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Warning: This page contains spoilers for the May 16, 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 Authors) for Tuesday, May 16, 2023 (Season 39, Game 177):
In 1960 Jean-Paul Sartre wrote of this man’s “victorious attempt…to snatch every instant of his existence from his future death”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Lydia-Claire Kerrigan, a web development team lead from Lafayette, Tennessee |
Tom Winiarski, a media strategist from Briarcliff Manor, New York |
Ben Chan, a philosophy professor from Green Bay, Wisconsin (4-day total: $129,001) |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Ben Chan is once again your Jeopardy! champion after an absolutely dominant performance against 8-day champion Hannah Wilson. Thankfully, we will get to see Hannah this fall in postseason play. Now we’ll get to see how far Ben can go! Today’s challengers are Tom Winiarski and Lydia-Claire Kerrigan.
One thing I’ll be watching today: Since Jeopardy! changed its rules in 2003 to allow for unlimited winning streaks, no player has won their first five games in a runaway. There are a few known instances of this happening prior to 2003: Rick Knutsen in 2001, Robin Carroll in 2000, Chuck Forrest in 1985, Mike Day in 1985, and Elise Beraru in 1984 all have this verified by J! Archive, while Jonathan Groff claimed in his Ultimate Tournament of Champions interview in 2005 to have done so in his run in 1995 (but J! Archive does not have his run in order to officially verify that this took place).
One further thing that I noticed yesterday: there were a number of fans yesterday who were—and I’m going to put this charitably here—confused as to why Ben was returning. Local news articles were immensely clear on this point back in April: Ben was ill and unable to travel. The show has made accommodations for illnesses before, as putting any contestant in a position of “travel while very sick or you can’t play Jeopardy! any more”, like these fans yesterday were demanding in both my comment section here and on my Facebook page, is absolutely and completely inappropriate. Moreover, it is clear to me that the cavalier attitude that these fans have towards illness in the current times is one major reason why the pandemic of 2020 turned into the endemic of 2023. Congratulations.
Finally, according to J!6, today’s opening category is “Chillin’ in the R.I.P. Lounge.” I don’t know if it’s just me, and I’m becoming an old fuddy-duddy, but I feel that category title is slightly too irreverent for my tastes.
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: Who is Albert Camus?
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.)
After Albert Camus’s 1960 death following a car accident, friend Jean-Paul Sartre wrote a tribute, which was published in The Reporter Magazine in February 1960; the quote pulled from that tribute for today’s Final Jeopardy—”the pure and victorious attempt of one man to snatch every instant of his existence from his future death“—seems, at least to my brain, to exemplify the absurdism that Camus was known for.
Camus’ final work, The First Man, was unfinished and in the car with Camus when the fatal accident happened; the work was published posthumously and incomplete in 1994.
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 Tuesday, May 16, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Chillin’ In The R.I.P. Lounge; Poe Places; Automotive Alliteration; College: The Drop/Add Period; Pop Metal Bands; “B” Is The First Letter)
Ben and Tom had a tight game going—until Ben broke it open by getting a True Daily Double!
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Tom 6 correct 0 incorrect
Lydia-Claire 4 correct 0 incorrect
Ben 5 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Lydia-Claire tried to turn her elementary school principal into a frog.
Tom has been a Deadhead for 40 years.
Ben was tattooed in front of a live audience in college.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Ben 13 correct 1 incorrect
Tom 11 correct 0 incorrect
Lydia-Claire 6 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Ben $13,200
Tom $6,600
Lydia-Claire $3,200
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Heaven On Earth; Women World Leaders; Animals; Don’T Go Anywhere; Twists; Turns)
Tom was within striking distance when he found the round’s first Daily Double, but an incorrect response knocked him out of contention. While Lydia-Claire played well in the back half of the round, Ben had a 5th runaway going into Final in 5 games!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Ben 24 correct 2 incorrect
Lydia-Claire 14 correct 1 incorrect
Tom 16 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 26 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Ben $26,400
Lydia-Claire $11,200
Tom $5,200
Ben got Final correct—he’s now a 5-time champion!
Tonight’s results:
Tom $5,200 – $5,000 = $200 (Who was Jerry Ga)
Lydia-Claire $11,200 – $8,800 = $2,400 (Who is Sisy?)
