Final Jeopardy: Famous Photos (1-19-26)
The Final Jeopardy question (1/19/2026) in the category “Famous Photos” was:
Being only 5’5″, photographer Joe Rosenthal had to climb on top of a Japanese sandbag to snap a photo while on this peak
The 2026 Tournament of Champions begins today. Our first quarterfinalists are: 6x champ, Liam Starnes, a payment program manager from Columbus, OH; 3x champ, Tom Devlin, an attorney from Washington, D.C.; and 3x champ, Aaron Levine, a sports anchor from Seattle, WA.
Round 1 Categories: Literary Quotations – Anime – It’s Hyphenated – Iowa History – Let’s Tool Around – Switch the First Letter
Liam found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Literary Quotations” under the $1,000 clue on the 5th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $1,600 now, $1,000 more than Aaron in second place. Liam made it a true Daily Double and came up with mirrors. That was WRONG.
William Blake wrote that if these portals “were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite” show
Tom finished in the lead with $5,000. Aaron was second with $2,000 and Liam was last with $1,400. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: The Era of Good Ceilings – What Are You Listening To? – It’s All From Greek to Me – Mountains – 20th Century Women of the World – How Tariff-ic
Liam found the first Daily Double in “How Tarrif-ic” under the $2,000 clue on the 1st pick of the round. The scores were the same as above. Liam bet the $2,000 allowance and he was RIGHT.
senate.gov called this 1930 piece of tariff legislation “among the most catastrophic acts in congressional history” show
Aaron got the last Daily Double in “20th Century Women of the World” under the $1,600 clue on the 10th pick of the round. In second with $5,600, he had $3,800 less than Tom’s lead. Aaron bet it all and said Joliot-Curie. That was WRONG.
In 1935 she became director of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Training Institute show
Tom finished in the lead with $19,400. Liam was next with $6,200 and Aaron was in third place with $1,600. All clues were shown.
Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS MOUNT SURIBACHI?
There were actually 2 flags raised on Mount Suribachi in February 1945 at Iwo Jima. AP photographer Joe Rosenthal captured the moment that the second largest flag was raised by sheer luck. Rosenthal’s photograph soon went “viral” (as we says nowadays). In addition to appearing in newspapers, magazines and posters, it apeared on a 3-cent postage stamp by July and Rosenthal won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Photography. Learn More
The City of San Francisco, where Rosenthal worked and lived for decades, honored him in 2024 by naming a street Joe Rosenthal Way.
Aaron got it right. He bet $1.00 and finished with $1,600.
Liam wrote down Iwo Jima to at least show he knew the photograph. He bet and lost his whole $6,200.
Tom crossed out Mt. Fuji and wrote down Iwo Jima. Having already won a semi-final spot with his runaway $19,400, he didn’t bet anything. Fantastic game, Tom!
A triple stumper from each round:
ANIMA ($400) This mischief-making lad from the village hidden in the leaves gives his teachers at the ninja academy all they can handle
HOW TARIFF-IC ($800) This agency that collects tariffs at U.S. ports of entry was formed in 2003 as part of the Dept. of Homeland Security
2 years ago: NONE of the players got this FJ in “PRESIDENTS & VICE PRESIDENTS”
The first Vice President & the first President not born in one of the original 13 states were both born in this state show
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The field for the 2026 Jeopardy Invitational Tournament has been revealed on the Inside Jeopardy Podcast. The JIT will begin after the TOC concludes.
I also read that Stella’s fateful daily double answer from the wild card finals was determined to also be correct and she will receive a spot in the 2027 TOC
You guys ought to post this type of info on the What to Expect post.
People who were fans of the ’60s group led by Jim Morrison might have known they got their name from Blake’s portals, even if they weren’t a Blake fan. (I am.) I got the other DDs, too, though I was shocked that tariff DD was so easy.
Even though I didn’t get FJ!, I was right that 1 person would get it. At first, I thought it would be Liam. Then I thought Tom for sure. So kudos to Aaron, even though it didn’t help him much.