Final Jeopardy: Public Figures (10-15-25)
The Final Jeopardy question (10/15/2025) in the category “Public Figures” was:
Foreshadowing his 1978 death, he said, “if a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door”
New champ Chris McGinn, an editor from Indian Land, SC, won $22,000 yesterday. In Game 2, her challengers are: Delaney O’Dea, an undergrad student from Santa Monica, CA; and Tafari Mbadiwe, a mgmt. consultant from New York, NY.
Round 1 Categories: Geography With Vampire Weekend – That’s All, Folk Tales – Stock Symbols – Starts With a Preposition – Broadway – Lefties
Chris found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Starts with a Preposition” under the $800 clue on the 2nd pick of the round. She was in the lead with $600, nobody else was on the board. Chris bet $1,000 and she was RIGHT.
The general vibe of a place, or a pressure of 14.7 pounds per square inch show
Chris and Delaney finished in a tie for the lead with $5,600. Tafari was last with $4,600. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Into the Woods – Nonfiction – Movie Role, TV Role – The Hole Truth – 12-Letter Words – Black History With Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Delaney found the first Daily Double in “Into the Woods” under the $2,000 clue on the 4th pick of the round. She was in the lead with $7,600 now, $800 more than Chris in second place. Delaney bet $2,400 and she was RIGHT.
Though the name means “Beyond the Forest”, this region also has its own Woodlands like Hoia-Baciu show
Delaney got the last Daily Double in “12-Letter Words” under the $2,000 clue on the 14th pick of the round. She was in the lead with $14,800, $8,400 more than Chris in second place. Delaney bet $4,000 and tried hypnotization. That was WRONG.
It’s when you are guided into a trance-like state to treat things like anxiety or stress show
Delaney finished in the lead with $11,600. Tafari was in second place with $9,000 and Chris was last with $8,000. 3 clues worth $400 each were not shown.
Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHO IS HARVEY MILK?
Harvey Milk was a gay rights activist who began seeking public office in San Francisco in the 1970s, at a time when many gay people were “in the closet” for many reasons. Openly gay, Milk was seen as a person who could break down barriers for the gay community. In 1/9/1978, he was sworn in as a San Francisco City-County Supervisor, the first openly gay man to hold public office in the state. Despite this accomplishment, Milk was the target of many death threats, leading him to record the statement in today’s FJ! clue.
On 11/27/1979, Dan White, a former member of the Board of Supervisors, assassinated San Francisco’s mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk because he could not get his job back. According to his bio, Milk’s nephew “a teenager at the time, and close with his uncle, came out [of the closet], along with countless others across the nation, on the day his uncle was killed.” Sean Penn won his second Oscar for his portrayal on Harvey Milk in “Milk” (2008).
Chris thought it was John Lennon. She didn’t bet a nickel, standing pat on $8,000.
Tafari was looking at Iranian leaders Khomeini and the Shah, but didn’t get a complete response in. He lost his $7,001 bet and finished with $1,999.
Delaney got it right. She bet $7,000 and won the game with $18,600. Delaney O’Dea is the new Jeopardy! champ.
2 triple stumper from THE HOLE TRUTH:
($1200) The T.A. Moulton Barn has an epic backdrop–the Teton range in this valley
($1600) Sadly, Richard Branson said he saw plastic bottles & trash at the bottom of this “colorful” 400-foot deep hole off Belize
2 years ago: ALL of the players got this FJ in “NATURAL LANDMARKS”
The Washburn-Langford-Doane expedition happened upon it in 1870 & named it for the regularity of its activity show
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Yes, December 8, 1980 for Lennon. The Shah of Iran died in 1980, too, but of cancer. As for Khomeini, he died of a heart attack in 1989.
I thought all those pauses Tafari was taking would prevent the board from being finished, and it did.
Good game, able players. Delaney looked petrified throughout the show but she was incredibly poised and knowledgeable. Tafari had an odd habit of sounding as if he were guessing on a lot of his correct responses. I dumbly said George Moscone instead of Milk for Final; I lived in the SF area that year and should have known it, especially with that closet clue. Not a good night for me; missed the DDs and all of the stumpers except the ATL medical college. (If anyone’s curious, Lennon was murdered in 1980.)
It was quite a competitive game, and Delaney emerged as the new Jeopardy champion. Congratulations Delaney! As for FJ, I also went with John Lennon.
The first thing I thought of on that clue about what duelists demand was the Rolling Stones song 🤣