Warning: This page contains spoilers for the July 21, 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 Numbers Old & New) for Friday, July 21, 2023 (Season 39, Game 225):
Expressed in today’s numbers, it’s the sum total if you add the 7 Roman numerals together
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Taylor Clagett, a marketing director originally from Chesapeake Beach, Maryland |
Ben Sasamoto, an environmental consultant from Minneapolis, Minnesota |
Nik Berry, a social studies teacher from Baltimore, Maryland (1-day total: $9,601) |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
On yesterday’s show, Nik Berry made a very savvy bet in Final Jeopardy, and found himself rewarded with the title of Jeopardy! Champion! Today’s challengers are Ben Sasamoto from Minnesota and Taylor Clagett, originally from Maryland.
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 1666?
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.)
This old-school Final Jeopardy clue wouldn’t have felt out of place in 1985 or 1986, let alone 2023. The seven Roman numerals are M (1000), D (500), C (100), L (50), X (10), V (5), and I (1). Adding 1000, 500, 100, 50, 10, 5, and 1 gives you 1,666.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, July 21, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Happy 75th Birthday, Israel!; Shakespeare; That Hollow Feeling; The Romaines Of The Day; Track & Field; Homophone Connection)
Ben got off to the best start, converting an early Daily Double to jump into the lead! Taylor was struggling, but getting 5 of the last 6 clues correct in the round brought him into a tie for the lead!
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Ben 6 correct 0 incorrect
Nik 2 correct 0 incorrect
Taylor 2 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Taylor coached lacrosse in the Netherlands.
Ben got a Ken Jennings autograph at the age of 13.
Nik once visited the world’s highest monastery.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Taylor 7 correct 1 incorrect
Ben 8 correct 2 incorrect
Nik 5 correct 0 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Taylor $3,800
Ben $3,800
Nik $3,000
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Explorers; Internally Yours; Old Hollywood Scribes; Motley Clues; Stately Demonyms; Ends In “X”)
The scores were staying down in Double Jeopardy, as Nik knocked himself out of contention with a missed Daily Double. Taylor then missed the last one, but he stayed within 50% of Ben’s score going into Final!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Ben 16 correct 3 incorrect
Taylor 14 correct 6 incorrect
Nik 9 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 43 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Ben $9,400
Taylor $5,400
Nik $1,200
Taylor was the only player correct on today’s Final Jeopardy—he’s our new champion! He’ll return on Monday to defend.
Tonight’s results:
Nik $1,200 – $17 = $1,183 (What is 2166?)
Taylor $5,400 + $5,400 = $10,800 (What 1,666?) (1-day total: $10,800)
Ben $9,400 – $3,000 = $6,400 (What 666?)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) SHAKESPEARE $800 (clue #7)
Ben 1000 +1000 (Nik 800 Taylor 400)
2) STATELY DEMONYMS $1600 (clue #12)
Nik 5000 -5000 (Ben 3000 Taylor 4600)
3) INTERNALLY YOURS $1600 (clue #24, $4000 left on board)
Taylor 5800 -1200 (Nik 1200 Ben 7000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -21
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Nik 1 5 1
Ben 2 4 4*
Taylor 3
DJ! Round:
Nik 3 4 5 1 3 4* 5† 2† 5 5 4 3 2
Ben 1 2 1† 5 3
Taylor 5 4 3 2 4 4*
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Taylor 3.57
Ben 2.75
Nik 3.31
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 43 (0.19 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Taylor $6,600 Coryat, 14 correct, 6 incorrect, 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Ben $9,200 Coryat, 16 correct, 3 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Nik $6,200 Coryat, 9 correct, 2 incorrect, 17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $22,000
Lach Trash: $19,600 (on 19 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $12,400
Player Statistics:
Nik Berry, career statistics:
20 correct, 6 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 14 rebound opportunities)
20.54% in first on buzzer (23/112)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$5,000)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $8,200
Ben Sasamoto, career statistics:
16 correct, 4 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,200
Taylor Clagett, career statistics:
15 correct, 6 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$1,200)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $6,600
Taylor Clagett, to win:
2 games: 24.400%
3: 5.954%
4: 1.453%
5: 0.354%
6: 0.086%
Avg. streak: 1.323 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- In response to some commentary regarding recent editorials of mine and how my opinion differs in certain scenarios: I would like to note that there is a major difference between numbers that might be considered profane and numbers that might be considered as a dog whistle for hate speech.
- Today’s box score: July 21, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Ben $9,400 Taylor $5,400 Nik $1,200)
Nik: Bet whatever you like. (Actual bet: $17)
Ben: Standard cover wager over Taylor is $1,401. (Actual bet: $3,000)
Taylor: Bet at least $2,601 to have the best chance of winning. (If you limit your bet to $2,999, you guarantee second place as well.) (Actual bet: $5,400)
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I appreciate your being proactive in addressing the matter. And I accept that the distinction you make is a valid one.
But I disagree. Like you, I have no problem with the clue in and of itself. But by the standards established by the show itself, as they are now, Ben’s response should have been reasonably anticipated by the production team, and accordingly, the Final Jeopardy! clue should not have reached air.
That said, this question has certainly been overtaken by events, hasn’t it?
I really didn’t understand this Final Jeopardy, even after Ken read the explanation for the correct rsponse from his card. Seeing it “spelled out” in Andy’s “More Information,” I finally understood. Reading the posts, I see many here got it, or, at least had an idea what the correct response would be. Yet, even though Jeopardy fans are regarded to be among the smartest, I wonder how many viewers got from the “answer,” the confirmation of the correct response, or, even the explanation from Ken’s card. A graphic detailing the correct reponse, as Ken read the explanation, would have been nice.
The potential T of C boycott. I’m the son of a union pressman, I support the ideas of workers organizing for better wages, conditions, and, the use of witholding services to gain them. But, I refuse to criticize, or, praise those that won’t cross pickeet lines, or, those that will. It has to a personal choice. Mayim, some T of C participants won’t. Their choice. Ken, while voicing support for the writers goals, at least, did. Also his choice.
This is a great question but I’m surprised they used it as anyone who forgot the thousand would have ended up with one of the numbers that Jeopardy really doesn’t like!
In solving this one, I found it most useful simply to think about which numbers would have a letter associated with them and not worry about what the actual letter was. The latter seems like a time trap, and had I taken the time to associate each letter with a number, I believe I would have run out of time.
I agree, but I feel like it helps to consciously identify that the highest one is M=1000 and that Ben was tripped up by not thinking first of what ARE the 7 Roman numerals so he would know where to stop when counting upward (which it appears he did, as counting downward would have had the 1,000 included, which he did not).
[On the other hand, I think Nik probably did add downward starting with 1,000 but forgot about 500 (regardless of what letter that is) and when he got down to 1 and realized that was only the 6th value he was adding, rashly thought he must have forgotten the 1,000. Or else the fact that the first digit of the current year is ‘2’ and the first Roman numeral of the current year is ‘M’ made him inadvertently add in 2,000 for ‘M’ instead of 1,000.]