Final Jeopardy: Science & the Bible (7-8-22)
Today’s Final Jeopardy question (7/8/2022) in the category “Science & The Bible” was:
A 2021 study suggested that an asteroid that struck the Jordan Valley c. 1650 B.C. gave rise to the story of this city in Genesis 19
New champ Brian Ahern, a user support associate from Daly City, CA, won $26,800 yesterday. In Game 2, his competitors are: Robert Won, a math professor from Washington, DC; and Leigh Jahnig, an attorney from Chicago, IL.
Round 1 Categories: Scandinavia – Weather Words – Danger! Danger! – Role Call – Historic Structures – One Letter Changes Everything
Brian found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Weather Words” under the $600 clue on the third pick. He was in the lead with $600. Nobody else was on the board yet. Brian bet $1,000 and he was RIGHT.
A Joyce story ends with this falling “upon all the living and the dead” show
Robert finished in the lead with $6,400. Brian was second with $6,200 and Leigh was last with $3,000. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: The Cold War Era – Gone Extinct – Crossword Clues “C” – The Jacksons, 5 – What Is Love… – Baby, Don’t Hurt Me
Leigh found the first Daily Double in “The Cold War Era” under the $800 clue on the second pick. She was in last place with $3,400, $3,000 less than Robert’s lead. Leigh bet $3,000 and she was RIGHT.
Unearthed decades later, a 1950 letter indicates happiness by Joseph Stalin that the U.S. was entangled in this war show
Robert got the last Daily Double in “Gone Extinct” under the $2,000 clue on the 10th pick. In the lead with $12,000, he had $2,400 more than Leigh in second place. Robert bet $2,500 and he was RIGHT.
Extinct in the wild today, the Barbary lion is famous for its activity in this Roman structure completed in 80 A.D. show
Robert finished in the lead with $23,700. Leigh was next with $16,000 and Brian was in third place with $6,200. All clues were shown.
TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS SODOM?
The 2021 study that suggests Tall el-Hammam in the Jordan Valley might have been the biblical city of Sodom is on Nature.com. If you look at the sources cited, you can see it’s hardly a new idea. Dr. Steven Collins has published earlier books and papers on the topic, such as “The Search for Sodom and Gomorrah” and “Discovering the City of Sodom“. The speaker in the above video says they don’t know where “Gomorrah and the other cities are.”
In “Criticism engulfs paper claiming an asteroid destroyed Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah”, Retraction Watch didn’t make the distinction that the study only meant Sodom when reporting on backlash.
Brian went with Babel, thought to be in Babylon. He bet and lost all his shekels.
Leigh crossed off the Great Flood and went with Sodom. She bet it all and doubled her score to $32,000.
Robert also got it right. He bet $8,301 and won the game with $32,001. Robert Won is the new Jeopardy! champ.
2 triple stumpers from the last round:
WHAT IS LOVE… ($2000) Irving Stone’s 1954 novel “Love is Eternal” was about this First Lady who married an awkward lawyer
BABY, DON’T HURT ME ($2000) You know my ex wore Opium perfume from this 3-named designer; why do you torture me so?
3 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “20th Century Bestselling Authors”
He once said, “In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage…who we are and where we have come from” show
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Leigh and Robert were on fire on the buzzer. I actually thought it was somewhat remarkable.
I didn’t find FJ to be “as slam dunk as they come”. My first thought was Babel (and, actually, I said “Babylon”), then, I went to Nineveh, and, then, obliquely (as I could not recall it) thought of Sodom. I was thinking of Lot, and his pillar of salt wife, but just couldn’t think of the name. Then, it came to me; then, I discounted it, and went back to Babylon.
And I was wrong. So wrong!!
And mondo props to you, VJ, with “lost all his shekels” – especially àpropos here!
Thanks, Jason. 😀
I got that “Love is Eternal” TS because I actually read that book by Irving Stone. The other one I read by Stone was “The President’s Lady” about Andrew Jackson’s marriage. I didn’t read “Lust for Life” or “The Agony and the Ecstasy” because of the movies.
If you couldn’t come up with the name of ‘Sodom’ , and as a television viewer, I would have given it you because I’m sure you had the name of the city in your memory. However, you did go back to Babylon which would have been incorrect. Regarding the FJ, I came up with ‘Sodom’ almost instantaneously. I mean, to me, it was like following the yellow brick road with all of those clues that were provided. Specifically, with clues like the “asteroid hitting the Jordan valley”, ‘1650 B.C.”, ‘gave rise to the city in Genesis 19’, the city of ‘Sodom’ was just staring at me.
I think Robert definitely has the potential to be a 5 time champ given his strong knowledge base.
All players did well today, but Brian didn’t win because he was the first to see the response in the Final but it’s incorrect and loses everything and winds him in 3rd place.
Category Sweeps:
Brian ran the Weather Words category in the 1st round
Robert ran the Gone Extinct category in the 2nd round (Double Jeopardy)
This FJ was as slam dunk as they come. Well yes, it could only have been the city of Sodom.
Both challengers played well and didn’t make any mistakes. Robert won the game by one dollar and gets to defend his title on Monday. Robert Won is his full name which I find it so ironic because Robert won the game.
Kevin, That’s clever. Robert definitely, imo, has what it takes to be a 5-day or more champ. Awesome game. Best week we’ve had for fj since the 1st week in April. Eight fj wins this week.