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Warning: This page contains spoilers for the May 12, 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 New Words in the 18th Century) for Friday, May 12, 2023 (Season 39, Game 175):
Describing these, Captain Cook wrote, “The manner in which” they’re done “must certainly cause intollerable pain”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Victoria Ford, an independent bookstore owner from Saint Paul, Minnesota |
Skyler Gailing, an editorial & community associate from Exeter, New Hampshire |
Hannah Wilson, a data scientist from Chicago, Illinois (7-day total: $189,801) |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Hannah Wilson is now a seven-day champion; she’ll go for win #8 tonight against Skyler Gailing and Victoria Ford. Nobody would know this at this point, but whoever wins today will face off with 3-day champion Ben Chan on Monday (and Ben had runaways in his first three games).
Additionally, Jeopardy! Masters resumes tonight at 8:00 Eastern/Pacific (7:00 Central/Mountain) on ABC in the United States; in Canada, it appears as though tonight’s game will be airing on main CTV and not CTV2.
Back to talk about today’s game: Having seen today’s categories in J!6, I have to say I was disappointed. The opening round contains a category called ARMY “ANT”s; I was expecting to see PERPETUAL MOTION SQUAD in Double Jeopardy!—and I was very disappointed not to see the reference there.
In a general housekeeping sense: I am in the process of changing my statistics tables over to utilizing Google Sheets over the coming weeks.
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 are tattoos?
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.)
While on his voyages in the South Pacific, Captain Cook wrote extensively about the body art of the Maoris; Cook described the art itself as “The figures they mostly use are spirals, drawn and connected together with great nicety and judgement.”
Before any subject-matter experts get their hackles up about this clue: I do not believe there is anything incorrect about clue or category.
While other definitions of “tattoo”—namely, the military definition, referring to the signal calling soldiers to quarters—date from earlier, the specific usage of the word “tattoo” referring to body art does appear to date from Captain Cook’s 18th-century description.
I should also note that the general practice of modern Western tattooing definitely not originate with Cook’s descriptions; tattoo historian Anna Felicity Friedman goes into a lengthy discussion of what is known in tattoo circles as “the Cook myth”.
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 & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, May 12, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: State Capital To State Capital; Triple Rhyme Time; Company Headquarters; A Birthday To Remember; Game Show Hosts; Army “Ant”S)
This game was all Hannah from the start—the only hiccup was getting the Daily Double incorrect! Skyler and Victoria were able to get in a few times after the break.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Hannah 12 correct 1 incorrect
Victoria 0 correct 0 incorrect
Skyler 0 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Victoria just opened her store.
Skyler tried out for the Teen Tournament while concussed; she does not remember how it went.
Hannah watched Jeopardy! during dinner on a TV that was only used to watch the show.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Hannah 18 correct 2 incorrect
Skyler 3 correct 0 incorrect
Victoria 1 correct 3 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Hannah $9,200
Skyler $2,000
Victoria -$1,200
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Life Is Picaresque; Solve For “Ex”; Lesser-Known Film Trilogies; 7-Letter Animals; Hymns & Spirituals; This 20Th Century World Leader…)
Hannah’s dominance of the proceedings continued in Double Jeopardy; unfortunately for her two challengers, they weren’t able to get too many correct responses (And, in Skyler’s case, she took too many incorrect responses to stick around for Final.)
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Hannah 33 correct 2 incorrect
Victoria 3 correct 3 incorrect
Skyler 6 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 26 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Hannah $29,000
Victoria $800
Skyler $0
Hannah got Final today—and added five figures to her total! She gets to return on Monday—when 3-day champion Ben Chan will be waiting!
Tonight’s results:
Skyler $0 (By rule, did not participate in Final Jeopardy)
Victoria $800 – $799 = $1 (What are shackles?)
Hannah $29,000 + $11,000 = $40,000 (What are tattoos?) (8-day total: $229,801)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) STATE CAPITAL TO STATE CAPITAL $600 (clue #4)
Hannah 600 -1000 (Skyler 0 Victoria 0)
2) LIFE IS PICARESQUE $1600 (clue #9)
Hannah 14800 +2000 (Skyler 2400 Victoria 0)
3) THIS 20th CENTURY WORLD LEADER… $1600 (clue #19, $14000 left on board)
Hannah 20400 +3000 (Skyler 800 Victoria 0)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -72
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Hannah 1 1 2 3*
Skyler
Victoria
DJ! Round:
Hannah 3 5 1 2 3 4* 5† 1 2 1 2 3 4*
Skyler 2 5 4 3
Victoria 1 4
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Hannah 2.53
Victoria 2.50
Skyler 3.50
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 26 (0.15 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Hannah $28,200 Coryat, 33 correct, 2 incorrect, 54.39% in first on buzzer (31/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Victoria $800 Coryat, 3 correct, 3 incorrect, 10.53% in first on buzzer (6/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Skyler $0 Coryat, 6 correct, 2 incorrect, 12.28% in first on buzzer (7/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $29,000
Lach Trash: $19,200 (on 17 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $5,800
Player Statistics:
Hannah Wilson, career statistics:
223 correct, 20 incorrect
12/16 on rebound attempts (on 36 rebound opportunities)
44.96% in first on buzzer (205/456)
12/14 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $39,300)
6/8 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $21,075
Skyler Gailing, career statistics:
6 correct, 2 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
12.28% in first on buzzer (7/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/0 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $0
Victoria Ford, career statistics:
3 correct, 4 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
10.53% in first on buzzer (6/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $800
Andy’s Thoughts:
- As I outlined above, Mayim’s explanation of Final today seemed to perpetuate the “Cook tattoo myth” that I alluded to above.
