Final Jeopardy: Higher Education (12-15-25)
The Final Jeopardy question (12/15/2025) in the category “Higher Education” was:
Merrimack College is one of 2 Augustinian institutions of higher learning in the U.S.; in the news in 2025, this is the other
The 2025 Second Chance Tournament begins today with these 3 contestants:Erik Nielsen, a voice actor from Hollywood, CA; Erin Li, a psychiatrist from New York, NY; and Eugene Huang, a teacher from Paramus, NJ.
The links in their names will take you to each one’s original game, and you can see if their second chance was predicted in the comments.
Round 1 Categories: A Landmark Event – Greek Alphabet Soup – Poetry Time – The Canadian Invasion – “OY” to the World – A Bottle of Red, A Bottle of White
Erik found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Poetry Time” under the $800 clue on the 2nd pick of the round. He was the only one with money, $1,000 from getting the first clue right. Erik bet it all and he was RIGHT.
His “Four Quartets” begins “Time present and time past / are both perhaps present in the future”; I like the ones about cats show
Erik finished in the lead with $7,600. Erin was second with $4,400 and Eugene was last with $3,400. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: The World is Changing – Rock & Roll Hall of Famers – Science Nonfiction – Not to Be Confused – Relativity – I’m Thinking of a James…
Eugene found the first Daily Double in “Science Nonfiction” under the $1,600 clue on the 13th pick. He was in second place with $9,400 now, $1,800 less than Erik’s lead. Eugene bet $3,000 and he was RIGHT.
“Entangled Life: by Merlin Sheldrake is about this kingdom; Mr. Sheldrake says much of the world is stitched together by its mycelium show
Eugene got the last Daily Double in “The World is Changing” under the $2,000 clue, with 10 clues left after it. In the lead with $14,000, Eugene had $2,000 more than Erik in second place. Eugene bet $2,000 and guessed the Treaty of Waterloo. That was WRONG.
As a result of this 1815 meeting, the Duchy of Parma & Piacenza was given to Marie Louise, 2nd wife of the deposed Napoleon show
Erik finished in the lead with $18,800. Eugene was next with $16,000 and Erin was in third place with $8,000. All clues were shown.
NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS VILLANOVA?
Merrimack in Massachusetts and Villanova University in Pennsylvania are the only 2 Catholic Augustinian colleges in the USA. That’s just a fact you may know, and you may also know that Villanova was in the news in 2025 as the alma mater of Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert F. Prevost.
Elected to the papacy on May 8, 2025, Leo XIV is the first pope born in the United States. However, it’s interesting that, according to 10 Things to Know about Pope Leo XIV, he lived most of his adult life in Peru and Rome and has apparently spent less than 5 years living in the United States since being ordained in 1982.
Erin had no response. She lost $4,201 and finished with $3,799.
Eugene went with St. Thomas Aquinas. That cost him $7,999 and left him with $8,001.
Erik also drew a blank. He lost $13,201, which dropped him down to $5,599. That made Eugene Huang today’s winner.
2 triple stumpers from GREEK ALPHABET SOUP:
($600) Old English had a letter called thorn that roughly corresponded to this eighth Greek letter
($800) This adjective means relating to photons of very high energy
2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “NATIONAL MONUMENTS”
Designated in 2016, a New York City monument named for this place of business includes nearby Christopher Park show
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If all the 2nd Chance players are as good as this panel, we’ll be treated to some very competitive games.
My friend Sharon was on 2nd chance last year (they paid all her expenses) and got blitzed by better, faster players. Still got $2000 for the effort. Her first time, she had a very high score but just couldn’t get over the hump to win. She missed a 2nd round DD and FJ, both of which I tried telepathically sending her the correct answers for.
You’re a Mensch, my friend!
I was 1/3 on DD and missed FJ. I said Notre Dame just to say something, although I know that ND is the Holy Ghost Fathers.
I didn’t realize they “downsized” Second Chance; that is, just 3 days of first round, then a 2 day final.
Good game, strong players, to be expected with seasoned participants. Eugene came on like gangbusters and his Final wager was a winner. Killer Final that stumped them all, and me too. I got only the first DD, but did decently otherwise, nailing the first 4 $1000 exposed clues.
Surprised no one knew U of Bama’s main campus. The clue practically gave away the 8th Greek letter. I loved the R&R HoF category (I was there a few months ago) except for the $800 clue.
It was another great game, and Eugene became the new Jeopardy champion. Congratulations Eugene! As for me, I performed somewhat above average in the game, but also drew a blank in FJ.
The answer that Samford is in Tuscaloosa is incorrect. It is in Homewood in the greater Birmingham area.
The clue isn’t looking for the location of Samford, it wants the location of the main campus of the U of A.