Final Jeopardy: Early American History (1-18-23)
Today’s Final Jeopardy question (1/18/2023) in the category “Early American History” was:
In 1692 Increase Mather wrote, “It were better that ten suspected” these “escape, than that one innocent person …be condemned”
New champ Vince Bacani, a risk manager from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, won $13,000 yesterday. In Game 2, he takes on these two players: Erin Portman, a high school English teacher from Naperville, IL; and Alec Wang, a real estate analyst from Avon, CT.
Round 1 Categories: The 1890s – Women of Science – A College / Town – Songs of the 2010s – Same First & Last Letter – Six Pack
Erin found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “The 1890s” under the $1,000 on the 18th pick of the round. She was in the lead with $3,600, $600 more than Vince in second place. Erin made it a true Daily Double and she was RIGHT.
Returning after a 1,500-year break, these opened April 6, 1896 show
Erin finished in the lead with $9,400. Vince was second with $3,800 and Alec was last with $400. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Know Your Boundaries – Blank Verse – Long-Serving Politicians – Newspaper Names – Elemental Responses – Movies that Matter
Vince found the first Daily Double in “Elemental Responses” under the $2,000 clue on the 6th pick of the round. He was in second place with $4,600, $7,200 less than Erin’s lead. Vince made it a true Daily Double and said the Copper Age. That was WRONG.
Ferns, amphibians & early reptiles thrived during this geological period from about 360 to 300 million years ago show
Vince got the last Daily Double in “Newspaper Names” under the $1,600 with 4 clues left after it. In second place with $6,400, he had $14,600 less than Erin’s lead. Vince bet $6,399 and he was RIGHT.
Samuel Morse could have used his code to signal the name of this British daily founded in 1855 show
Erin finished in the lead with $21,000 and Vince was second with $15,599. Alec was out of the game at this point with negative $2,000. All clues were shown.
BOTH contestants left in Final Jeopardy! got it right.
WHAT ARE WITCHES?
Increase Mather and his son, Cotton Mather, were Puritan ministers who were influential figures in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their beliefs in the devil led them both to support the persecution and condemnation of “witches,” people believed to be in league with evil spirits. In 1692, people were being condemned left and right based upon spectral evidence— “witness testimony that the accused person’s spirit” appeared to the witness in a dream when the accused was actually somewhere else.
Both Increase and Cotton Mather came out against convicting people on the basis of such testimony. Increase Mather made the statement in the clue in his work “Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits Personating Men,” which, when taken out of context, sounds like the old boy had a change of heart. However, neither father nor son denounced the use of spectral evidence at the witch trials to establish guilt.
Vince bet $5,402 and finished with $21,001.
Erin bet $10,201 and won the game with $31,201. Erin is the new Jeopardy! champ.
2 triple stumpers from the last round:
BLANK VERSE ($1600) “I have a rendezvous with ____ at some disputed barricade”
LONG-SERVING POLITICIANS ($1200) Always colorful, he began the first of 2 terms as California governor in 1975 & would be elected to 2 more starting in 2011
2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “World Geography”
The Oyapock River forms part of Brazil’s 400-mile border with the territory of this European country show
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I take pride in being a non-Texan and being able to name the Six Flags Over Texas. Google a picture of the statehouse floor in Austin, and see how attractive it is!
I liked Erin’s charisma. However, how in the world could that Olympic DD be in the $1000 position? Still, I hope, maybe, she can link a few together!
I’ve read that when Nathaniel Hawthorne was doing family genealogy in Boston archives, he discovered that his great-great-grandfather, John Hathorne, was one of the judges at the trial in Salem Village. He never found any evidence that his ancestor ever admitted that he was perhaps wrong. Causing Nathaniel to add the “w” to his last name to distant himself. Hathorne had been the chief examiner. Some of the other judges had recanted.
Once again, we have two players playing in Final Jeopardy.
Wow, I didn’t expect the FJ to be such a slam dunk tonight. Did the writers really think that any of the contestants were going to flub it?
The final was pretty easy.
That was a nice comeback for Vince at the end of Double Jeopardy! With 7 clues left the scores were Erin at 21,000 and Vince at only 3,600. For the third day in a row we have a new champ.
I keep bringing it up but I hate the inconsistency of the rules. Today a player needed to specify TED Kennedy but yesterday just COLLINS was perfectly acceptable for Jackie Collins. Joan is the far bigger name. Just venting again.
I agree. It’s sloppy. Letting Collins slide elicited a WTH from me, fwiw.