Final Jeopardy: American Literature (12-12-23)
The Final Jeopardy question (12/12/2023) in the category “American Literature” was:
Chapter 100 of this novel introduces the one-armed Captain Boomer of the Samuel Enderby
The Champions Wild Card semi-finals begin today with these three champs: Gary Hollis, a chemistry professor from Roanoke, VA; Julia Markham Cameron, an attorney from Brooklyn, NY; and Henry Baer, a software engineer from San Francisco, CA.
Round 1 Categories: Have You 8? – Auto Racing – Black Mystery & Crime Fiction – Animals – Sounds Kinda “Iff”-y – I’m Absolutely Sure
Gary found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Have You 8?” under the $600 clue on the 5th pick of the round. He was in the lead when he found it, but a reversal (see below) knocked him down to $600. That put Henry in the lead with $1,000. Gary made it a true Daily Double and came up with the binomial system. That was WRONG.
The 8 ranks in this 8-letter biological classification system start with domain & end with species show
Henry finished in the lead with $4,800. Julia was in second place with $4,400. Gary was last with $3,800. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Yes, I’ve Eton – Seinfeld Before & After – Anatom”E” – Sticky Stuff – McPeople – Words of Peace
Julia found the first Daily Double in “McPeople” under the $1,600 clue on the 13th pick of the round. She was in last place with $4,400, $4,200 less than Gary’s lead. Julia bet $4,000 and guessed McGill. That was WRONG.
Today an asteroid bears the name of this New Hampshire teacher show
Gary got the last Daily Double in “Words of Peace” under the $2,000 clue on the 16th pick. He was in the lead with $10,200 now, $4,600 more than Henry in second place. Gary bet $3,000 and he was RIGHT.
When the Eagle landed in 1969, this 11-letter word of peace was mentioned show
Gary finished in the lead with a runaway $20,800. Henry was in second place with $9,600. Julia was last with $800. All clues were shown.
ALL of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS “MOBY-DICK”?
In “Leg and Arm”, Chapter 100 of Herman Melville’s 1851 whale of a tale, Captain Ahab meets Captain Boomer, who lost his arm to Moby-Dick. Ahab boards the Samuel Enderby where Boomer and Bunger, the ship’s surgeon, relate how Boomer lost his arm while trying to capture Moby. Ahab is relentless in his quest for revenge against the leviathan that took his leg, but Boomer long ago decided that one encounter with Moby was one too many. Bunger also shares his belief that even if the whale swallowed Boomer’s arm, he couldn’t digest it.
The Samuel Enderby was a real English ship, named after the head of the whaling house of Enderby & Sons. In Chapter 101, Ishmael delves into the history of the whaling house, which in his “poor whaleman’s opinion, comes not far behind the united royal houses of the Tudors and Bourbons.”
“Moby-Dick” contains 135 chapters. The shortest chapter (36 words) is 122: “Midnight Aloft – Thunder and Lightning”. The longest (7,938 words) is 54 – “The Town-Ho’s Story”. More Moby Dick by the Numbers
Julia bet it all and doubled her score to $800.
Henry bet $1,234 and finished with $10,834.
Gary bet $12 and won the game with $20,812. Gary Hollis advances to the finals.
Reversal: ($800) The first “T” in GATT, they’re taxes one nation puts on goods imported from another – Gary responded with the singular “tariff” and Ken okayed it. The judges ruled it wrong because that T stands for “Tariffs”. Even if you didn’t know the acronym stands for “General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade”, you were evidently expected to know it was plural by the “they’re taxes” part of the clue. (Boo hiss to that clue)
2 triple stumpers from the last round:
STICKY STUFF ($1600) Cyanoacrylates are a family of fast-acting adhesives commonly known by this “demented” name
McPEOPLE (2000) Get to know the real Jackie O at a 2023-2024 exhibit at the National First Ladies’ Library at this woman’s Canton, Ohio home
2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “Old Geographic Names”
This term once used for western North Africa is still used today in the name of a primate from that region show
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Another astonishingly easy FJ. And nice comeback by Gary from that brutal beginning. Fun fact: 1960s pop group the Turtles recorded on the White Whale label.
Somehow “Canton Ohio” led me to the correct First Lady. 3 foolish responses to that easy British succession clue.
What made Julia not do well in this game today?
These recent Finals have been waaaaay toooooo easy. People in group homes are able to answer today’s Final correctly. I should know. My family has been trying to put me in a group home and I nailed the Final immediately.