Final Jeopardy: Scientists (11-21-25)
The Final Jeopardy question (11/21/2025) in the category “Scientists” was:
In a 1939 letter, he recalled a boyhood experience that inspired his life’s work: petting his cat on a cold winter’s night
8x champ Harrison Whitaker, a researcher orig. from Terre Haute, IN, is up to $218,600. In Game 9, he competes against: Jamie Kohlmeier, a beer specialist orig. from Sarnia, Ontario; and Sarah Wylie, a teacher from Boynton Beach, FL.
Round 1 Categories: Lit Characters Go Reality TV – 2 Letters, 3 Letters – Around the Kitchen – The ____ – Harlem – Globetrotters
Sarah found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Globetrotters” under the $600 clue on the 14th pick of the round. She was in second place with $2,800, $400 less than Harrison’s lead. Sarah bet $2,600 and guessed Confucius. That was WRONG.
Chinese scholar Peng Hai identified this man as Boluo, a courtier mentioned in the “History of the Yuan” show
Harrison finished in the lead with $7,200. Sarah was second with $1,600 and Jamie was last with $800. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Spies Like Them – Best Picture Oscar Nominees of the 2020s – 3-Word Phrases – Geography – Biblical Groups – “O” Pourri
Harrison found the first Daily Double in “Spies Like Him” under the $1,600 clue on the 4th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $10,400 now, $8,000 more than Jamie in second place. Harrison bet $4,400 and he was RIGHT.
Documents declassified in 2017 100 years after her execution led to speculation that she was scapegoat by French officials show
Harrison got the last Daily Double in “‘O’ Pourri” under the $1,200 clue on the 11th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $19,600 now, $16,000 more than Sarah in second place. Harrison bet $2,400 and he was RIGHT.
After his death his lyre was placed in the heavens as a constellation show
Harrison finished in the lead with a runaway $31,200. Sarah was in second place with $5,200 and Jamie was last with $2,400. All clues were shown.
Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHO IS NIKOLA TESLA?
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), a Serbian-American engineer and inventor, is well-known for inventing the Tesla Coil, a high-voltage transformer, among other inventions and methods of harnessing electricity. In a 1939 letter, Tesla related how, when he was 3 years old, his cat Mačak ‘sparked’ his life-long interest in electricity. Watch the video for the hair-raising tale in Tesla’s own words.
According to AI, Mačak means “cat” or “tomcat” in the Serbian and Croatian languages. More Cat Lore: 5 Cats Who Owned Famous Scientists
Jamie thought it was Schrodinger. He lost his $2,398 bet and finished with $2.
Sarah went with Einstein. She bet and lost her whole $5,200.
Harrison got it right. He bet a big $18,800 and won the game with an even $50,000. That’s the new Season 42 top daily payday, topping the $44,399 Harrison won on Monday. Harrison’s 9-day total is $268,600.
A triple stumper from each round:
GLOBETROTTERS ($1000) At one point, writer Patricia Schultz said she’s been to some 80%, or 800, of the sights she listed in this travel book
BIBLICAL GROUPS ($1600) One of King David’s best soldiers was Uriah of this ancient people; too bad for Uriah David like how his wife Bathsheba looked
2 years ago: ALL of the players got this FJ in “BUSINESS”
This company announced, “On September 29th, 2023, we will send out the last red envelope” show
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“Hair-raising tale” … Very clever, Mom!
😁
A brief flash of inspiration led me immediately to Tesla. Petting cat to static to the man. Amazing. I suspected Harrison might go big in Final. Sarah, who had a promising start till that first DD, had nothing to gain by betting the farm in Final. $399 or less was the way to go, and instead she finished 3rd. Dumb.
I went with Confucius for first DD but nailed the other 2 easily. Almost got the travel book but added one sight too many to the title. I got them on the oil/vinegar vessel, Harlem Congressman.
Fast or mumbled speech is a barrier for me, but Harrison’s does not faze me at all. I use closed captions but really look at them only when I’m multi-tasking and not paying 100% attention.
Wow, another clear runaway for Harrison, and what a runaway that was! I mean, the other contestants had absolutely no hope at all of winning the game unless Harrison was going to bet the store in FJ. Anyways, I also went with Einstein in FJ, but I sure didn’t think that I was going to score on that one.
Why does Harrison talk fast?
I don’t know. Sometimes I can’t understand what he said.
Why can’t he stand still?
I have that same trouble VJ. I mean, I don’t know about Harrison speaking fast, but his responses are hard to pick out at times. Well, Ken Jennings doesn’t seem to have any trouble with it.
Harrison is the first player this season to sweep the entire week. He is also now #17 in the all-time winnings.