Master Minds Recap: August 31, 2023

Here’s a recap of the clues on Master Minds (Season 4) for Thursday, August 31, 2023 with host Brooke Burns.

Today’s episode title: “Trivia, Smarts & Vikings”
Today’s Master Minds: Ryan Chaffee, Muffy Marracco, Jonathan Corbblah
Today’s challengers: Jeff, Todd, Mary

The show’s format pits 3 contestants against each other and 3 Master Minds against each other. There are 3 rounds and the contestant with the highest score wins $1,000 and faces off in the Ultimate Trivia Challenge against the winning Master Mind. If the contestant beats the Master Mind, the prize money goes up to $10,000.

Round 1: Here are the 7 categories and questions. 100 points for each correct answer.

(1) MOVIES: “Louis, I might have know you’d mix your patriotism with a little larceny” was a contender to be the last line of what film?
(a) In the Heat of the Night (b) Casablanca (c) Dr. Strangelove
(2) CELEBRATIONS: The Scottish tradition of first-footing involves having the right person be the first to enter your home on what holiday?
(a) Christmas Day (b) Boxing Day (c) New Year’s Day
(3) SPORTS: In 1884, Maud Watson won the first Women’s Singles championship at Wimbledon by defeating whom?
(a) a British princess (b) the club president (c) her sister
(4) TV: According to “Sesame Street”, Elmo is eternally how many years old?
(a) two (b) three and a half (c) five
(5) LANGUAGE: In France, what are Epoisses de Bourgogne and Pont-L’Évêque?
(a) stinky cheeses (b) ancient bridges (c) universities
(6) EDUCATION: Before he was valedictorian of his class at Crozer Theological Seminary, Martin Luther King Jr. got a C in what class?
(a) economics (b) biology (c) public speaking
(7) HISTORY: In September 1916, the Battle of the Somme was the first time what military vehicles were used in war?
(a) tanks (b) helicopters (c) aircraft carriers

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 1:
Jeff 400 Todd 400 Mary 400 / Ryan 600 Muffy 700 Jonathan 500

Round 2: There are 5 subjects and questions. No multiple choice. Correct answers are worth 200 points for the first 4. The last question is worth 400 points. At the end of the round, the person with the lowest score on each team is eliminated.

(1) LAW: Its name a metaphor for a test subject, it’s illegal in Switzerland to own only one of what tailless animal?
(2) SYMBOLS: Coined in the 1960s, an “octothorpe” is the name of what popular indexing symbol on Twitter?
(3) ORGANIZATIONS: In 1971, what relief group was founded by 13 physicians and journalists dissatisfied with the silent neutrality of the Red Cross?
(4) SPACE: The asteroid once known as “1994 GT9” was renamed in honor of what actor who portrayed the Helmsman on the original “Star Trek” TV series?
(5) GEOLOGY: Accounting for about 4 percent of the Earth’s crust, what is the most common sedimentary rock?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 2:
Jeff 1000 Todd 800 Mary 800 / Ryan 1200 Muffy 1300 Jonathan 1100

CONTESTANT TIE-BREAKER: What 3-word French phrase refers to ordering individual dishes from a menu?
ANSWER show

Mary got the correct response in first, so Todd and Jonathan are eliminated.

Jeff and Mary advance to the next round, as do Ryan and Muffy.

Round 3: Each team faces off in a rapid-fire 1-minute trivia battle. The first question is worth 500 points and each additional question goes up an additional 100 points. The winners go on to the last round.

Jeff and Mary go first:

(500) What does the E stand for in the medical professional known as an ENT?
(600) Angostura and Peychaud’s are two of the oldest brands of what “aromatic” cocktail mixer often “dashed” into drinks?
(700) Early film star Anna May Wong was the first Asian-American ever depicted on what U.S. coin?
(800) Henry Haven Windsor Sr. worked at a railway company before founding what magazine devoted to technical know-how?
(900) Currently in its third decade, ABC’s daytime talk show “The View” was created by what broadcast journalist?
(1000) Australia harbors the largest population of what marine mammal, the only living member of the Sirenian order other than the manatee?
(1100) Before there was a United States, Peyton Randolph was the first “president” of what legislative body?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 3:
Jeff 1700 Mary 2800

Mary wins $1,000 and advances to the Ultimate Trivia Challenge. But first, Ryan and Muffy will battle it out for a minute to see who joins Mary.

(500) “Pet Sounds” was an iconic album by what rock band?
(600) To protect websites from bots by using distorted text, what program developed at Carnegie Melon goes by a 7-letter acronym?
(700) From the Latin word for “elbow”, what’s the longer of the two bones in the human forearm?
(800) Paul Newman appeared in 10 films with what actress and wife of 50 years?
(900) Located in the Himalayas, Thimphu is the capital of what south-central Asian country?
(1000) Who wrote plays including “The Women” before entering a career of politics and diplomacy?
(1100) Lutefisk is a Scandinavian dish of dried whitefish bathed in a solution of what caustic substance?
(1200) The Protestant Huguenot movement began in the 16th century in what country?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Muffy finished with 7000 to Ryan’s 2300 so Muffy will join Mary in the Ultimate Trivia Challenge. If Mary beats Muffy, she will win $10,000 and return on the next show. Any player who makes it through 2 shows and wins $20,000, gets to join the Master Minds expert team.

Ultimate Trivia Challenge: The questions are presented to the players at the same time and they write their answers down.

(1) What ruler of ancient Mesopotamia originated the law “eye for eye, tooth for tooth”?
(2) The Haber-Bosch Process turns hydrogen and nitrogen into what gas that’s used in smelling salts?
(3) The character of Emily Webb appeared as a child, adult and ghost in what Thornton Wilder play?

ANSWERS: (unless otherwise indicated, both were correct)
show

By the third question, Muffy had 3 right and Mary only had one right. Mary is going home with $1,000 and we will see 3 new challengers on Monday. (Tomorrow’s episode is a rerun.)

FYI: If you see someone on Master Minds that you think was on Jeopardy!, you can look up their player page on J-Archive. JBoard keeps track of Jeopardy! contestants’ appearances on their Master Minds thread. Also, IMDB has a list of many contestants that includes their last name.

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