Warning: This page contains spoilers for the July 24, 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 African Geography) for Monday, July 24, 2023 (Season 39, Game 226):
The only country in Africa with Spanish as an official language, it lies mostly between 1 & 2 degrees north latitude
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Ian Foutz, a teacher from Camarillo, California |
Simona Fine, a graduate student from Great Neck, New York |
Taylor Clagett, a marketing director originally from Chesapeake Beach, Maryland (1-day total: $10,800) |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Being the only player to get Friday’s Final Jeopardy clue correct means that Maryland’s Taylor Clagett enters the last week of Season 39 as the defending champion. Today’s challengers are Simona Fine and Ian Foutz.
Next weekend—Saturday, July 29, beginning at 8:00 AM Eastern, I will be doing a lengthy fundraising live-stream on my Twitch channel (twitch.tv/thejeopardyfan/) to raise money for MS Canada‘s Gamers vs. MS “Boss Battles” July campaign. How long will the stream be? Well, that’s up to you with your donations! For every dollar (Canadian) raised before the start of the stream, one minute will be added to the clock. However, it doesn’t end there. During the stream itself, every two dollars (Canadian) donated will add another minute to the live stream. Donations are being handled by Tiltify; you can donate here!
Canada has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the world, with an estimated 90,000 Canadians living with the disease. MS is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Since that includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve, MS can affect vision, memory, balance and mobility. The disease attacks myelin, the protective covering of the nerves, causing inflammation and often damaging the myelin. Myelin is necessary for the transmission of nerve impulses through nerve fibres. Currently there is no cure, but each day researchers are learning more about what causes MS and are zeroing in on ways to prevent it.
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 Equatorial Guinea?
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.)
Equatorial Guinea, which consists of a continental area (Río Muni) as well as the islands of Bioko and Annobón, are the remnants of Spanish equatorial claims in Africa. France was able to take a significant amount of the Spanish claim in 1900’s Treaty of Paris; much of that land became French Equatorial Africa. In any case, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea is a comparatively small (especially compared with many of its neighbors) country and the only country (recognized by the United States) on the continent with an official language of Spanish.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Monday, July 24, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: States’ Highest Points; Space Men & Women; Welcome To Our Fruit Stand; Alphabetically First; Uniform Numbers; The “End” Zone)
The opening round was very evenly matched over the first 15 clues; however, Taylor found the Daily Double on clue #16 and began to pull away. 9 correct responses after the first break meant Taylor had a good-sized lead after 30 clues.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Taylor 5 correct 2 incorrect
Simona 3 correct 0 incorrect
Ian 5 correct 2 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Ian had bowling shoes “explode” on him.
Simona studies materials science engineering.
Taylor is planning on contributing to a foundation in honor of his niece who died of brain cancer last August.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Taylor 14 correct 2 incorrect
Simona 5 correct 0 incorrect
Ian 7 correct 3 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Taylor $7,300
Simona $3,200
Ian $2,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Musical Works; My Would-Be VP; Starts With 3 Consonants; International Books; Hostel; Makeovers)
Taylor found both Daily Doubles in this round, and, not liking his chances, bet just $100 on them both! This meant that despite those two misses, neither challenger could take advantage of them, and he had a runaway going into Final!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Taylor 25 correct 6 incorrect
Ian 12 correct 4 incorrect
Simona 8 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 43 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Taylor $17,500
Ian $6,800
Simona $4,000
Taylor was the only player correct in Final; he’s now a 2-day champion!
Tonight’s results:
Simona $4,000 – $2,500 = $1,500 (What is M Senegal?)
Ian $6,800 – $1,300 = $5,500 (What is Sierra Leone?)
