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Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Countries’ Languages) for Wednesday, May 22, 2024 (Season 40, Game 183):
About 70% of its people can speak Portuguese; about 20% can speak Umbundu, 8% Kikongo & 8% Kimbundu
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Amar Kakirde, a graduate student from Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey
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Ellen Klages, a writer from San Francisco, California
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Chris D’Amico, a verifications specialist from Lakewood, Ohio (1-day total: $25,100)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Chris D’Amico is your defending champion today after his win yesterday over 4-time champion Grant DeYoung. Today, he faces off against New Jersey grad student Amar Kakirde and San Francisco writer Ellen Klages.
One of the categories in Double Jeopardy already amuses me, and I haven’t even seen any clues in it! “It’s Already In The Form Of A Question!” is a direct response to fans who somehow believe that if the correct response is already in question form, it does not need to be doubly phrased. (The example used in J!6 was the Heart song “What About Love?”—that in and of itself is already a correct response, you do not need to re-phrase it as “What is ‘What About Love?'”) I get comments here every time it happens and, thus, I am very pleased to see this category today. It’ll be interesting to see how those fans react to this category.
One more thing, of course, the Jeopardy! Masters final, between Victoria Groce, James Holzhauer, and Yogesh Raut, airs tonight at 8:00 (7:00 Central) on ABC and CTV2. (For all of Canada and 60% of the United States, this will be a different station than Jeopardy! normally airs for you.)
I have an occasional 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!
Remember, if you would like to enter the “Explore Iceland” sweepstakes, you can do so at sweepstakes.jeopardy.com. Today’s Final Jeopardy category is “Countries’ Languages”.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is Angola?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2024 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
During the Scramble for Africa, the colonization of the continent by European powers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Portuguese interests were confined to two areas: Angola on the western coast of southern Africa, and Mozambique on the eastern coast of southern Africa. The main indigenous languages of Angola are Umbundu, Kikongo, and Kimbundu. (Obviously, the clue’s percentages don’t add up to 100% due to multilingualism.)
This is one sort of clue where viewers and players probably don’t recognize these languages cold—unless you’re of the caliber of Victoria, Yogesh, or James, who are playing later—however, one would be expected to potentially know about the Scramble for Africa, what Portugal’s colonies were, and then from “Kikongo”, reason out that it would be Angola due to that country’s long border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (including the country’s exclave of Cabinda.)
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, May 22, 2024 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Puerto Ricans; The Drama Of Television; In The Weeds; Ends In “Ite”; Rock Me; Amadeus)
While Amal got off to a hot start, getting the first five clues correct, Chris got 5 correct on his own to nearly hold the lead after 15 clues. At the interviews, Amar had $3,400 to Chris’s $2,800 and Ellen’s $600.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Amar 6 correct 1 incorrect
Chris 5 correct 0 incorrect
Ellen 2 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Amar had a paranormal experience at a hospital in India, and then found out it was rats.
Ellen has a dad who kept a Smithfield ham for 20 years.
Chris gets often mistaken for Rob Reiner.
It was Chris who got to the Daily Double—but in a classic case of “know what you probably don’t know”, he bet just $200. Needless to say, it was a good choice; he dropped just $200. Chris led after 30 clues, with Amar in second.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Chris 14 correct 1 incorrect
Amar 9 correct 1 incorrect
Ellen 2 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Chris $6,800
Amar $4,800
Ellen -$400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: It’s Already In The Form Of A Question!; Treaties; Medical Crossword Clues; Begins With A Silent Letter; Books From The Last Few Years; Fictional Movie Sports Teams)
Amar got to the game’s second Daily Double; his correct response put him into the lead. Then, Chris got to the last one—his incorrect response dropped him to second place. While Chris went into the break within two-thirds of Amar’s total, an expensive judges’ reversal gave Amar a runaway. (Remember, to go from correct to incorrect,twice the value of the clue is deducted, because you have to go from +2,000 to -2,000.)
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Amar 18 correct 2 incorrect
Chris 24 correct 5 incorrect
Ellen 5 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 18 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Amar $15,600
Chris $6,800
Ellen $2,000
Amar rendered the judges’ reversal moot by being the only player correct in Final Jeopardy.
Tonight’s results:
Ellen $2,000 – $70 = $1,930 (What is —— Hi Poker B)
Chris $6,800 – $2,000 = $4,800 (What is Cape Verde?)