- For Monday’s game, the prediction model gives Hannah a 44.691% chance of winning and Ben Chan a 40.860% chance of winning.
- Today’s box score: May 12, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Hannah $29,000 Victoria $800 Skyler $0)
Hannah: Bet anywhere from $0 to $27,399. (Actual bet: $11,000)
Skyler: (By rule, did not participate in Final Jeopardy)
Victoria: Bet whatever you like. (Actual bet: $799)
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I got this right away, accepting that it was the WORD of Polynesian origin that the clue asked for. But I had already been disabused of the “Cook myth” (although I had not heard it called that before Andy’s write-up) about the Polynesian origin of the PRACTICE of tattooing. I had learned, several years back, that “Otzi the Iceman” ( the famous European mummy of a man who died over five thousand years ago) had been found to have tattoos all over his body. Were these the oldest tattoos on record? I suppose it depends on what scientists may discover in the future.
For as often as he comes up in clues, an investment in Cook’s journals might be called for 😐 I got it by a roundabout way… Cook > Pacific Islands > Polynesia >(painful)> body art > tattoo
Upon the reading of the clue, Queequeg IMMEDIATELY flashed to my mind (even though ‘Moby Dick’ was written around 75 years later), but then I satisfied myself that I was right by thinking what you thought AND thinking “decapitation for head-shrinking would be quick, not tolerable nor near-intolerable” [which I know was not really a thing in the South Pacific or Africa, but if Cook did not visit Peru or Ecuador (where that WAS practiced) he was “in the area” and surely would have met people who would have told him about it].
Andy: Hannah is currently given a 75% shot of winning today. Ben is at 70% to win again. Let’s say Hannah wins today and goes into Monday’s game with a >50% prediction. So on Monday we would have two contestants, each at >50% odds. How would your prediction model address that “inconsistency”? Not a statistical guy here, so I’m confused.
Statistics are based on certain assumptions. In this case, the assumptions are not the same as the usual ones, because Ben is not a newcomer and has a statistical history of winning himself. So I’m guessing the numbers should be adjusted to take into account the two wining histories.
I’m not a statistical guy either, because I always thought the numbers could be misleading because of the way some people misinterpret them.
Now I wonder, how many games in the history of Jeopardy! had more than 17 triple-stumpers, and what’s the record.
The 11th game in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions – the contestants combined for 23 Triple Stumpers. 16 of those being in Double Jeopardy – 8 of which were in the bottom two rows – probably explains why there was a single-player Final Jeopardy that day!
I didn’t pay attention to the category lol. I said “penguins” bc Captain Cook is the name of a penguin in Mr. Popper’s Penguins. Not my brightest moment.
LOL
How would you like to be Wendy Swanson? What a poor draw.
If she puts together a halfway decent game, it’s an argument for the 2nd Chance tournament.
Not only was I a “few” thousand miles from where Cook supposedly observed that he felt caused “intolerable pain,” I was way off base on what Cook suoosedly saw,
Two cities of NFL legend battling it out on Jeopardy Monday. Two very good Jeopardy champs. Can’t wait. Where Chicago and Green Bay sportswriters in attenedence? LOL.
Having no interest in tattoos, I had no clue what Cook was referring to. There was not much to go on from the clue, just that it would be something Pacific. Thus, I finish the week 4 for 5, but I will take that.
After today’s incredibly boring game, I am looking forward to the clash of titans on Monday! (Go Ben! Go Pack!)
Got the answer, but wasn’t “intolerable” spelled wrong – with two l’s?
It’s a direct quote from Cook and 1770. It was spelled with two Ls then.
I do think it would’ve been helpful if the category or clue made it clear that word was new to English, and not a new coinage. Happy it didn’t turn out to matter, though.
It didn’t need any more help. It was very easy as it was, regardless of whether Cook made up the word ‘tattoo’ or was recording the word the Maori used.
Yes, it is a bit presumptuous to assume “new word” MEANS “new to English” but the evidence of words from the 18th Century had to be written down (and dated) for us to have the earliest known recorded instance now. The Spanish explorers were probably recording some new words back then (and other nationalities with written languages before that), but if the clue was about one of those it would have said someone other than Cook, who wrote in English.
Yay! I got this one right! I thought of Captain Cook + Polynesia + pain = TATTOOS. Huzzah!
Also, very much looking forward to Monday’s upcoming battle. I’m rooting for Professor Ben Chan!
I’m not sure when these episodes were recorded, but if Ben loses to Hannah the opportunity to bring him back might have been a strong motivating factor behind whatever they’re calling the tournament for non-TOC qualified champions.