Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 15, 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 The Wild West) for Friday, December 15, 2023 (Season 40, Game 70):
In 1888’s “Ranch Life & The Hunting-Trail” Teddy Roosevelt wrote his 2 ranch hands were “able to travel” like this animal
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Gary Hollis, a chemistry professor from Roanoke, Virginia
|
Tyler Vandenberg, a Marine officer currently serving in from Stuttgart, Germany
|
Yungsheng Wang, a deputy public defender originally from Lafayette, Louisiana
|
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
We’re now down to three players in Fall 2023’s Champions Wild Card: Yungsheng Wang, Tyler Vandenberg, and Gary Hollis. The scores from today’s game will get added to the scores from Monday’s game to come up with the overall champion for the competition.
I do think Yungsheng is the overall favorite in this, but Tyler is absolutely not afraid to make aggressive moves in Final Jeopardy, and that could end up playing to his advantage.
In case you missed yesterday’s breaking news item, The Jeopardy! Fan learned yesterday that the show plans to have an untelevised play-in round for the next Champions Wildcard event coming up in January.
Another reminder that I have started a Sunday mailbag column where I answer fan & viewer questions regarding the show. If you have a question, feel free to send it to mailbag@thejeopardyfan.com!
In further site news, make sure to check out my weekly Jeopardy! recap column in Geeks Who Drink’s Questionist; my column comes out every Sunday! Or, you can sign up for the Questionist newsletter here!
(Content continues below)
My friends over at Geeks Who Drink have introduced a daily trivia game—Thrice! Existing to make daily clever trivia content accessible to a wide audience, it's a daily challenge that tries to get you to the answer via three separate clues. It has a shareable score functionality to challenge your friends and new questions every day will give you a new daily social ritual. You can find it at thricegame.com.
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my Betting Strategy 101 page. If you want to learn how to bet in two-day finals, check out Betting Strategy 102. In case the show uses a tournament with wild cards in the future, there is also a strategy page for betting in tournament quarterfinals.
Are you looking for information on how to stream Jeopardy! in 2024? Find out information here on how to stream from most places in North America!
Do you appreciate the work I do here on The Jeopardy! Fan? Would you like to make a one-time contribution to the site? You may do so here!
You can find game-by-game stats here at The Jeopardy! Fan of all 17 players, now including Adriana Harmeyer, that have won 10 or more games on Jeopardy!
You can now listen to Alex Trebek-hosted Jeopardy! episodes from TuneIn Radio without leaving The Jeopardy! Fan — listen now!
Correct response: What is a bull moose?
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.)
Future U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt used his favorite animal simile in his 1888 memoirs of life in the West and as a Billings County Deputy Sheriff. Specifically, this came from an incident in spring 1886 when three boat thieves attempted to stay Teddy’s boat on the Little Missouri River. The ability of his ranch hands to move quickly was instrumental in the capture; the thieves had been caught by surprise, as they believed they had stolen the only watercraft in the area, and thus, believed they would have been able to make a clean getaway. A recount of the story is available at the National Park Service website.
Most Americans are probably more familiar with the bull moose references he made in 1912; after a failed assassination attempt that year, he referred to himself as “fit as a bull moose”; his third-party Progressive Party run for President that year gained the nickname the Bull Moose Party. If the contestants can think less about the category here and more about what animal gets associated with Teddy Roosevelt, this will be a straight path to the correct answer. However, if they get lost in the category and start thinking of other Wild West animals, a player might find themself in difficulty here.
We have many new offerings at The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store! Here are our current featured items, including our new Masters Season 3 Player List T-shirt:
Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, December 15, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Country Add A Letter; Not Really Married; Historic Documents; Musical Instruments; Double Y-ed; Trailer Park)
Gary got off to a fast start, and a True Daily Double midway through the opening segment brought his score over $5,000! By the end of the round, Gary’s score was nearly in five figures, while Yungsheng sat second and Tyler third.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Gary 7 correct 0 incorrect
Yungsheng 6 correct 0 incorrect
Tyler 2 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Gary remembers trying out in the late 1980s.
Tyler is still “scarred” over responding with “Christmas” to a Thanksgiving clue in his opening appearance.
Yungsheng has a notebook of random facts.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Gary 13 correct 0 incorrect
Yungsheng 11 correct 0 incorrect
Tyler 5 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Gary $9,400
Yungsheng $6,800
Tyler $2,000
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: San Francisco, Now & Forever; An “L” Of A Team; Water World; Flowers; Fictional Languages; Wish I’d Said That!)
Gary kept the Daily Doubles away from Yungsheng again, getting one correct and one incorrect for $3,000 each. No matter, though, Yungsheng still led going into Final!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Yungsheng 20 correct 2 incorrect
Gary 21 correct 4 incorrect
Tyler 11 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Yungsheng $16,800
Gary $14,600
Tyler $8,800
Only Tyler got Final correct, and as if on cue—he went all in, again! He’s got the lead going into Monday, and the large number of Tyler fans on Facebook will absolutely be happy this weekend. However, his lead isn’t insurmountable—the “effective lead” is only $4,800 over Yungsheng and $5,800 over Gary!
Tonight’s results:
Tyler $8,800 + $8,800 = $17,600 (What is a bull moose)
Gary $14,600 – $8,600 = $6,000 (What is a buffalo?)
