Final Jeopardy: Famous Russians (5-22-18)

Today’s Final Jeopardy question (5/22/2018) in the category “Famous Russians” was:

In Nov. 1836 this writer got a letter naming him to the Most Serene Order of Cuckolds; in Feb. 1837 he was dead

4x champ Josh Hill, a network engineer from Arkansas, has now won $102,530. In his 5th game, he takes on these two players: Hermine Vermeij, a librarian from California; and Andrew Lai, a medical student from Michigan.

Round 1 Categories: Illinois at 200 – Musical Groups – Naming My Baby Girl for Grandpa – I Read You Loud & Clear! – It’s Chaos – Be Kind

Josh found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Illinois at 200” under the $600 clue on the 13th pick of the round. He was in second place with $1,200, $1,800 less than Hermine’s lead. He made it a true Daily Double and he was RIGHT.

This official slogan of Illinois honors a man who moved there at age 21. show

WHAT IS THE LAND OF LINCOLN?

Josh finished in the lead with $8,400. Andrew and Hermine were tied in second with $3,800 each.

Round 2 Categories: Questionable Television – Science – Art & Artists – Foreign Former Forts – Gardening – “End” Game

Andrew found the first Daily Double in “Science” under the $1,200 clue, with 8 clues to go after it. He was in third place with $7,400 at this point, $11,000 behind Josh’s lead. He bet $4,000 and he was RIGHT.

A unit of atomic mass, a dalton is defined as 1/12th the mass of the “12” isotope of this element. show

WHAT IS CARBON?

2 clues later, Josh found the last Daily Double in “Art & Artists” under the $1,600 clue. In the lead with $20,000, he had $10,200 more than Hermine in second place. He bet Five ($5.00) Dollars and went with Picasso. That was WRONG.

A category in the World Beard & Moustache Championships honors this 20th century artist’s ‘stache. show

WHO IS SALVADOR DALI?

Josh finished in the lead with $21,995. Hermine was next with $13,800 and Andrew was in third place with $11,400. Right before FJ!, Hermine gained $800 from a reversal (see below). Her score rose to $14,600.

NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHO IS ALEXANDER PUSHKIN?

Considered Russia’s greatest poet by many, Alexander Pushkin also wrote plays (“Boris Godunov”, “Mozart and Salieri”) and stories (“Eugene Onegin”, “The Queen of Spades.”) His wife Natalya was such a beauty, it was said Tsar Nicholas I conferred a title on Pushkin just so she could attend society balls. In 1836, Pushkin began receiving letters hinting that his wife was intimate with the Tsar. Pushkin believed Georges-Charles d’Anthès and his adoptive father, Baron Heeckeren, were behind this mischief. D’Anthès was so infatuated with Natalya, it was said he married her sister just so he could be around her. This situation led to a duel between the brothers-in-law that ended Pushkin’s life at age 37. Natalya’s sister, Ekaterina, remained D’Anthès’ wife until she died during the birth of their 4th child in 1843. Natalya entered into her second marriage with Major-General Petr Petrovich Lanskoy that same year.

Read Rina Tim’s complete list of Alexander Pushkin’s Duels: I think she means Ukrainian and Russian high-school students in the first line 😀

Andrew wrote down Tolstoy (then a lad of 8). He bet and lost it all.

Hermine had Dostoevsky (he was 15). She lost her $8,201 bet, finishing with $6,399.

Josh had Tolstoy, too. That cost him $7,206 but he won the match with the remaining $14,789. His 5-day total is $117,319.

Reversal: ART & ARTISTS: ($800) Whistler gave musical titles to his paintings; twilight & night scenes were called this, from the French for “night” – they wanted “nocturne,” which Josh got after Hermine’s “nuit” was dinged. Before FJ!, the judges decided the clue was shaky so they gave her $800 back but not $800 for a correct answer.

A triple stumper from each round:

NAMING MY BABY GIRL FOR GRANDPA ($1000) If his name is this, French for “reborn”, just add an extra “E” at the end

QUESTIONABLE TELEVISION ($1200) On NBC & then TLC, a genealogy show has asked celebrities this title question

2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “19th Century Notables”

He died in New Orleans on Dec. 6, 1889, a little over 20 years after his treason case had been dropped.. show

WHO IS JEFFERSON DAVIS?

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