Warning: This page contains spoilers for the October 5, 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 Global Geology) for Thursday, October 5, 2023 (Season 40, Game 19):
In this nation of 360,000 people, you can walk along the boundaries of the Eurasian & North American tectonic plates
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Joe Feldmann, a technology professional from Bethesda, Maryland |
Amanda Ganske, a product marketing manager from Austin, Texas |
Brendan Sargent, a small business owner originally from Worcester, Massachusetts |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Last night on Jeopardy, Kendra Blanchette benefitted greatly from knowing what to do in Final Jeopardy as she became the third of nine semifinalists in the Spades bracket of this Champions Wildcard competition. Brendan Sargent, Amanda Ganske, and Joe Feldmann return to the Alex Trebek Stage tonight! Brendan had a very unlucky time with the Daily Doubles his first time out; if those turn around for him, he might be seen as the favorite. Otherwise, Amanda was a 3-time champion; this should be a very interesting game!
In good news for Jeopardy! fans in northeastern Illinois, one of the most boneheaded pitching changes in MLB history by the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday afternoon has led to no baseball on ABC this afternoon to preempt the show in Chicago! (Seriously, though, the Blue Jays’ team president, general manager, and field manager must all be fired for what transpired yesterday.)
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is Iceland?
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.)
Due to its being situated on the rift between the two tectonic plates, Iceland sees significant geologic activity; there is so much volcanic activity that even into the 20th century, new islands will form off the coast—the most famous being Surtsey, which formed in the mid-1960s.
This should be a straightforward Final for anyone familiar with geography—as I always like to say, straightforward Finals like this keep players betting aggressively in Final!
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, October 5, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Where The Wild Things Are; Movies As TV News Stories; I Have A Preposition For You; Frankly; Madeira; I Don’t Give A…)
Brendan got off to the best start, with 8 correct before the first break, and a judges’ reversal gave him an even bigger lead after 30 clues!
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Brendan 8 correct 1 incorrect
Joe 3 correct 1 incorrect
Amanda 1 correct 2 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Joe got a garbled voice mail transcription from the show, but returned the call because “Jeopardy” showed up in it.
Amanda is so happy she could bring her brother as a guest this time.
Brendan was lucky enough to have Katie Couric as a host, and is begging Couric to release a selfie taken.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Brendan 13 correct 1 incorrect
Joe 5 correct 1 incorrect
Amanda 6 correct 5 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Brendan $7,000
Joe $2,200
Amanda $0
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Ex-Soviet Republics; Alphabet Pop; Look In The Cabinet; Nun But The Brave; Architecture Terms; Numbers 4 Letters)
Brendan, though understandably afraid of the Daily Double with what they did to him last time, made no effort to find them. As it was, Joe and Amanda got to them. Joe went all in and doubled his score; he sat second going into Final. Amanda had a chance at betting for the lead, but chose not to take it, and she sat third going into Clue #61.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Brendan 20 correct 2 incorrect
Joe 14 correct 2 incorrect
Amanda 15 correct 6 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Brendan $15,800
Joe $12,800
Amanda $11,000
Joe’s the only player correct in Final, and that makes him a semi-finalist!
Tonight’s results:
Amanda $11,000 – $11,000 = $0 (What is Norway?)
