Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 24, 2024, 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 Government & Public Awareness) for Tuesday, December 24, 2024 (Season 41, Game 77):
As individuals, only Santa Claus & this public service ad icon introduced in 1944 have their own ZIP codes
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Jenna Hayes, an attorney from New York, New York
|
Harry Jarin, an emergency services consultant from Edgewater, Maryland
|
Laura Faddah, a manager from Memphis, Tennessee (3-day total: $30,200)
|
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Laura Faddah is now a 3-day champion after picking up a runaway victory in yesterday’s episode. Today, she faces off against New York’s Jenna Hayes and Maryland’s Harry Jarin.
One further thing I feel obligated to point out after yesterday: not every Jeopardy! episode is going to be a perfect 10. Sometimes, the contestants are given clue material that does not match their strengths, and the game will have myriad Triple Stumpers, incorrect responses, and unplayed clues. That is the nature of the beast—and is also a direct result of the sort of Jeopardy! that the “give me as much regular play as possible” crowd has been begging for the last two years. This is also not a new phenomenon—the show’s 40-year history is littered with games where three very bright contestants were given a collection of 61 clues that didn’t line up with their respective quizzing strengths. Fans need to accept that this is the exact Jeopardy! that they have loved for the last four decades without lobbying unjust criticism at the show—especially in a media era where every minor quibble gets amplified into a dozen tabloid articles.
As I mentioned yesterday, if you watch Jeopardy! on ABC, you’re going to be pre-empted tomorrow. Check your local listings! Matt Carberry has created his usual Google sheet outlining the pre-emptions.
(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: Who is Smokey Bear?
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.)
According to the U.S. Postal Service, letters to Santa Claus in the United States are given the ZIP code 88888. (In Canada, it’s postal code H0H 0H0. As an aside, one of my favorite Canadian postal code facts is that postal code R3G 1N4 does not direct to Regina, Saskatchewan, but instead a neighborhood just west of downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba.) Letters to Smokey Bear—advertising icon of the Wildfire Prevention Campaign of the U.S. Forest Service, with the slogan “Remember…Only you can prevent forest fires”—are given ZIP code 20252.
That being said, while the clue uniquely points to Smokey, I think the writers could have worded this clue better—especially when the U.S. Forest Service website itself says, “Smokey Bear has only one of two personalized zip codes – 20252. The other customized zip code is for the U.S. President.” (emphasis mine). Furthermore, I should point out that the show has also never claimed to be perfect. As per the show’s mistakes, Alex Trebek often cited a metric saying that Ivory Soap is only 99.44% pure—extrapolating that out over the 14,030 clues that Jeopardy! writes over a 230-episode season, that would mean about 78.5 errors over the course of a season.
Furthermore, on the question of “Will ‘Smokey the Bear’ be accepted,” the show has historically done so—and has even used “Smokey the Bear” as wording in clues in the past.
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 Tuesday, December 24, 2024 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: 19th Century Novels; Science Timeline; Air Travel; Just Peachy; Dumb; Waiter)
Jenna picked up six correct, including the Daily Double, to jump out to an early lead. After 15 clues, the scores were Jenna $3,600 Laura $2,400 Harry $1,800.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Jenna 6 correct 0 incorrect
Laura 3 correct 0 incorrect
Harry 2 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Jenna would like to run a half marathon in all fifty states.
Harry found his grandmother’s diary from 1933 earlier this year; the diary helped him get a Final Jeopardy response correct at home.
Laura would like to be a backup singer or dancer for Taylor Swift.
Both Jenna and Harry picked up five correct after the break as Jenna continued to lead.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Jenna 11 correct 0 incorrect
Harry 7 correct 0 incorrect
Laura 5 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Jenna $6,800
Harry $3,600
Laura $2,000
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Nicknames Of Historic Women; Inscrutable Words; International Geographic; When It’s Time To Rhyme; Read Flags; Holiday Entertainment)
The Daily Doubles came out in the first nine clues; Jenna got DD2 correct, whild Harry got DD3 incorrect. Jenna picked up some high-valued correct responses in HOLIDAY ENTERTAINMENT to have a $5,000 lead going into Final Jeopardy.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Jenna 20 correct 0 incorrect
Harry 16 correct 1 incorrect
Laura 11 correct 5 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 21 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Jenna $18,200
Harry $13,200
Laura $5,200
Laura getting the final clue of Double Jeopardy to pull her score back into contention was crucial, as she was the only player correct in Final. That meant she ended up winning again! She’ll go for win #5 tomorrow!
