Final Jeopardy: Presidential Proclamations (10-2-23)
Today’s Final Jeopardy question (10/2/2023) in the category “Presidential Proclamations” was:
Both issued in April, 80 years apart, the first proclamations by these 2 presidents each declared National Days of Mourning
The first Champions Wild Card Tournament kicks off today with these three champs: Burt Thakur, a project engineer from Palm Springs, CA, Emily Seaman Hoy, an attorney from Houston, TX, and Dane Reighard, a writer & editor from Los Angeles, CA.
Round 1 Categories: Geography “B” – Fighters – Are You Shakespearienced? – A Bug’s Life – Native Americans – A Category about Nothing
Dane found the first Daily Double in “Are You Shakespearienced?” under the $800 clue on the 11th pick of the round. He was in second place with $1,800, $1,200 less than Emily’s lead. Dane bet $1,200 and he was RIGHT.
“The isle is full of noises, sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not” show
Emily finished in the lead with $4,800. Dane was second with $3,200 and Burt was last with $1,600. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: South Africa – They Played Wyatt Earp – Signs & Symbols – Egyptian Mythology – Hodge Podge – Proverb Vs. Proverb
Burt found the first Daily Double in “South Africa” under the $1,600 clue on the 2nd pick of the round. He was in last place with $1,600, $3,200 less than Emily’s lead. Burt bet the $2,000 allowance and couldn’t come up with anything so he was WRONG.
The majestic Victorian City Hall in East London, South Africa held the first hearing of the post-apartheld TRC, this commission show
Dane got the last Daily Double in “Hodge Podge” under the $1,600 clue on the 14th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $6,000, $2,800 more than Burt and Emily tied in second place. Dane bet $2,000 and drew a blank so he was WRONG.
James Boswell recounted this British man of letters’ affection for his cat Hodge, for whom he bought oysters show
Dane finished in the lead with $10,800. Burt was second with $7,200 and Emily was last with $3,600. All clues were shown.
NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right. Most peculiar!
WHO ARE ANDREW JOHNSON & HARRY TRUMAN?
After the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, VP Andrew Johnson became President and issued Proclamation 129, declaring May 25, 1865 a National Day of Mourning. 80 years later, after the death of long-time President Franklin D. Roosevelt, VP Harry Truman became President and issued Proclamation 2648, declaring April 14, 1945 a National Day of Mourning. (That was also the 80th anniversary of the day Lincoln was shot.)
The American Presidency Project has a list of who was in office when each President died and how it was handled. There are a lot of potential clues in there. Andrew Johnson, for example, was one of three Presidents who died during Ulysses S. Grant’s tenure.
VJ’s Math Shortcut: I added 100 to 1865, then subtracted 20 from 1965 😁
Emily just had Abraham Lincoln. She stood pat on her $3,600.
Burt had Lincoln and Truman, which was at least half right. He bet and lost it all.
Dane had Lincoln and got as far as FD for FDR. He lost $5,000 and won the game with the remaining $5,800. Dane Reighard advances to the semi-finals. Burt and Emily each take $5,000 home.
A triple stumper from each round:
FIGHTERS ($600) Before turning to MMA, UFC champ Henry Cejudo won a 2008 Olympic gold medal in freestyle this
EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY ($2000) This “City of the Sun” was home to the cult of the Sun god Ra
2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “Rock Legends”
A new studio album in 2020 gave him a top 5 album in 6 consecutive decades, his first in 1975 show
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I read an article online that said 10 of 12 categories in this game were retreads. So, I don’t know if I knew the response, or was recalling it from the first time.
And, on reflection, it was kinda harsh for Ken to say “Lincoln didn’t have foreknowledge of his death”, or something similar, to Emily, IIRC.
Jason, Ken didn’t say that to Emily. After getting a Lincoln from all 3 of them, Dane’s response being revealed last. he told them it was the successors of Lincoln and FDR. “Lincoln,” he said, “obviously didn’t know in advance.”
idk how all 3 of them misinterpreted the clue, but these are not second chance players, they are Jeopardy! champs. That’s why I was shocked.
Thanks for that, VJ. I just recalled the sentiment, far after the fact, which is why I forgot to whom it was aimed. It seems extraneous.
And, to their credit (about 2 cents worth), I misinterpreted it, too.
well, he didn’t say it in a condescending or snarky way, Jason. I think Ken goes out of his way to console the players on wrong responses.
It’s a terrible idea to play the shot game every time he says “I’m afraid”
Chester Arthur and Lyndon B. Johnson came to my mind for FJ, but I knew that wasn’t going to fly. Regarding FDR, I just couldn’t imagine that there would be a national day of mourning.
Rick, if you click on the link to the American Presidency Project that I supplied in the recap, you’ll see how each President’s death was handled. One thing I noticed: Only two of the proclamations actually have “National Day” in the title (for the deaths of Kennedy and Gerald Ford).
The titles are clickable if you want to read what the proclamations and executive orders actually say.
Kind of a choppy show, but I thought all the DDs and the categories in general were pretty tough. Only stumpers I got were the freestyle gold medal; “Neither a borrower nor a lender be;” and the human sense organ.
Disappointing that no one got FJ. It was not that difficult. You have to know your presidents on “Jeopardy!” The first one who came to mind was Lincoln in 1865, then I added 80 and got FDR. They both died in March/April, so from there it was an easy progression to Andrew Johnson and Truman. And all that logic took me fewer than 10 seconds.
There were four presidents who had died in office from natural causes including William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor and Warren G. Harding. Lest I was mistaken, none of them were afforded a national day of mourning.. Actually, I would imagine that such an event was typically attributed to those who had met tragic deaths. That begged the question: What made FDR the exception other than he died during the conclusion of a world war?
He was a mostly-beloved, four-term president. My mother was 20 when he died. She told me (many years later) that the whole country was in shock and saddened when he died.
Burt got half of the answer right, not Abraham Lincoln.
And we got a triple stumper to start the tournament.