Master Minds Recap: December 28, 2020

Here’s a recap of the clues on Master Minds for Monday, December 28, 2020 with host Brooke Burns.

Today’s episode title: “Trivia, Smarts & Fancy French Words”
Today’s Master Minds: Ken Jennings, Muffy Marracco, Jonathan Corbblah
Today’s challengers: Shoshana, Tavares, Eric

The show’s format pits 3 contestants against each other and 3 Master Minds against each other. There are 3 rounds and the contestant with the highest score wins $1,000 and faces off in the Ultimate Trivia Challenge against the winning Master Mind. If the contestant beats the Master Mind, the prize money goes up to $10,000.

Round 1: Here are the 7 categories and questions. 100 points for each correct answer.

(1) CELEBRATIONS: On what date can you see more than 2000 pieces of Waterford crystal slide down a flagpole in Times Square?
(a) July 4th (b) February 14th (c) December 31st
(2) FORESTATION: Trees that grow leaves in the spring and shed them in the winter are typically considered to be what?
(a) deciduous (b) coniferous (c) luminiferous
(3) LITERATURE: What graphic novel made the list of Time Magazine’s “All-Time Best 100 Novels” in 2005?
(a) Maus: A Survivor’s Tale (b) Watchmen (c) Daytripper
(4) CLOTHING: In fashion, the distance between the two points of a collar is called what?
(a) the écart (b) the festoon (c) the spread
(5) WHICH CAME FIRST: breakfast, launch or dimmer?
(a) The Breakfast Club (b) first shuttle launch (c) light dimmer switch
(6) GEOGRAPHY: The capital city of Cairo is located where?
(a) Tropic of Cancer (b) Equator (c) Tropic of Capricorn
(7) Singers: Who was the only member of “The Rat Pack” to win a competitive Grammy?
(a) Dean Martin (b) Frank Sinatra (c) Sammy Davis, Jr.

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 1:
Shoshana 200 Tavares 500 Eric 600 / Ken 500 Muffy 400 Jonathan 400

Round 2: There are 5 subjects and questions. No multiple choice. Only the first player on each team to buzz in gets to answer. Correct answers are worth 200 points for the first 4. The last question is worth 400 points. Wrong answers are penalized by the value of the question. At the end of the round, the person with the lowest score on each team is eliminated.

(1) BOARD GAMES: On a standard U.S. Monopoly game board, what space is diagonally opposite “Go”?
(2) WORLD HISTORY: What landmark has been protected by “Yeoman Warders” for over 700 years?
(3) LITERATURE: The title of what E.L. Doctorow novel, turned Broadway musical, shared its name with a forerunner to jazz music?
(4) AWARDS: Founded in 1959, the Clio Awards were created to highlight achievements in what field?
(5) PENINSULAS: The Yucatan peninsula includes parts of Mexico, Guatemala and what other country?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 2:
Shoshana 400 Tavares 700 Eric 600 / Ken 700 Muffy 800 Jonathan 1000

Shoshana and Ken are eliminated.

Round 3: Each team faces off in a rapid-fire 1-minute trivia battle. The first question is worth 500 points and each additional question goes up an additional 100 points. The winners go on to the last round.

Tavares and Eric go first:

(500) What low-dose type of X-ray has become the standard form of screening for breast cancer?
(600) In its first iteration, Facebook had what three letter word as a prefix?
(700) In spite of their appearance, rainbows are actually what geometric shape?
(800) Who directed Jimmy Stewart in “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”?
(900) According to the first line of the John Keats poem “Endymion”, what “is a joy for ever”?
(1000) In what year will the U.S. celebrate its quincentennial?
(1100) With Cornell University’s Viticulture and Enology program, you can get a degree in making what?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 3:
Tavares 700 Eric 1700

Eric wins $1,000 and advances to the Ultimate Trivia Challenge. But first, Muffy and Jonathan will battle it out for a minute to see who joins Eric.

(500) On what date in 1996 did Taco Bell announce in full-page ads that they had purchased the Liberty Bell?
(600) According to its name, the SETI Institute searches for what type of intelligence?
(700) Maintaining statewide temperance until 1966, what Southern border state was the last to end Prohibition?
(800) According to the Mr. Boston Bartender’s Guide, traditional vodka is distilled from what vegetable?
(900) Which 1924 novel is set in the fictional city of Chandrapore?
(1000) During her time as First Lady of the Philippines, who famously collected 3,000 pairs of shoes?
(1100) What is the title of the person responsible for representing the U.S. Government in Supreme Court cases?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Muffy finished with 5700 to Jonathan’s 1000 so Muffy will join Eric in the Ultimate Trivia Challenge. If Eric beats Muffy, he will return on the next show. Any player who makes it through 3 shows and wins $30,000, gets to join the Master Minds expert team.

Ultimate Trivia Challenge: The questions are presented to the players at the same time and they write their answers down.

(1) Harvested from the crocus, which golden spice has been worth more than its weight in actual gold??
(2) When the first U.S. Congress convened in 1791, which state had the most representatives, with 11?
(3) In 1888, Richard Mansfield was so believable on the London stage in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” that he was accused of being whom?
(4) What element on the periodic table is the most abundant in the Earth’s crust?
(5) A prodigy by the age of six, which Hungarian-born piano virtuoso wrote “A Faust Symphony” and the “Dante Symphony”?

ANSWERS: (unless otherwise indicated, both were correct)
show

Eric got 2 right to Muffy’s 3. He is going home with $1,000 and there will be 3 new players tomorrow.

Master Minds airs daily on Game Show Network. Check your local listings for times. (Here in the Central Time Zone it comes on at 3:00 p.m.)

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