Final Jeopardy: Trailblazers (8-19-24)

TODAY’S JEOPARDY! RERUN: QF1 of the 2024 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament that originally aired on 3/20/2024

The Final Jeopardy question in the category “Trailblazers” was:

The foremost member of the “Sochi Six”, which was similar to a previous U.S. group, he died in a plane crash in 1968

Today is the start of the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament (“JIT”), the last tournament we’ll be seeing this season (on the daily show anyhow). These 3 Jeopardy! champs are on board today: Dan Pawson, a global health consultant from Arlington, VA; Pam Mueller, a justice researcher orig. from Chicago, IL; and Andrew He, a stay-at-home dad from Concord, CA.

This tournament will take us to the second week in April. The ending date is not definite because the finals will follow the format we just saw in the Tournament of Champions.

Round 1 Categories: The Historic 1990s – First Names – Mission: Plausible – Wheaties Athletes – Bestselling Books – The Vocabulary Of Ice Ice Baby

Andrew found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “The Historic 1990s” under the $1,000 clue on the 13th pick of the round. He was in last place with $1,000, $1,400 less than Dan’s lead. Andrew bet $1,000 and thought it was Yugoslavia. That was WRONG.

This republic joined Serbia to fight against the secession of Slovenia & Croatia show
WHAT IS MONTENEGRO?

Pam finished in the lead with $6,800. Dan was in second place with $3,200. Andrew was last with $600. All clues were shown.

Round 2 Categories: 19th Century Newspaper Publishers – The Directing Brothers – Undeniable Chemistry – It’s A Big Country – Violent Art – Overlaps

Andrew found the first Daily Double in “It’s a Big Country” under the $1,200 clue on the 11th pick of the round. He was in second place with $8,600, $3,000 less than Pam’s lead. Andrew bet everything and he was RIGHT.

Once claimed by Italy, Cyrenaica is an historic region & former province of this 650,000-square-mile land show
WHAT IS LIBYA?

On the very next pick, Andrew found the last Daily Double in “19th Century Newspaper Publishers” under the $1,200 clue. He was in the lead with $17,200 now, $5,600 more than Pam in second place. Andrew bet $10,000 and he was RIGHT.

In 1947 Frederick Douglass founded this antislavery paper whose name refers to what guided people escaping slavery show
WHAT IS THE NORTH STAR?

Andrew finished in the lead with $33,600. In second place with $16,800, Pam had half of that lead. Dan was last with $6,400. All clues were shown.

Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHO IS YURI GAGARIN?

The Sochi Six were Soviet cosmonauts, counterparts of NASA’s Mercury Seven astronauts. On April 12, 1961, the Soviets won the “Space Race” when Yuri Gagarin became the first human to make a full orbit around the Earth on Vostok 1. This event continues to be celebrated in Russia annually.

On March 27, 1968, Gagarin went on a routine training flight with flight instructor, Vladimir Seregin. Both men died when the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI two-place trainer they were in crashed near the village of Novoselova, Vladamir Oblast, Russia.

Dan thought it was U Thant. He bet and lost his whole $6,400.

Pam went with a different U.N. Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjöld. She bet and lost her whole $16,800.

Andrew got it right. He bet $1.00 and won the semi-final spot with $33,600.

Final Jeopardy (3/20/2024) Dan Pawson, Pam Mueller, Andrew He

A triple stumper from each round:

MISSION: PLAUSIBLE ($1000) Climb all 2,909 stairs to level 160 of this building that opened in 2010; you probably should get permission & remember… hydrate!

THE DIRECTING BROTHERS ($1200) Jay & Mark Duplass directed this very good “Superbad” actor as “Cyrus”

More clues on Page 2

2 years ago: NONE of the players got this FJ in “Triple-“A” Geography”