Final Jeopardy: Historic Letters (12-6-13)
The Final Jeopardy question (12/6/2013), in the category “Historic Letters” was:
In April 1865, she wrote to Mary Lincoln: “I cannot remain silent… brokenhearted by the loss of my own beloved husband.”
3-day champ Carlos Ross has done very well indeed with a total haul of $89,774 so far. Today he is up against these two players: Franke Santos, from No. Hollywood, CA; and Craig Cornish, Jr., from Welcome, MD. Let’s see how that goes:
Carlos found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “A Fashion Statement.” He was in the lead with $5,400, $2,400 ahead of Craig in second place. He bet $1,200 and he was RIGHT.
An outer garment & a weapon combine to give this phrase meaning dealing in espionage & intrigue. show
Carlos finished in the lead with $7,600. Craig was second with $4,800 and Franke was last with $2,800.
Carlos found the first Daily Double in “19th Century Notables.” He was in second place with $5,600, but Craig, by virtue of his formidable movie knowledge, had the lead with $12,800 more than that. Carlos bet $5,000 and he was RIGHT.
In 1890 this painter of the American West illustrated an edition of Longfellow’s “Song of Hiawatha”. show
Craig found the last Daily Double in “Parts of the City.” In the lead with $23,200, he had $12,600 more than Carlos in second place. He bet $2,000 but didn’t know so he was WRONG.
This Spanish word for “neighborhood” refers to a Latino enclave in a U.S. city. show
Craig finished in the lead with a runaway $22,000. Carlos was next with $8,600 and Franke was in third place with $2,000.
NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
Queen Victoria of England related to Mary Lincoln’s tragedy on the basis of losing one’s soulmate. In her letter she said that her husband, Albert, had been the light of her life, her stay and her all. Prince Albert, died on December 14, 1861, plunging the Queen into deep mourning. She survived Prince Albert by some 39 years, but wore black for the rest of her life. Queen Victoria wrote the letter on April 29, two weeks after Lincoln’s assassination. Mary Lincoln expressed her deep gratitude for the Queen’s sympathy in a May 21st response. See Queen Victoria’s letter at the Library of Congress.
Franke didn’t write anything down and she didn’t bet anything either. She finished with $2,000.
Carlos wrote down he had “no idea.” He lost his $8,599 bet, finishing with $1.
Craig wrote down something and crossed it out. We have no idea who he meant. He lost his $3,000 bet and ended up with $19,000. But he had the game in the bag before Final Jeopardy! Kudos to Craig, a big movie buff whose hobby paid off well today. May more movie categories be with you.
Finally, what did you think of this Final Jeopardy! question? In our opinion, it should have been rejected as too obscure. C’mon, Jeopardy! Give the contestants a chance already!
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@john, yes, I agree an additional hint would have been helpful in making this a fair choice. Without being an anglophile, one probably would try to think of someone who also lost their husband because of the Civil War. Stonewall Jackson’s widow comes to mind — she wore mourning clothes the rest of her life too.
and maria theresa…..and those 3 were probably not alone.
I don’t know if the term “historic” really applies here, since it’s so obscure, and didn’t really advance anything in society as a whole. “Historical” is probably more appropriate.
Looks like Craig was going for “Mrs. Stonewall Jackson”.
Thanks Keith, I was writing my message while yours posted. I looked back at it and see what I thought was an FR is an ST for Craig. Her name was Mary Anna Morrison Jackson.
@vj
an additional hint would have been fair. like “this head of state” or so. “monarch” would have been too easy, although i knew it right away. but then i am an anglophile and you know also that history is MY strong side.
this question was too obscure—who knows this kind of mess? Give the contestants and your play along audience something they have a chance at knowing.(we take pride in getting the final jeopardy question correct!!!)
This was obvious in retrospect, but I was previously unaware of any correspondence between Queen Victoria and Mary Todd Lincoln. Simply mentioning Mary Lincoln misleads the player to think that this was an American History question, not a World History question. Too much lateral thinking for me after facing off against eight people in a row in the same tape day – by this point I was borderline hypoglycemic, too.
” world history” would certainly have been not only fairer but also clearer. i always wonder what writers for shows like j get paid?? any idea? we will see you in the toc!! congratulations!
I actually have no idea. Since we are entirely removed from the cluesmiths for obvious reasons involving liability / conflict of interest, it’s not really something we ask, plus it’s not really a habit of mine to go up and ask anyone how much they earn.
I hope my winnings are enough to keep me in ToC contention … and that if I do, I won’t have to face Russian Literature ever again. NYET, tovarisch, NYET!