Ben $26,400 + $1,599 = $27,999 (Who is Camus?) (5-day total: $157,000)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) COLLEGE: THE DROP/ADD PERIOD $400 (clue #28)
Ben 6400 +6400 (Tom 6600 Lydia-Claire 3000)
2) DON’T GO ANYWHERE $2000 (clue #12)
Tom 11800 -5000 (Ben 18000 Lydia-Claire 4400)
3) HEAVEN ON EARTH $1200 (clue #16, $13600 left on board)
Ben 21200 +2000 (Tom 4800 Lydia-Claire 4400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 67
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Ben 4 5 3 5 4 5 3 5 4 5 3 2*
Tom 1 2 3 4 3 4 3 2 1 4 1
Lydia-Claire 1 2 1 5 2
DJ! Round:
Ben 4 3 2 4 4 4 3*
Tom 3 5 2 2 5* 5 4
Lydia-Claire 1 5
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Ben 3.79
Lydia-Claire 2.43
Tom 3.00
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:
Ben $19,600 Coryat, 24 correct, 2 incorrect, 42.11% in first on buzzer (24/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Lydia-Claire $11,200 Coryat, 14 correct, 1 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Tom $10,200 Coryat, 16 correct, 2 incorrect, 24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57), 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $41,000
Lach Trash: $7,200 (on 5 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $5,800
Player Statistics:
Ben Chan, career statistics:
138 correct, 11 incorrect
4/5 on rebound attempts (on 14 rebound opportunities)
44.56% in first on buzzer (127/285)
11/12 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $31,200)
4/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $23,080
Tom Winiarski, career statistics:
16 correct, 3 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$5,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $10,200
Lydia-Claire Kerrigan, career statistics:
14 correct, 2 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,200
Ben Chan, to win:
6 games: 80.733%
7: 65.179%
8: 52.621%
9: 42.483%
10: 34.298%
Avg. streak: 9.190 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Today’s box score: May 16, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Ben $26,400 Lydia-Claire $11,200 Tom $5,200)
Ben: Limit your bet to $3,999. (Actual bet: $1,599)
Tom: Bet whatever you like. (Actual bet: $5,000)
Lydia-Claire: Limit your bet to $799. (Actual bet: $8,800)
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An easy FJ if, like me, you read The Myth of Sisyphus in freshman English class in 1967. Existentialism was a hot topic in college back then. Don’t know if that is still true today.
Same era, same result. I haven’t seen the episode yet, so I’m wondering if Lydia-Claire was going for Sisyphus in her FJ response. Interesting confusion if that were the case.
Ugh… That makes sense reading more about Camus and his relationship with Sartre. Just thinking of anyone to try and get it, I guessed Karl Marx ;p
Current FJ streak: 3L
Hey Andy!
Really enjoying the regular Jeopardy! runnning concurrently to the Masters Tournament.
Will the Jeopardy! Regular Play All time winnings list be updated with Hannah Wilson’s amount?
Thanks.
Of course Andy will update the Regular All-Time winnings list to include Hannah’s amount. She made the top 20 to take over 19th place. Andy usually does the update a day or two after. There’s no reason not to include Hannah.
Andy – thank you for so eloquently stating what we need to hear about illness in general and pandemics in particular. cheers, TH
Andy: I definitely agree on the “Chillin’…Lounge” category.
Wow how this game could have been so much closer but it seems for some daily double hunting is just an afterthought.
Ben is going to be in the double digits – calling it right there. He won his first five games in a huge landslide runaway, and it seems more and more probable at this point.
Just watched a very exciting game. Despite some stumbles in the second half, both of Ben’s competitors were knowledgeable and quick/aggressive on the buzzer. It was not a boring runaway by any means.
Since no player in the unlimited winning streaks era has ever had five runaways before, that means Ben can set a new record tomorrow for runaways at the beginning of their appearance on Jeopardy. If so, does the record get an asterisk because the streak was broken into two parts? Just kidding, I’d count it as a new record anyway. 🙂
I’ve said before that Authors/Lierature is not something I’m well versed in. So with the clue, I was done. I had no concept as to what the correct response was. Maybe I’ll do better with the Final Jeopardys from tonight’s Masters games.
Yeah, no, wasn’t going to come up with Camus in 30 seconds. I was like “that makes sense” when the result came up, but I don’t have data on Camus’s passing or his friendship with Sartre at the forefront of my brain.
I echo your sentiments on the people bashing the show for not forcing Ben to travel while sick, and I think this issue stems from American culture pushing people to work even while ill. This attitude is unwelcome and I will leave it at that.
Also, props to Ben on a 5th runaway. He knows that Daily Double hunting has to be a priority and that gives him an edge over someone like Tom, who doesn’t seem to care. And his dex checks on the buzzer are high.
Drat! I thought of both Marx & Camus for today’s Final Jeopardy!, but wasn’t sure which one was correct. I remember having to read “The Stranger” (“L’etranger”) for a high school English class back in the day, around 1968 or 1969. Also – Ben Chan is really on his A game. It’s dazzling to watch him get these runaways!
I’m not good at literature so I really had no idea. But there’s a line from an old Simpsons episode, “Well, Camus can do, but Sartre is smartre!”, so my guess was Camus. The Simpsons taught me something!
Following the Simpson’s line, Scooby-Doo would’ve been an alternate choice.
😂 Love it, Josh T..
The source does not matter, as long as you have learned something which you did not know before.