Final Jeopardy: Theories (7-24-25)
The Final Jeopardy question (7/24/2025) in the category “Theories” was:
A version of this theoretical economic process was “horse & sparrow”; if you fed the horse enough oats, the sparrows fed afterwards
15x champ Scott Riccardi, an engineer from Somerville, NJ, won $430,910. In Game 16, his opponents are: Sarah Rubenfeld, an attorney from Houston, TX; and Senay Goitom, a software engineer originally from Madison, WI.
Round 1 Categories: World Geography – The Movies – Inventors & Inventions – Kid Lit en Espanol – The Myth Behind the Zodiac Sign – It Starts With “Me”
Scott found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Kid Lit en Espanol” under the $1,000 clue on the 15th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $7,000. His challengers were both in negative territory. Scott bet $3,000 and he was RIGHT.
“Nublado con probabilidades de albóndigas” show
Scott finished in the lead with $13,000. Sarah was second with $1,400 and Senay was last with $600. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Classical Music – Reality TV – Geographic Literary Titles – What Are We Going to Do Now? – I’m Bored – A Sense of Henri
Sarah found the first Daily Double in “I’m Bored” under the $1,600 clue on the 8th pick of the round. She was in second place with $3,800, $13,600 less than Scott’s lead. Sarah made it a true Daily Double but couldn’t come up with a response so she was WRONG.
A word meaning boring gave us this name for a boring burg that we can’t find in our Atlas show
Scott got the last Daily Double in “A Sense of Henri” under the $2,000 clue on the 16th pick. He was in the lead with $21,400, $19,400 more than Sarah in second place. Scott bet $5,000 and tried Vienna-born Maria Theresa. That was WRONG.
This Florence-born woman, a major force in 16th C. Europe, was the wife of French King Henri II & the mother of Henri III show
Scott finished in the lead with a runaway $20,400. Sarah was second with $7,600 and Senay was last with $1,800. All clues were shown.
TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS TRICKLE DOWN?
Economics Help defines “trickle down economics” as “the belief that if high-income earners gain an increase in salary, then everyone in the economy will benefit as their increased income and wealth filter through to all sections in society,” and they illustrate how it is supposed to work.
Most sources say the “horse and sparrow” metaphor goes back to the 19th century. It was partly blamed for the Panic of 1896. “If you feed enough oats to the horse, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows,” a 1982 quote credited to economist JK Galbraith is used to illustrate it. I wonder, though, if this little 1833 “Horse and Sparrow” fable by Wilhelm Hey had anything to do with the choice of those particular creatures. Sharing worked out well in that story.
Senay came up with consumer surplus. He bet and lost his whole $1,800.
Sarah got it right. She didn’t bet anything so her score remained $7,600.
Scott got it right, too. He bet $3,690 and won the game with $24,090. That gave him a 16-day total of $455,000.
2 triple stumpers from the last round:
CLASSICAL MUSIC ($800) Arnold Schoenberg & his pupils Alban Berg & Anton Webern are the modernist pillars of the “Second School” of this city
REALITY TV ($400) Paris Hilton & Nicole Richie recently reunited for “Encore”, a 3-part anniversary special of this series
2 years ago: ALL of the players got this FJ in “FIGHTING FORCES”
Formed in 1831 to help with the conquest of Algeria, its ranks have included Germans, Turks & Chinese show
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Well, I didn’t get the Henri I clue, either, despite my French études, myself!
I was 0/3 on DD, but got FJ. Recall 45 years ago, and the 1980 presidential election. George HW Bush called trickle down “voodoo economics”, but, how do you beat an opponent? Make him your VP candidate!
I don’t know, but, I don’t believe trickle down economics has ever been shown to actually work, in reality.
Sigh, another blowout. I knew the first DD, guessed the 3rd, and went down with Sarah on the 2nd. Didn’t matter in the long run, but if she’d hit that, it would not have been a runaway game. I guessed supply and demand for Final.
Got the Second School city; the thumb and finger game; but botched one of the words in the Paris Hilton series.
I thought you might have known the Citadel king, Howard, and Henri II’s wife. I guess Scott went with Marie Antoinette ‘s mother just to try someone!
History is not one of my strong fields. Actually, I did get that stumper about the wife, on a total guess, but I don’t see it in the stumpers anywhere. Also, the two Henri stumpers on page 2 both link to the same “Sieur”.
Okay, I guess I just thought they threw in some French history during all the years you studied French.
Henri II’s wife was a Daily Double that went to Scott. The Citadel king was a leader in the revolution that cost Napoleon beaucoup bucks. That led him to sell us the Louisiana Purchase for 3 cents an acre. 😲
Thx for the heads up on the Henri links. I fixed ’em.
Scott has now tied with Ryan Long with 16 wins and he also ties the 10th longest winning streak in Jeopardy history. He’s also in the leaderboard of legends. Scott will be back for the last game of Season 41 tomorrow. We’ll see if he can finish the season with another win or one of the challengers can end Scott’s streak.