Final Jeopardy: Inventors (1-31-14)

The Final Jeopardy question (1/31/2014), in the category “Inventors” was:

In an 1854 demonstration, he said, “Cut the rope”; his invention kicked in, then he said, “All safe, gentlemen.”

Current champ Arthur Chu has racked up $82,800 over 3 appearances. Today he’ll go for a 4th win against these two players: Don Gwinn, from Virden, IL; and Tarn Allen, from Portland, OR.

Tarn found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Shakespearean Spelling Bee” under the $400 clue, before the first break. She was in the lead with $1,000, $800 ahead of Don in second place. She made it a true Daily Double and she was RIGHT.

Lear’s virtuous daughter. show

Don finished in the lead with $7,600. Arthur was second with $5,600 and Tarn was last with $4,800.

Arthur found the first Daily Double in “Canadian Bodies of Water” under the $2,000 clue. He had a big lead with $18,800 now, $10,400 ahead of Tarn in second place. He bet $2,000 and he was RIGHT.

About 200 miles wide at its narrowest point, the Davis Strait separates this largest Canadian island & Greenland. show

Tarn found the last Daily Double in “Eponymous Airports” under the $1,200 clue. In second place with $10,800, she had $13,600 less than Arthur’s lead. She bet $5,200 and she was RIGHT.

There’s an Alexander the Great Airport in this former Yugoslav republic. show

Arthur finished in the lead with $28,000. Tarn was next with $18,000 and Don was in third place with $7,200.

Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHO IS ELISHA OTIS?

“Elisha Graves Otis didn’t invent the elevator, he invented something perhaps more important — the elevator safety device that eventually made high-rise buildings practical…. In 1854 Otis dramatized his safety device on the floor of the Crystal Palace Exposition in New York.” (The Elevator Museum)



Don got it right. He bet it all and finished with $14,400.

Tarn thought it was Eli Whitney, who died in 1825. She lost her $12,000 bet and she wound up with $6,000.

Arthur thought it was Nobel, who invented dynamite, among other things, but didn’t file his first patent application for a gas meter until 1857. Arthur took an $8,000 hit but won this match with $20,000. His 4-day total is $102,800. He also gets a spot on the TOC list with the exact same total (right now) as Mike Lewis.

We’ll have to wait 3 weeks to see what’s next for Arthur. Jeopardy’s Battle of the Decades begins on Monday, February 3rd, starting with the 1980s.

We rated this an easy FJ, with cutting the rope indicating something dropping and the second statement indicating a safety device but obviously, it meant something different to Arthur and Tarn.

Jeopardy Calendar Clue of the Day: American Cities

Six of the Top 10 U.S. cities are found in these two states. show

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4 Responses

  1. Nomi says:

    I couldn’t think of the answer and the first thought that came to mind was that it was someone who had devised an “anti-guillotine” or “reverse guillotine” to thwart future revolutions in France.

  2. aaaa says:

    The College tourney runs 2/10-2/21, but Olympic coverage threatens J! on NBC stations that air it from 2/7-2/21.

    • john blahuta says:

      fortunately j airs on cbs in hawaii. 2/3 to 2/24 are the 3 “throwback” weeks, no?? well, we’ll see.

  3. john blahuta says:

    unfortunate bet by tarn… (darn!) either bet it all or that you are left with 1.00 more should you be right and the leader wrong, making the “right” bet. and again arthur played for a tie. you can’t say he denies his opponents the chance….

    and again a “european” dd clue, so it was rather easy for me. but in fj “nobel”???? one should think that just because of the nobel prizes by now everybody should know what alfred invented? so arthur is human after all…
    and eli whitney? every southerner was probably getting stomach cramps. the cotton gin revolutionized the cotton industry. even i know that and there is NO cotton in europe as far as i know…but when he is wrong then he gets lucky. i wonder how far he will go? the next 3 weeks should be fun though. i am looking forward to some interesting games and funny moments.