Final Jeopardy: Famous Animals (1-12-21)

Today’s Final Jeopardy question (1/12/2021) in the category “FAMOUS ANIMALS” was:

When she first came to the world’s attention in 1957, she was dubbed “Muttnik” by U.S. journalists

New champ Tanay Kothari, a business operations associate from Oakland, CA, ran away with yesterday’s game and won $26,800. In Game 2, his opponents are: Dusty Smith, a former movie exec from Corvallis OR; and Lucy Ricketts, an illustrator, originally from Atlanta, GA.

Round 1 Categories: A Category for Free – American Cities – 3-Letter Words – History – “B” Wear – These Songs Could Kill You

Tanay found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “American Cities” under the $1,200 clue on the 8th pick of the round. He was in second place with $2,000, $200 less than Lucy’s lead. He made it a true Daily Double and he was RIGHT.

A very specific wooden post led to the naming of this southern capital en francais. show

WHAT IS BATON ROUGE?

Tanay finished in the lead with $10,000. Lucy was second with $6,600 and Dusty was last with $1,600. No clues went uncovered.

Round 2 Categories: Children’s Literature – Science Center – Notable Women – Insane Clown Posse – Heavy Medals – Weather Forecast inside

Lucy found the first Daily Double in “Notable Women” under the $2,000 clue on the 10th pick. She was in second place with $9,000 now, $2,200 less than Tanay’s lead. She made it a true Daily Double and she was RIGHT.

The longest-serving female U.S. Senator in history, Barbara Mikulski represented this state from 1987 to 2017. show

WHAT IS MARYLAND?

Lucy got the last Daily Double in “Heavy Medals” under the $1,200 clue, with 9 clues left after it. In the lead with $22,000, she had $9,200 more than Tanay in second place. She bet $2,000 and she was RIGHT.

The president of Morehouse College was on the first committee to award the Spingarn Medal of this organization. show

WHAT IS THE NAACP?

Lucy finished in the lead with $25,200. Tanay was next with $16,400 and Dusty was in third place with $6,400. No clues went uncovered.

Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHO WAS LAIKA?

There are some Final Jeopardy! clues that you just say, “Geez, I wish they hadn’t brought that up!” and this is one of them. However, the practice of sending animals into space began in the 1940s and continues to the present. Laika was not the first dog to be sent into space by the Russians, nor the last. She was, however, the first to be sent into orbit. The spacecraft she was on was Sputnik2, hence the “Muttnik” nickname. Her story is particularly tragic because she was sent off with full knowledge that there was no way to bring her back. Read this New Yorker article for a look at the complete story: Remembering Laika, Space Dog and Soviet Hero

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Dusty wrote down “who is that Russian dog?” He lost his $6,398 bet and finished with two bucks.

Tanay went with Checkers, (Richard Nixon’s dog). That cost him $3,599 and left him with $12,801.

Lucy got it right. She bet $7,900 and won the game with $33,100. Lucy Ricketts is the new Jeopardy! champ.

2 triple stumpers from Round 2:

NOTABLE WOMEN ($800) Dolores Huerta co-founded this migrant laborers association in 1962 & served as its vice president for nearly 4 decades

INSANE CLOWN POSSE ($2000) One persona of this “Man of 1000 Faces” was Tito Beppi, a despondent clown in “Laugh, Clown, Laugh”

More clues on Page 2

2 years ago: ALL of the players got this FJ in “1950s Travel”

In March 1958 Hilton opened a hotel in this Western Hemisphere capital but 2-1/2 years later was out of business there show

WHAT IS HAVANA?

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