Final Jeopardy: Literature & the Animal Kingdom (8-6-21)

Today’s Final Jeopardy question (8/6/2021) in the category “Literature & The Animal Kingdom” was:

In 2020 scientists named Trimeresurus salazar, a new species of this, after a character in a book series

12x champ Matt Amodio, a PhD student from New Haven, CT has now won $394,600. In Game 13, he takes on these two players: Patrick Pacheco, a labor and employment specialist from Denver, CO; and Madeline Birkner, a college access program coordinator from Philadelphia, PA.

Round 1 Categories: What’s Your Unsafe Word? – TV Supporting Characters – Novels since 1900 – Oceanographic Terms – Souvenir – Ash Tree

Matt found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Oceanographic Terms” under the $1,000 clue on the 2nd pick of the round. He was in first place with $1,000. Patrick and Madeline weren’t on the board yet. Matt bet it all and he was RIGHT.

Term for the Pacific Ocean zone that forms a band as long as the Equator & has about 75% of Earth’s active volcanoes. show

WHAT IS THE RING OF FIRE?

Matt finished in the lead with $10,400. Madeline was next with $1,600 and Patrick was in third place with $1,000. No clues went uncovered. After the break, Patrick gained $1,600 on a reversal (see below). That put him in second place with $2,600 and Madeline picked the first clue of Round 2.

Round 2 Categories: Ancient Symbols – Hey, What Year Is It? – Lesser-Known Artists – “G” I’d like to Go There – Old Synonyms – Songs that Give Advice

Madeline found the first Daily Double in “‘G’ I’d Like to Go There” under the $1,200 clue on the very first pick of the round. She was in third place with $1,600, $8,800 less than Matt’s lead. She bet $1,000 and she was RIGHT.

This historic city lies at the junction of the same-named lake & the Rhone River. show

WHAT IS GENEVA?

Just 5 clues later, Matt found the last Daily Double in “Ancient Symbols” under the $1,600 clue. In the lead with $10,800, Matt had $5,800 more than Madeline in second place. He wagered $2,000 and he was RIGHT.

The symbol seen here is a representation of this loud avian of Native American mythology. show

WHAT IS A THUNDERBIRD?

Matt finished in the lead with a runaway $25,600. Madeline was next with $5,800 and Patrick was in third place with $4,200. No clues went uncovered.

TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHAT IS A SNAKE?

From Science Codex’s website: “A new green pit viper species of the genus Trimeresurus was discovered during the herpetological expedition to Arunachal Pradesh in India, part of the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. The scientists named the newly-discovered snake Trimeresurus salazar after a Parselmouth (able to talk with serpents) wizard, co-founder of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the founder of the House of Slytherin – Salazar Slytherin, the fictional character of J.K. Rowling’s saga ‘Harry Potter’.”

Evidently, “viper”, “pit viper” and “serpent” would have been acceptable responses as well. I was curious to find out what makes these particular snakes “pit vipers” and found this info on wikipedia: “What makes this subfamily unique is that all member species share a common characteristic: a deep pit, or fossa, in the loreal area between the eye and the nostril on either side of the head. These loreal pits are the external openings to a pair of extremely sensitive infrared-detecting organs, which in effect give the snakes a sixth sense to help them find and perhaps even judge the size of the small, warm-blooded prey on which they feed.”

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Patrick got it right. He bet it all and doubled his score to $8,400.

Madeline misunderstood the clue and gave them the book series, “Harry Potter”. (I did that, too!) She lost her $2,601 bet and finished with $3,199.

Matt also got it right. He added $10,000 to his score and won the game with $35,600. Matt’s 13-day total is $430,200.

Reversal: WHAT’S YOUR UNSAFE WORD? ($800) It can refer to one who is fearful & lacking self-confidence, or a password that can be easily hacked – Patrick’s response of “weak” was rejected when they were looking for “insecure”. The judges decided that “weak” satisfied both parts of the clue and gave Patrick his $800 back and another $800 for being right.

A triple stumper from each round:

NOVELS SINCE 1900 ($800) There’s a weapon in the title of this modern updating of an ancient English legend by T.H. White

LESSER-KNOWN ARTISTS ($1600) Jean Metzinger has been called the third artist in this movement & his 1912 treatise on it was one of the first

More clues on Page 2

4 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “Small Countries”

This tiny island nation 700 miles northeast of Madagascar makes a great addition to a classic tongue twister. show

WHAT IS SEYCHELLES

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