Joe $12,800 + $10,000 = $22,800 (What is Iceland?) (Semi-Finalist)
Brendan $15,800 – $9,801 = $5,999 (What is Mongolia)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) MADEIRA $400 (clue #22)
Amanda 400 -1000 (Brendan 6200 Joe 1800)
2) LOOK IN THE CABINET $2000 (clue #10)
Joe 4200 +4200 (Brendan 13000 Amanda 2000)
3) NUN BUT THE BRAVE $1200 (clue #25, $6800 left on board)
Amanda 8000 +3000 (Brendan 13800 Joe 10800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 38
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Brendan 1 5 4 5 3 4 2 3 2 3 3 5 5
Amanda 3 2*
Joe 5 4 5 4 4 3 4
DJ! Round:
Brendan 2 5 1 2 3 1
Amanda 1 3 4 3 2 3 4 5 1 2 3*
Joe 4 5* 5 4 2 1 3 4
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Joe 3.80
Brendan 3.11
Amanda 2.77
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 0 (0.00 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Joe $10,600 Coryat, 14 correct, 2 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 3/4 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Brendan $15,800 Coryat, 20 correct, 2 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Amanda $10,200 Coryat, 15 correct, 6 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $36,600
Lach Trash: $11,200 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,200
Player Statistics:
Brendan Sargent, career statistics:
70 correct, 15 incorrect
5/5 on rebound attempts (on 13 rebound opportunities)
44.05% in first on buzzer (74/168)
0/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$11,000)
0/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,400
Amanda Ganske, career statistics:
94 correct, 19 incorrect
9/10 on rebound attempts (on 13 rebound opportunities)
33.68% in first on buzzer (96/285)
1/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,000)
3/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,960
Joe Feldmann, career statistics:
75 correct, 11 incorrect
7/9 on rebound attempts (on 19 rebound opportunities)
31.42% in first on buzzer (71/226)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,200)
3/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,350
Andy’s Thoughts:
- I think today’s game illustrates just how important it is to find the Daily Doubles, even if it means betting just $5 on them to take them out of your opponents’ hands.
- Today’s box score: October 5, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Brendan $15,800 Joe $12,800 Amanda $11,000)
Brendan: Standard cover bet over Joe is $9,801. (Actual bet: $9,801)
Amanda: I would bet between $4,801 (in case Brendan bets $0) and $5,000 (staying ahead of Brendan if he’s incorrect). (Actual bet: $11,000)
Joe: Cover bet over Amanda is $9,201. However, you can go all in here to force a cover bet out of Brendan, as you can’t both cover Amanda and win a Double Stumper with Brendan. (Actual bet: $10,000)
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Yep. Check the population first.
I once discussed Iceland (a fascinating country) in the “Culture” Group I do for our Community Center, so this was an easy get for me. (I wonder if anyone will go for Greenland instead, but the population alone should warn them off.) While Iceland’s volcanoes, hot springs, geysers, and glaciers are all spectacular, what I found most interesting about the culture is that, though in most ways they are a very progressive people, to this day a significant minority of Icelanders retain a firm belief in elves!
Is Greenland considered a nation (serious question)? It’s part of Denmark.
I looked this up. The Kingdom of Denmark consists of three countries: Denmark proper, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. Although autonomous, they are united under the authority of the monarch of Denmark. So, yes, Greenland is a country, and, yes, it is part of Denmark. Confusing, no? Even so, MarkO, I did take your question seriously, and I hope this answers it.
Under the definitions of a popular British game show that DIDN’T succesfully make it’s way to US TV, Greenland WOULDN’T be considered a country, because mainly it’s not a member of the UN.
Hi RedRose, Thank you again for your most-recent comment to me. I did go back & read it. Yes, I did get Iceland as the clue for Final! I briefly thought of Greenland first, but knowing that it belongs to Denmark, I decided upon Iceland for my final choice. Judith P.
Lucky guess. My father was stationed there briefly after WWII.
I do not know the population of Iceland but guessed Iceland on account of the volcanoes, geysers, location, etc.
I got Iceland because of that volcano there. Its a tough name pronunciation but a very nice place to visit though.
You brought it up Andy, so I will follow through. The Jays boneheaded pitching change helped MY TWINS win the series. I enjoyed Joe during his first airing, so he was my favorite to win. Celebrity Jeopardy was entertaining last night.
Final Jeopardy was not something that I KNEW. I have not seen a globe in person in decades, so my image of the world is basically Mercator’s projection, so I wasn’t that confident of my response at first as I had quickly settled on Iceland (due to my assumption about location and population) rather than somewhere in Asia or closer to mainland Europe. Then I became more confident thinking about the volcanoes and hot springs.
I guessed Wales for Final Jeopardy. Oops!
Wales definitely has more than 360,000 people.
Yeah, that makes sense Rashaad! 🙂 I appreciate your answer to my comment.
Katie Couric posted the selfie with Brendan on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/katiecouric/status/1710143840508653819
https://twitter.com/brendanpsargent/status/1710149083032359290
So cool of her!!! 🙂
I deduced that the correct response would be a country in the Northern Hemisphere, probably somewhere in the Northern Atlantic. But that was as far as I got.
Andy[
I was curious as how (if) you’d react here about how the Jays got swept. Wonder if the fans of the Rays are reacting the same.