Amar $15,600 + $1,000 = $16,600 (What is Angola?) (1-day total: $16,600)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) ROCK ME $1000 (clue #23)
Chris 5800 -200 (Ellen -400 Amar 4200)
2) TREATIES $1200 (clue #3)
Amar 6000 +4000 (Chris 7200 Ellen -400)
3) IT’S ALREADY IN THE FORM OF A QUESTION! $1600 (clue #19, $12800 left on board)
Chris 10400 -6000 (Ellen 2800 Amar 14400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 6
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Chris 3 4 5 3 4 5 4 4 5 3 4 5 5*
Ellen 3 2 2
Amar 3 4 5 2 1 3 2
DJ! Round:
Chris 3 5 2† 3 4*
Ellen 1 1 1 2
Amar 3* 3 4 4† 5† 4 5 3 4 1†
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Amar 3.29
Chris 3.94
Ellen 1.71
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 18 (0.10 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Amar $12,800 Coryat, 18 correct, 2 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Chris $13,000 Coryat, 24 correct, 5 incorrect, 45.61% in first on buzzer (26/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Ellen $2,000 Coryat, 5 correct, 4 incorrect, 14.04% in first on buzzer (8/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $27,800
Lach Trash: $13,800 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $12,400
Lead Changes: 4
Times Tied: 2
Player Statistics:
Chris D’Amico, career statistics:
42 correct, 10 incorrect
3/4 on rebound attempts (on 12 rebound opportunities)
38.60% in first on buzzer (44/114)
0/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$6,200)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,800
Ellen Klages, career statistics:
5 correct, 5 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
14.04% in first on buzzer (8/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $2,000
Amar Kakirde, career statistics:
19 correct, 2 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,000)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,800
Amar Kakirde, to win:
2 games: 48.842%
3: 23.855%
4: 11.651%
5: 5.691%
6: 2.780%
Avg. streak: 1.955 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Amar $15,600 Chris $6,800 Ellen $2,000)
Chris: Bet no more than $2,799 and take second place. (Actual bet: $2,000)
Ellen: Bet whatever you like. (Actual bet: $70)
Amar: Bet no more than $1,399 and enjoy your win! (Actual bet: $1,000)
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I knew it had to be an African country, but couldn’t think of one that spoke mostly Portuguese. So I guessed “What is Senegal?”
From the “other” languages I was certain that the correct response to this FInal Jeopardy would have to be either Angola, or, Mozanmique, the two countries colonized by Portugal in Africa. But since I didn’t know where the “other” languages were spoken, that was as far as I got. Score it as an imcomplete.
My reasoning was similar in that it had to be a country colonized by Portugal that wasn’t Brazil. It became a coin flip between Angola and Mozambique. Since Angola is easier to spell, I went with Angola.
Nicely done Robert! All I could think of was Brazil and I surely wasn’t confident in that guess!
I, too, was certain that it was NOT Brazil and that it was an African country, but could not remember which one it was [not even as close as “either Angola or Mozambique”]. In fact, the only countries that I could bring to mind were ones that I was sure were not correct for the clue. I felt it would be a coastal country, but unfortunately even if I had thought of Angola as “a country in Africa”, I would not have picked it because for some reason I had the impression it was an interior country.
Smooth move, Robert! [And I would have guessed that Mozambique had been French.🙃]
Got this. I was torn between Brazil and Angola, but then ‘Kikongo’ suggested something to do with Congo
I went with a country that borders Brasil since I figured more than 70% there would know Portuguese. I guessed Argentina.
Since the clue was indicating a lot of “b” sounds, plus the repitition of “und” in the languages, I incorrectly guessed Burundi.
I threw out Guinea-Bissau as a guess, not recognizing any of the other languages. I noticed you didn’t recognize Sao Tome or Guinea-Bissau, but I understood them to be former Portuguese colonies in Africa, was there any reason for that?
Oh how could I forget Cabo Verde too!
I was on the correct contingent and in the right area of the continent, but chose the wrong country.
*continent, not contingent
This question led me to a 50/50 chance guess. The non-Portugese languages were obviously African, but unless you know the names of smaller, regional African languages it’s a toss up between Angola and Mozambique. I fortunately guessed Angola.
My train of thought:
– Mozambique! No, wait, “Kikongo” is there. Must be a country close to (whichever) Congo. Where is Mozambique? Oops, too far. Angola, then.
I am probably the only one who would think this way, but if it’s during the commercial and they told me about reversing Chris’s answer like that, in Amar’s place I’d say “No, leave it.” I doubt the players can do that (if this was a player’s challenge, it wouldn’t have been mine), but to win the game on a technicality would stick with me for a while.
(Yes, I know, this isn’t the first and won’t be the last time a judge’s ruling during the FJ break changes the game. Still, given the nature of what they were ruling on, I find it rather nitpicky.)
On Final, definitely thought of what the ex-Portuguese colonies were, thought that Congo-Zaire didn’t touch Mozambique and that it HAD to be one or the other, so I went with Angola. Let’s see what tomorrow brings!
Considering how much the fandom relies upon precedent to explain future rulings, such an option would lead to more viewer confusion than should be acceptable.
to win the game on a technicality would stick with me for a while.
In a FJ runaway situation one is always free to wager enough to make the game competitive again. Amar could have wagered $1401 if he had wished to do that.
Luckily, it is now a moot point.
The interesting thing is that I would have also been reversed, as I had the same answer that Chris did.
Was hoping whoever rang in would have said “countably infinite” on $400 Ends in “ite”.
“Granted; or also ‘finite’ as would be expected from non-mathematicians.” 🙂
Knew it had to somewhere in Central Africa that was colonized by Portugal. Angola was the first thing to come to mind, given how those names sounded. Was happy when I got it right.
Brutal reversal though. But like you said, it didn’t matter anyway. And they have to do those for consistency. Future players need to know these rulings.
Talk to me about the “reversal”. I said at the time that the answer “you” was incorrect and knowing King James is defined by the use of “thou”. Not nitpickey at all all.
Ray C.