Final Jeopardy: Cabinet Members (3-3-25)
The Final Jeopardy question (3/3/2025) in the category “Cabinet Members” was:
In order of fame, the first cabinet was Jefferson (later Prez), Hamilton (“My Shot” guy), Knox (of Fort fame), this attorney general
In the 2nd semifinal of the 2025 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament, the players are: Matt Amodio, a quantitative researcher from New York, NY; Luigi de Guzman, an attorney from Arlington, VA; and Emily Sands, a benefits consultant from Chanhassen, MN.
Round 1 Categories: The Rockpile of History – Around the USA – Short but Sweet – Potpourr-only-E – Movies at the Mall – If You’re Sappy & You Know It
Emily found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Around the USA” under the $800 clue on the 6th pick of the round. She was in last place with $600, $1,800 less than Luigi’s lead. Emily bet $1,000 and she was RIGHT.
“Queen City of the Wabash”, this city will literally have you on “High Ground” show
Luigi finished in the lead with $8,800. Emily was second with $5,400 and Matt was last with $2,200. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: In Ye Olde 18th Century Bookshoppe – Stars & Constellations – Facts About Facts – Begins With “K” – Crypt-o! – Currencies
Matt found the first Daily Double in “In Ye Olde 18th Century Bookshoppe” under the $1,600 clue on the 1st pick of the round. He was in last place with $2,200, $6,600 less than Luigi’s lead. Matt bet $2,200 and he was RIGHT.
“Of the Division of Labour” kicks off chapter one in “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of” the rest of this 1776 title show
Matt found the last Daily Double in “Currencies” under the $1,200 clue on the 10th pick of the round. He was in second place with $8,000, $2,400 less than Luigi’s lead. Matt bet it all and he was RIGHT.
Dinar is served in many countries including this small oil-rich one; in the ‘90s the Iraqi dinar briefly replaced its own dinar show
Matt finished in the lead with $22,800. Luigi was second with $16,400 and Emily was last with $11,400. All clues were shown.
Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHO IS EDMUND RANDOLPH?
mountvernon.org has a page on George Washington’s cabinet, with a link to a bio on the original 4 members: Thomas Jefferson (Secy. of State), Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton (Treasury), Secretary of War Henry Knox (War), and Attorney General Edmund Randolph. John Jay was the interim Secretary of State before Washington made the post official and appointed Jefferson. Randolph, you may notice, was the next Secretary of State after Jefferson.
Trivial Trivia: Edmund Randolph was the only attorney general with that first name. He was the first of two secretaries of state named Edmund. (The other one was Muskie.)
Emily tried William Marbury, whose fame isn’t connected with George Washington. She bet $400 and finished with $11,000.
Luigi went with John Jay, who was acting Secretary of State before Jefferson was officially appointed. Luigi lost $16,399 and finished with $1.00.
Matt got it right. He bet $10,001 and won the game with $32,801. Matt will join Roger Craig in the semifinals and we’ll find out tomorrow if the third finalist will be Raymond Goslow, Juveria Zaheer or Ray Lalonde
A triple stumper from each round:
THE ROCKPILE OF HISTORY ($400) Sharing a name with an Irish castle, this illustrious rock was said to be used as a pillow by Jacob as he dreamed of a fancy ladder
IN YE OLDE 18th CENTURY BOOKSHOPPE ($400) Hey, Alexander Pope? Your 1711 “Essay on” this? We’ve got a few notes
2 years ago: NONE of the players got this FJ in “U.S. History”
An 1869 presidential pardon was granted to this man, due in part to a plea by the Medical Society of Harford County, Maryland show
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The DDs must have been a bit easier than usual for this level of competition, because I hit all 3 (knowledge of French got me the first one). Couldn’t complete the grand slam in FJ. I thought of Madison but knew he wasn’t the least famous of the names.
Nice comeback by Matt. He’s unashamed to go for it all, especially considering how much he’s won in the past and is playing with house money.
For someone with a distaste for pop culture, he ran off a bunch of them tonight. He always amazes me when he knows shows like “Dragnet.” He must have written “Who” during the pre-FJ break, because his screen showed “Who Randolph?” Brevity is one thing, but poor grammar is sad.
Short/Sweet clues were fun and all easy.
It was another splendid game with Matt winning the game. Anyways, the FJ was a bummer. I mean, Edmund Randolph? Well, I never heard of him until today. With time to spare, I rolled the dice, and went with James Madison for AG. Needless to say, that response wasn’t going to leave the dock, and I sure wasn’t disappointed.
I was 1/3 on DD (not paying attention and should have gotten the Wabash one), and missed FJ. Like Luigi, I said “Jay”.
Luigi’s and your response of Jay in FJ was absolutely a good guess.
VJ, quite another coincidence with Goethe appearing as an answer in tonight’s game after showing up in this morning’s throwback clues.
It was, Rhonda, and in connection with the same novel no less!
They probably know the famous quote “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread” but they don’t know where it’s from.
I couldn’t believe no one got the Irish rock