Old West (though hated by far more people than depended on it), but as it was invented in Ohio and vastly improved in Illinois about 10 years later, I doubt it was FIRST USED in the Old West (though it still fits the wording of the clue). And I was aware of its uses in WWI. However, I was too familiar with it in the mid-century southeast for it to immediately even come to mind as an Old West item. Therefore, I guessed the Gatling gun. [Upon research I find that the Gatling gun was developed too late to be used much in the Civil War and had been technologically “replaced” by the time of WWI, having mostly been used in the so-called “Indian wars” in the Old West — though it wasn’t very effective in actual battles, mostly just for causing fear and massacring villages.]
For some odd reason, “tank” immediately popped into my head, even though I knew it did not fit the clue. But about 10 seconds of reasoning brought me to “barbed wire.”
That had been my first thought, too, but I also immediately knew it was wrong despite the TV series Wild Wild West.
This was pretty easy as I have seen barbed wire used in a lot of wars in the past. Even playing Red alert 1 has helped me a lot as well.Happy to see the players getting final. But still Tanya should have bet more on the daily doubles
I fully echo your sentiment of wanting to see aggressive gameplay and feeling like you didn’t get it. This was one of the least enjoyable games for me to watch in a long, long time.
Ditto. Tanya wasn’t just conservative on her Daily Doubles, she also stuck to low number clues and didn’t even risk enough in final to go beyond Matthew’s score had he not risked anything. With her $1 final bid, she could have gotten final right and still lost if Matthew bid conservatively.
Tanya thought the better final jeopardy wager was to lock Jesse out should he get it correct than to hope Matthew wouldn’t wager to cover her. In this instance, it turned out to be best wager for her.
An example of playing not to lose rather than playing to win. The Old Coach in me would never go for that.
I did better on this than today’s Wordle…. 🙁
Some days Wordle® is all about luck; e.g., your starter word.
I got it in 3 guesses whilst playing in Difficult Mode© but… I didn’t get today’s Final Jeopardy!
And to make it worse, I grew up on a farm where I helped install and maintain barb wire fences. (They were always called “barb”, never “barbed”.)
Oh dear. Methinks I am on the cusp of wearing an onion on my belt… cheers to you, Mark!
Tim, thanks for mentioning “barb” vs. “barbed.” Where I’m from, we always called it “barb wire,” too. We knew it was officially “barbed wire” but we always said “barb wire.” I’m left wondering if “barb wire” would have been accepted by the judges. Any thoughts, anyone?
As an aside, there was even a girl named Barbara, who was nicknamed “Wire.”
It is VERY COMMONLY called ‘barb wire’ and grammarist.com says “barb wire and barbwire are listed in some dictionaries” [and also that some pronounce it “bobwire” but it should never be spelled that way] but Jeopardy! is notorious for only accepting what certain dictionaries say.
There was a Final Jeopardy that the answer was Who is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I was worried someone would say ‘nose’.
“difficult to destroy” & “difficult to get through” made me think of titanium and knowing that it became more widely used in 1910 sealed the deal for me. Looking back, it’s obviously not titanium. The category was “inventions” of which titanium is not and to my knowledge wasn’t used in warfare. Embarrassing for me.
Andy, I just wanted to thank you for the comment on the state of the world and “middle grounds”. When the poles are “minority has a right to exist” and “minority has no right to exist” there is no “middle ground” to stake out. It’s a binary question on their existence and anything other than an unqualified “yes” amounts to a “no”.
Well said, Katerina. thank you!
Andy, totally agree with your no middle ground declaration and so appreciate it.
Easy one. Took me ten seconds, sure, but I’m not surprised this was a triple get. Barbed wire is precisely what led to the end of the Old West – no more cattle roaming free – so it’s a natural conclusion.
Not sure what you’re talking about with the Daily Double wagers. Tanya wouldn’t have had anywhere near as much on the second if had she bet it all on the first since she got the first wrong. I will agree that she lacked the confidence needed to unseat Matthew, though, and that this game was boring because there was too much conservative play.
Yep. Ceteris paribus, Tanya would’ve had $8800 rather than $9400 after the second DD if she’d bet everything on both.
She’d just seen two triple stumpers in lower-dollar clues in “Homer” before the first bid. Word puzzle clues can be tough to pull even when they seem obvious in retrospect. We don’t know her own assessment of her ability on those. At the very minimum her bidding was not outlandish.