Final Jeopardy: World License Plates (10-12-20)
Today’s Final Jeopardy question (10/12/2020) in the category “World License Plates” was:
Around 2010 the state license plate for Michoacan, Mexico featured these insects
2x champ, Kevin Walsh, a story analyst originally from Williamstown, NJ, has now won $42,900. In Game 3, he is up against: Michael Zannettis, a medical writer originally from Astoria, NY; and Barbara Giesser, a neurologist from the Bronx, NY.
Round 1 Categories: Their Bar or Bat Mitzvah – France – Behind the Voices – 8-Letter Words – Furniture – Colorful Lit
Michael found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “France” under the $400 clue on the 7th pick of the round. He was in second place, $200 in the red and $1000 less than Kevin’s lead. He bet his lucky number $854 and came up with the French Revolution. That was WRONG.
Officially celebrated since 1880, festivities for it include a parade from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde. show
Kevin finished in the lead with $7,000. Michael was second with $946 and Barbara was last with $200.
Round 2 Categories: Festivals of Light – Ancient History – Anagrams of Each Other – Cat’s Entertainment – I’ll Turn It – Universe
Kevin found the first Daily Double in “Anagrams of Each Other” under the $1,600 clue on the 8th pick. He was in the lead with $9,800 now, $8,054 more than Michael in second place. He bet $2,800 and he was RIGHT.
To hit the books & the condition of old books left unread for years. show
Michael got the last Daily Double in “Universe” under the $1,200 clue, with 10 clues left after it. In second place with $6,546, he had $8,854 less than Kevin’s lead. He bet $5,000 and guessed Aquarius. That was WRONG.
To find this zodiac constellation, look for Spica, its brightest star: it marks the sheaf of wheat the maiden holds. show
Kevin finished in the lead with a runaway $22,600. Michael was next with $4,746 and Barbara was in third place with $3,000. Two $2,000 clues went uncovered in this round.
NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT ARE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES?
The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located on the border of the Mexican states of of Michoacán and Mexico, where tons of monarch butterflies spend the winter. UNESCO says: “The millions of monarch butterflies that return to the property every year bend tree branches by their weight, fill the sky when they take flight, and make a sound like light rain with the beating of their wings. Witnessing this unique phenomenon is an exceptional experience of nature.”
The reserve was part of a “Countries by World Heritage Sites” Daily Double in the 12/18/14 game. The champ in that game who got it was also named Kevin! Now, about those license plates, here’s a site that shows a lot of Michoacán license plates if you want to play “Find the Butterflies”. 😁
Barbara thought it was grasshoppers. She lost her half her score and was left with $1,500.
Michael wrote down “The Cricket and the Ant”. Michael lost $1,711 and finished with $3,035. (So funny! The teacher read that story in the twins’ online class this morning.)
Kevin went with cockroaches. He lost $2,600 and won the game with an even $20,000. His 3-day total is $62,900. Thanks, Kevin. We were hoping someone would go with La Cucaracha. Check out the dance with the Petre Geambasu Show Band.
2 triple stumpers from the first round:
THEIR BAR OR BAT MITZVAH ($800) On Dec. 3, 2019 she celebrated her 40th birthday, her bat mitzvah & her new Netflix comedy special “Black Mitzvah”
COLORFUL LIT ($1000) “Forever in ___ : The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood”
2 years ago: ALL of the players got this FJ in “Charles Dickens”
Both “Barnaby Rudge” & this other famous Dickens novel begin in 1775 & deal with mob violence. show
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This just shows that having a high IQ does not mean you have a high “cultural” IQ. I didn’t find the “cucaracha” answer amusing. Jeopardy is my favorite program and I wish Alex many happy thoughts.
Me too. In fact, taken together, the three answers bespeak a view of Mexico as comical, pest ridden, and lacking in dignity. Moreover, it also reveals a lack of environmental awareness in their ignorance of the plight of the monarchs. Bad, bad. Unworthy.
Sorry if this is obvious to everyone else, but I don’t understand why the clue says “around 2010.” That makes it sound like the license plate no longer features the butterflies, which it does. I guess it’s saying that the butterflies first appeared on the plates in 2010, but it totally threw me off and my guess was some kind of periodical cicada. (Now I know that periodical cicadas are indigenous to the eastern US.)
@Phil, from that license plate site I linked to in the recap, they were on the plates before 2010. Unesco says it became a World Heritage Site in 2008, so idk what the significance of 2010 in that clue was. (I said killer bees.)
I think the year 2010 was interjected just to throw the contestants off which it actually did imo. Just my humble point of view.
Thanks for the Cucaracha clip, VJ! Such fun!
And what are the chances of that happening with The Cricket and the Ant?
lol, Rhonda, that WAS a crazy coincidence!
I loved that Cucaracha clip, too!! That’s why I had to share it
I’m so glad that you did!! Thanks again!
Good guesses, I knew the answer because I have visited Michoacán State in México and knew there is a valley there that is the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, beautiful place to visit, in Spanish it’s called: Valle del Santuario de la Mariposa Monarca, wish you only the best Alex Trebek, our prayers out for you and yours!
Thanks for adding the Spanish name, Sergio 😃
LOL. ALL 3 contestants were originally from the east coast. So much for my theory earlier about the growing up in California west coast advantage about Monarch butterflies and Mexico. 🤣🤣🤣
I do wonder if they would have accepted just “butterflies”.
I was wondering that myself but I guess they decided in advance that they would. Otherwise, they could have written the clue to be less general — and probably gotten better results!
Yeah triple stumper in final is not something we want to see as a triple solve is necessary. Still Kevin played pretty well. Michael seems to try and copy james holzhauer did in his run but those daily doubles eluded him. I mean knowing about the zodiac signs isn’t that hard.
The cricket.and the ant was a very funny response VJ but the clue here was asking for a specific insect and not a story book. Kevin looks good to break the dry spell here.
Let’s hope he doesn’t tomorrow.
USA is way behind in honoring the insect world.
Great! We get 2 consecutive 3-Time Champions, and this is the 3rd time in a row where a soon to be 3-time Champion scores a runaway on his 3rd game, and we get a triple stumper, which everybody hates, but still, Kevin’s chances of winning his 4th game look good, because he’s had 3 runaways in a row, and we shall see what he does tomorrow, as he looks to win that elusive-ish 4th game.
If he doesn’t win a 4th game tomorrow or there is no 4-time champion this entire season, then whoever is responsible is going to pay for everything.
Exactly, Dalton.