Yungsheng $16,800 – $8,800 = $8,000 (What is a mule?)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS $800 (clue #8)
Gary 2600 +2600 (Yungsheng 2400 Tyler 600)
2) FLOWERS $1200 (clue #14)
Gary 13400 +3000 (Yungsheng 14400 Tyler 7200)
3) WISH I’D SAID THAT! $1200 (clue #20, $5600 left on board)
Gary 16400 -3000 (Yungsheng 16400 Tyler 8400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 104
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Yungsheng 5 4 4 4
Tyler 5
Gary 3 3 4*
DJ! Round:
Yungsheng 4 5 4 3 4 3
Tyler 5 4 3 2 5
Gary 2 3 5 4 3* 4 5 5† 3*
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Tyler 4.00
Yungsheng 4.00
Gary 3.67
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:
Tyler $8,800 Coryat, 11 correct, 2 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Yungsheng $16,800 Coryat, 20 correct, 2 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Gary $14,000 Coryat, 21 correct, 4 incorrect, 36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $39,600
Lach Trash: $8,200 (on 7 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,200
Lead Changes: 5
Times Tied: 2
Player Statistics:
Yungsheng Wang, career statistics:
142 correct, 25 incorrect
7/9 on rebound attempts (on 28 rebound opportunities)
36.59% in first on buzzer (146/399)
5/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $14,899)
5/7 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,514
Tyler Vandenberg, career statistics:
111 correct, 14 incorrect
10/11 on rebound attempts (on 26 rebound opportunities)
29.24% in first on buzzer (100/342)
6/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $13,200)
4/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,633
Gary Hollis, career statistics:
109 correct, 23 incorrect
8/10 on rebound attempts (on 24 rebound opportunities)
37.54% in first on buzzer (107/285)
8/10 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $14,000)
2/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,880
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Wagering suggestions will not be posted today due to it being Day 1 of a 2-day final.
- Today’s box score: December 15, 2023 Box Score.
Become a Supporter now! Make a monthly contribution to the site on Patreon!
Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com
When commenting, please note that all comments on The Jeopardy! Fan must be in compliance with the Site Comment Policy.
If you are going to quote any information from this page or this website, attribution is required.
Have you had a chance to listen to our podcast game show, Complete The List, yet? Check it out! It's also available on Apple Podcasts.
I said “What is a moose?” Does it have to be “What is a bull moose?”, or is just “moose” acceptable?
I’d guess moose by itself would be acceptable as the animal type 🤞
Since “bull moose” is so closely linked to TR, and since it comes from his writings, my feeling is that “moose” alone is not specific enough.
Yeah, I missed this one. Familiar with Bull Moose Party, but when I think of what animal is most associated with Teddy Roosevelt, I think a bear (a teddy bear). But I didn’t even go down that route. I went blindly with mountain lion.
I just thought of an animal comparison that would convey useful attributes for ranch hands like strong, lithe and stealthy, so I also said mountain lion. You’d just about have to associate bull moose strongly with Teddy Roosevelt to pick it since that animal’s attributes are strong, huge, stubborn and maybe aggressive, which could make for troublesome ranch hands. Of course the clue’s quote concentrated on “travel like”, but the anecdote makes me think that Roosevelt choose the wrong animal for comparison as it sounded like the two ranch hands moved quickly and quietly [caught the thieves by surprise], then pounced!
BTW, I did not mean that I just now thought of that. I meant that was my thought process to come up with mountain lion rather than a blind guess (although I suspect you were thinking the same subconsciously, thus did not exactly go blindly).
If I had concentrated on an animal associated with Roosevelt, I’d probably have gone with a (black) bear😏, but I was thinking of animals appropriate to the area and guessed bison.😔
At least going all in on final made sense today
Do you care to elaborate since Tyler was the only one that went all in?
Tyler inexplicably went all in in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Tyler has gone all-in in every Final Jeopardy he’s faced thus far in the tournament; however, the first two all-in bets were made in situations where doing so was quite possibly the worst thing he could have done in that moment.
The teddy roosevelt hint helped me to get the bull moose. It made sense just seeing that animal show up on the clue itself.
My husband is wondering about the different marine uniform, appears black with black crossbody belt?
Since it’s just me and x number of fellow Jeopardy viewers, I just don’t if I would have been able see that the key to this Final Jeopardy was Teddy Roosevelt and an animal, as Andy said. Wasn’t able to watch the first half of the Wild Card championship. SOMEHOW, even though I scheduled it to be recorded by my DVR, it didn’t happen. Hopefully, Monday’s recording won’t get lost somehow.
Just as Andy surmised, I immediately associated Teddy Roosevelt with the Bull Moose Party from my American History class. This logically led me to go with “What is a bull moose?” Since this is taken from Teddy Roosevelt’s writings, I think bull moose is the acceptable response and just moose, not so much.
Yeah, in retrospect this was obvious if you thought along the Teddy route but very hard if you were like me (or Yungsheng or Gary) and tried thinking from the “Wild West” angle. I didn’t get it.
I expected Tyler to go all in here and he did. I also expect him to do that tomorrow despite that potentially costing him a victory. Just saying that now.
Apparently, four things in life are certain –
1: Death
2: Taxes
3: My bracket being busted in Game 3 of a tournament
4: Tyler Vandenberg going all-in in Final Jeopardy
Who knew?
I couldn’t come up with this FJ. Perhaps I should have. Tomorrow’s Game 2 should be very interesting! 🙂