Taylor $17,500 + $3,500 = $21,000 (What is Knibb high Equatorial Guinea) (2-day total: $31,800)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) ALPHABETICALLY FIRST $800 (clue #16)
Taylor 2600 +2300 (Simona 2400 Ian 2200)
2) MUSICAL WORKS $1600 (clue #7)
Taylor 15700 -100 (Simona 3200 Ian 2400)
3) MY WOULD-BE VP $1600 (clue #18, $8800 left on board)
Taylor 16800 -100 (Simona 1200 Ian 6400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 87
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Taylor 5 5 4 3 5 5 4*
Simona 3 4 5
Ian 3 4 5 4 4 3
DJ! Round:
Taylor 4 5 5 4 3 4* 3 5 5 5 3 3 5† 4*
Simona
Ian 3 4 2 1
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Taylor 4.24
Ian 3.30
Simona 4.00
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 $16,200 Coryat, 25 correct, 6 incorrect, 49.12% in first on buzzer (28/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Ian $6,800 Coryat, 12 correct, 4 incorrect, 24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57), 0/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Simona $4,000 Coryat, 8 correct, 2 incorrect, 10.53% in first on buzzer (6/57), 4/4 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $27,000
Lach Trash: $14,600 (on 14 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $12,400
Player Statistics:
Taylor Clagett, career statistics:
41 correct, 12 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 9 rebound opportunities)
40.35% in first on buzzer (46/114)
1/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $900)
2/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,400
Simona Fine, career statistics:
8 correct, 3 incorrect
4/4 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
10.53% in first on buzzer (6/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $4,000
Ian Foutz, career statistics:
12 correct, 5 incorrect
0/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $6,800
Taylor Clagett, to win:
3 games: 37.460%
4: 14.033%
5: 5.257%
6: 1.969%
7: 0.738%
Avg. streak: 2.599 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Despite his slight misstep on selection #17, Taylor’s performance in Double Jeopardy! should be emulated by most players. Losing $100 is better than your opponents gaining $4,000 or $6,000.
- Today’s box score: July 24, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Taylor $17,500 Ian $6,800 Simona $4,000)
Taylor: Limit your bet to $3,899 to keep Ian locked out. (Actual bet: $3,500)
Simona: Bet at least $1,601 to have the best chance of second place. (Actual bet: $2,500)
Ian: Standard cover bet over Simona is $1,201. (Actual bet: $1,300)
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I knew it had to be near the equator. I knew it couldn’t be Equatorial Gabon, because they speak French. But I didn’t know the answer.
The country’s name is simply Gabon, not Equatorial Gabon.
actually, if you want to be specific, it’s the Gabonese Republic. The old red cross questionnaire (back in the 80s), when listing countries you couldn’t be from to donate, one of them was Equatorial Gabon.
Cabo Verde was my best guess, but I didn’t think it was right. But any reasonable guess is better than none.
Almanac to the rescue again! 😀 Recognized EG from the official language.
A tiny country. Seems fairly obscure for FJ.
Yeah, but other obscure countries, like Lesotho, have been answers in FJ.
There may be a link between vitamin D (sunshine) and MS rates. Higher latitudes have less sun and more MS.
I considered EG but thought they spoke Italian there.
The only Italian should be the Ethiopia/Eritrea past history thanks to Mussolini’s moving in there in the 1930’s…Tough question.
Italian, though, is certainly not currently the official language. They seem to have five other official languages.
Ethiopia also invented coffee. Thank goodness for that at 7:00 in the morning!
Ron, I was thinking along those lines. Tough question.
I knew this one right away as I closely follow African history. It . was once ruled by the bloody dictator Francisco Macias Nguema, who instituted a reign of terror in the late 1960s-70s. The World Council of Churches estimated that he killed 80,000 in a country of 300,000. His most bizarre episode found him having 150 political opponents executed in the national Stadium while the loudspeakers played Mary Hopkin singing “Those Were the Days”.
I assumed it was Morocco due to extensive sea traffic between there and Spain. Guess not.
That was my guess as well, but we’re too far north 🙁
Also, Morocco’s official language is Arabic.
The language of italian being spoken in EG definitely helped me here. Thinking back to the days of Mussolini. Good clue though level of clue is medium.
Great game, Taylor must have excellent buzzer skills since those were pretty sharp competitors for the most part.
I wish I had read the Final Jeopardy! clue more carefully. The answer was right there with the degrees of latitude. (Also, I play Globle™ and WorldLE® regularly.)
Well, clue 14 of the Jeopardy! round was a mess. And I’m not talking about the players mis-reading it and not giving the name of a team.
Domingo Germán, he of the prefect game only a few weeks back, wears No. 0 for the Yankees. He switched to that number before the start of this season. Additionally, the Yankees issued the number zero to pitcher Adam Ottavino in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Thus, “the Yankees have retired all single digit numbers” was factually inaccurate both at taping and at airing.
I was thinking the same thing.
Taylor’s strategy of making small wagers on the Daily Doubles when he had a commanding lead shows the value of playing defense. Sometimes, the best offense is a good defense. (I consider his strategy to be a defensive maneuver in that he kept his opponents from scoring big on the DD’s.) Proud of my fellow Marylander.
p.s. Does anyone else have to keep saving their name and email every time they comment?