Tonight’s results:
Laura $5,200 + $5,000 = $10,200 (Who is Smokey the Bear?) (4-day total: $40,400)
Harry $13,200 – $13,199 = $1 (Who is Uncle Sam?)
Jenna $18,200 – $9,000 = $9,200 (Who is Rosie the Riveter?)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) 19th CENTURY NOVELS $800 (clue #9)
Jenna 600 +1000 (Laura 1400 Harry 1000)
2) INTERNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC $1200 (clue #3)
Jenna 8000 +3000 (Laura 1200 Harry 3600)
3) READ FLAGS $2000 (clue #9, $24400 left on board)
Harry 8800 -2000 (Laura 3200 Jenna 11000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 115
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Laura 1 4 5
Harry 2 2
Jenna 3 4 3 4*
DJ! Round:
Laura 1 3 4
Harry 5† 2 5*
Jenna 2 3* 4†
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Laura 3.00
Jenna 3.29
Harry 3.20
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 21 (0.27 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Laura $5,200 Coryat, 11 correct, 5 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 0 rebound opportunities)
Jenna $16,200 Coryat, 20 correct, 0 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Harry $15,200 Coryat, 16 correct, 1 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $36,600
Lach Trash: $11,200 (on 12 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,200
Lead Changes: 3
Times Tied: 0
Player Statistics:
Laura Faddah, career statistics:
65 correct, 12 incorrect
4/4 on rebound attempts (on 18 rebound opportunities)
29.02% in first on buzzer (65/224)
3/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,400)
1/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,550
Harry Jarin, career statistics:
16 correct, 2 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$2,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,200
Jenna Hayes, career statistics:
20 correct, 1 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,200
Laura Faddah, to win:
5 games: 38.155%
6: 14.558%
7: 5.555%
8: 2.119%
9: 0.809%
Avg. streak: 4.617 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- With 20 correct responses, Jenna has to be on a Second Chance shortlist for next season’s postseason.
- Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Jenna $18,200 Harry $13,200 Laura $5,200)
Laura: If Jenna makes the standard cover bet and is incorrect, she falls to $9,999. Thus, you have to bet at least $4,800 to have any chance of victory—and you may still need an overbet from Harry. (Actual bet: $5,000)
Harry: Bet no more than $2,799 to keep Laura locked out. (Actual bet: $13,199)
Jenna: Standard cover bet over Harry is $8,201. (Actual bet: $9,000)
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.
And, seven decades later, I can still sing the song that accompanied the ads for Smokey the Bear. Had this one before reaching the end of the clue.
Looked at the year and knew the answer immediately. Smokey the Bear.
Funny, I was quite sure the clue was about Smokey the Bear, but would have guessed that he came to be in the 1930s. [And if not, then later than 1945, but he’s who I guessed, regardless.]
As for the president thing, “personalized” and “customized” aren’t exactly the same as “individuals” and since the president is a different individual at different times, I feel like the Forest Service website is more incorrect than the Jeopardy! writers were.
I sent a Christmas card to the President and First Lady this year — for the first and probably last time — and the ZIP code was 20500, but this ZIP code is not unique to the White House.
The President’s unique ZIP code is not publicly known – it’s to expedite correspondence from people on the President’s whitelist. 20500 is the public ZIP code that regular schmoes like us are allowed to know.
After briefly realizing Uncle Sam was WAY too early, I guessed Smokey Bear. Guessing this is an instance where adding an extra article (the) will not disqualify the contestant.
I will admit, I thought of Uncle Sam first, but not Smokey the Bear. Shame on me.
A lucky guess again (my spelling variant would have been “Smokey the Bear”), even though I could not venture a guess where that ZIP could would fall geographically, or why would people feel the need to write letters to said bear.
Smokey is smarter than your average bear I guess
I think the writers could have worded this clue better—especially when the U.S. Forest Service website itself says, “Smokey Bear has only one of two personalized zip codes – 20252. The other customized zip code is for the U.S. President.” (emphasis mine).
It appears that the writers know how check independent sources.
To wit: https://dc.postcodebase.com/city/NORTH%20POLE
Finally broke my losing streak with a straight forward final Jeopardy. At least it was straight forward to me, with the words “PUBLIC SERVICE AD ICON” leading one to think of a character from those type of commercials that everyone knows. Uncle Sam may be more well known, but isn’t even featured on recruiting posters anymore.
What does R3G 1N4 mean?
In old-time computer nerd speak, E is often replaced with 3, I with 1, and A with 4. So, R3G 1N4 sort of spells the name of the Canadian city of Regina.
Old-time computer nerd here so I got it right off 😁.