Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 20, 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 Countries) for Wednesday, December 20, 2023 (Season 40, Game 73):
Of the 14 countries that border China, it’s the only monarchy & the only one with a population under 1 million
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Jake Garrett, a football coach & teacher from Trussville, Alabama
|
Sam Claussen, a history professor from Santa Clarita, California
|
Juveria Zaheer, a psychiatrist from Whitby, Ontario, Canada
|
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Day 2 of the Season 39 returnees is today, with today’s matchup featuring Juveria Zaheer, Sam Claussen, and Jake Garrett, with all three players playing very well in their respective initial appearances. I do think Sam had the best initial game of the three, which likely makes him the favorite, but as yesterday’s game showed, anything can happen!
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!
(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 Bhutan?
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.)
Bhutan is a small landlocked country in the eastern Himalayas, situated between China and India. Well-known in trivia circles for having a dragon on its flag, it is known as “Druk Yul” (Land of the Thunder Dragon). A constitutional monarchy, Druk Gyalpo is its current head of state.
Interestingly, prior to the country’s 2005 census, it was believed that Bhutan’s population was well over 1 million people; however, that census calculated the population at just 672,425, causing the United Nations Population Division to have to completely revise its population estimates. As per its 2022 census, its population was 727,145.
Honestly, I think this is going to be a very difficult Final unless you really know your Asian geography. I think Bhutan would have been my fourth guess, at best, on this clue.
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 Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Let’s Take A Peek; Quite A Site; Movie Viewing; A Look Back; Oh, “IC”; It’s A Vision Board)
Sam got to the first Daily Double just before the first break and used it to extend his lead! By the end of an opening round that had zero Triple Stumpers, Sam’s score was over $10,000, while Juveria sat second.
Statistics at the first break (14 clues):
Sam 8 correct 0 incorrect
Juveria 5 correct 0 incorrect
Jake 1 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Jake had not told many of his coworkers about his Chuck Norris story before his previous appearance.
Sam is currently on sabbatical.
Juveria brought her family, who has been helping her prepare.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Sam 14 correct 0 incorrect
Juveria 10 correct 1 incorrect
Jake 6 correct 0 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Sam $10,400
Juveria $5,600
Jake $3,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: A Real Sob Story; 2020s TV; Don’t Eat With Your Hands; Famous Finns; Opera; Going To The Dog Breed Words)
Juveria kept going to OPERA and found the first Daily Double there; her $15,200 True Daily Double put her into a commanding lead! Then, a few clues later, Jake got the last one, and he pulled himself into contention! Sam and Jake played well enough in the second half of the round to make sure that the scores were massive and that Juveria didn’t have a runaway!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Juveria 24 correct 4 incorrect
Sam 21 correct 0 incorrect
Jake 13 correct 0 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Juveria $32,400
Sam $18,000
Jake $17,900
Everyone got Final Jeopardy today; Juveria is a finalist!
Tonight’s results:
Jake $17,900 + $17,900 = $35,800 (What is Bhutan)
Sam $18,000 + $18,000 = $36,000 (What is Bhutan Love you Emma, Aaron & #3)
Juveria $32,400 + $4,000 = $36,400 (What is Bhutan?) (Finalist)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) A LOOK BACK $1000 (clue #14)
Sam 5200 +3000 (Juveria 3800 Jake 800)
2) OPERA $800 (clue #10)
Juveria 15200 +15200 (Sam 13200 Jake 4600)
3) GOING TO THE DOG BREED WORDS $2000 (clue #16, $12000 left on board)
Jake 7400 +7300 (Juveria 29200 Sam 15200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 256
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Juveria 4 5 3 4 3 3
Sam 4 3 2 4 4 5 5*
Jake 5
DJ! Round:
Juveria 3 4 4 3 5 2* 5 2 3
Sam 4 4 4
Jake 3 4 5 5*
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Juveria 3.53
Sam 3.90
Jake 4.40
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:
Juveria $18,000 Coryat, 24 correct, 4 incorrect, 47.37% in first on buzzer (27/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 0 rebound opportunities)
Sam $16,000 Coryat, 21 correct, 0 incorrect, 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Jake $12,600 Coryat, 13 correct, 0 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $46,600
Lach Trash: $2,800 (on 2 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $4,600
Lead Changes: 4
Times Tied: 2
Player Statistics:
Juveria Zaheer, career statistics:
45 correct, 10 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 0 rebound opportunities)
44.74% in first on buzzer (51/114)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $22,200)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,800
Sam Claussen, career statistics:
45 correct, 1 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
35.09% in first on buzzer (40/114)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,200
Jake Garrett, career statistics:
36 correct, 3 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
29.82% in first on buzzer (34/114)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,300)
2/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,500
Andy’s Thoughts:
- That was a very exciting game!
- I feel that many of the same people who criticized Mike’s Daily Double bet yesterday will praise Juveria’s bet today, just because the result turned out differently.
- Today’s box score: December 20, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Juveria $32,400 Sam $18,000 Jake $17,900)
Juveria: Standard cover bet over Sam is $3,601. (Actual bet: $4,000)
Sam: Bet at least $10,800. (Actual bet: $18,000)
Jake: Bet at least $10,900; I might consider leaving something back just in case Sam goes all in. (Actual bet: $17,900)
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.
If you have a moment, I’d love to read more about how you approached FJ. We generally seem to have very similar instincts when it comes to FJs (we profile very similarly in terms of age, interests, nationality, education, love of trivia), so I’m curious which three countries you would have picked ahead of Bhutan?
I wasn’t confident enough in my SE Asian geography to rule out Thailand or Cambodia based on whether they bordered China in some obscure location, but I knew they wouldn’t qualify based on population. I briefly considered Nepal, as I know it borders China and I don’t know enough about it to rule out a smaller than expected population (it turns out the population is actually much, much larger than I realized!). I know it had been a monarchy until the mid-2000s, but I hadn’t heard anything about a restoration in the years since, so I figured it was probably disqualified on that basis.
In terms of other border countries, know Mongolia is small in population relative to its area, but I thought Ulaanbaatar itself had at least a million as it is always mentioned on lists of the coldest major cities in the world, and I was reasonably confident that it wasn’t a monarchy given the decades of communism and strong ties to the USSR for most of the 20th century.
The only other country in the general region that met the “tiny monarchy” criteria was Brunei, and I felt like those two countries sharing a border on an obscure island or something was so unlikely that it would already be a popular trivia question (like Canada now sharing a land border with Denmark).
Bhutan was the only country bordering (or near) China I could come up with that I was reasonably certain had both a small population and a monarchy. It was my initial gut reaction, and I was unable to talk myself out of it.
Just curious about how you approached this one, as I find the thought process behind FJ to be an interesting and underdiscussed part of the game. It seems the ways we initially parse the question and prioritize the hints are generally what leads to a hit or a miss.
Incidentally, “Brunei” was my first instinctive reaction, but then I quickly corrected myself to Bhutan.
That was one of the most incredible games I’ve ever watched.
Congratulations to Juveria and very, very well done to all three players.
As a person of Indian origin, it was easy for me. It was also the first “foreign” country that I visited – I put “foreign” in the quotation since Indians did not need a visa to enter the country, and any form of Indian ID was good enough to cross the border.
Sikkim was another “monarchy” bordering China until 1975, when it became an Indian state.
A fun weird thing I’ve noticed this week since I’m from Missouri is we have had 3 days in a row with a St. Louis. clue (st Louis blues, St. Louis Rams, and now the St. Louis arch) will the streak continue tomorrow? Also I wonder if one of the writers is from Missouri? 🙂
Would they accept St. Louis arch – guessing you’d have to say Gateway Arch. (I’m local, too – homegrown, never left)
I live in California, but had a long term, long distance relationship with a gal from St. Louis. I always to go there to visit her. Unfortunately she passed away in 2020. The first time I went and saw her in 2002, we went to the Arch and it was so windy that we had to hold on to the northern part of the Arch to avoid being blown off of the platform. 🙂
This was one of the most incredible gameplay so far and excellent play by all 3! Congrats to everyone including Juveria! I got this country of Bhutan even if the population isn’t above a million
I am wondering why an innocuous comment I made was not published. Is there a guideline that I did not follow.
The demonym used, due to its alternate (and incorrect) usage to refer to First Nations peoples in North America, requires manual approval in order to ascertain that it’s being used in the correct context.
Got it.
Sorry about the previous comment – it took a while for my comment to show up!
It might be worthwhile to specifically note this requirement in the Site Comment Policy; section 6 seems to be an appropriate location to do so.
Sorry about the previous comment – it took a while for my comment to show up!
Unlike yesterday, the keywords in today’s Final Jeopardy answer, “monarchy,” “one of 14 countires bordering China,” “population under a million,” didn’t lead me to the correct response. While I think I’ve heard of Bhutan, probably saw it’s flag in my set of World Books, from when I was much younger, I knew nothing about Bhutan, until Andy’s “more information.”
I’m not surprised that FJ was a “triple get”. Bhutan is well-known (featured on Sixty Minutes and numerous documentaries) as the home of the “Gross National Happiness” index. As a result, their flora and fauna have not been subject to anywhere near the devastation as that of their neighbors (or most countries in the “developed world” for that matter). Their monarch is almost always featured on film, probably the most accessible Head of State anywhere. Its geography for a small country is mind-boggling, ranging from sub-tropical to Himalayan heights. So not surprised about the sweep, but extra points to them all for having spelled it correctly!
Thank you Steve Backshall!!!
This felt like cheating, just last night on PBS I saw one of his Expeditions that was in Bhutan.
Just seeing it on the map led me to this educated guess.
I went with Nepal, but wasn’t confident in my answer. But what more can you say about the game that these 3 put on tonight. They played super well and treated us to a great game. Congrats Juveria and see you in the Final starting on Friday.
And Andy, did you see that the Jeopardy website decided to show all 4 rounds of players and their matchups and what date’s they are being played? I’m super happy that they decided to do this. 🙂
Damn, what a game to have missed due to travel. The scores blew my mind to see. And I think that added a lot of pressure, so Juveria made a fine bet. She had to make sure she did the math right and bet a little extra. I’m happy for her. I did have a vested rooting interest in her since her brother was on Survivor, after all.
I’m shocked by your write-up. I thought it would be “easy finals like this keep the betting aggressive” because that was my thought. Not shocked by the triple get. Being landlocked in southern Tibet, I thought Bhutan was the obvious choice, and I was pretty sure it was a kingdom.