Final Jeopardy: Music & Literature (11-6-23)
Today’s Final Jeopardy question (11/6/2023) in the category “Music & Literature” was:
John Steinbeck called this “one of the great songs of the world” & wanted the music & lyrics printed in one of his novels
The last match in theChampions Wild Card semi-finals takes place today with these three champs: Dave Pai, a field application scientist orig. from Mechanicsburg, PA; Jilana Cotter, a senior data analyst from Dade City, FL; and Brian Adams, a retired public educator from Big Bear Lake, CA.
Round 1 Categories: It’s Gonna Blow! – Call Out the Bob Squad – Message in a Battle – Haiku about the Poet – High-Scoring Scrabble Words – Kiss My Grits!
Dave found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Message in a Battle” under the $800 clue on the 2nd pick of the round. He was the only one on the board with $600. Dave bet $1,000 but had no idea so he was WRONG.
The English crushed the Highland clans at Culloden Moor in 1746; message to this would-be King: Stop pretending! show
Dave finished in the lead with $5,600. Jilana was in second place with $1,800. Brian was last with $1,600. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: To the Exoplanets! – At the Ancient Roman Cineplex – A “La” Carte – What a Body – Potpourri – Odd 4-Letter Words
Dave found the first Daily Double in “To the Exoplanets!” under the $2,000 clue on the 6th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $8,800, $7,000 more than Jilana in second place. Dave bet $3,200 but didn’t have it, so he was WRONG.
In 1995 astronomers confirmed the first exoplanet orbiting a sunlike star, in this “equine” constellation show
Jilana got the last Daily Double in “A ‘La’ Carte” under the $2,000 clue on the 10th pick of the round. She was in second place with $3,000, $3,800 less than Dave’s lead. Jilana bet $2,900 and she was RIGHT.
It’s the celebrated region in Spain that’s shown here. show
Jilana finished in the lead with $11,500. Dave was second with $11,200 and Brian was last with $5,200. All clues were shown.
Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS “THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC”?
John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Grapes of Wrath” was published in 1939. There are over 3 million results online that point to Revelation 14:17-20 as the inspiration for the book and title. (Google “John Steinbeck and Revelation”.) The popular 1861 song, “Battle Hymn of the Republic” by Julia Ward Howe is also said to be the inspiration. (A “Steinbeck and Battle Hymn” search has some 1.6 million results.) The Steinbeck Institute seems to give the nod to “The Battle Hymn”, pointing to the note Steinbeck sent his editor that begins with: “I should like the whole thing to go in as a page at the beginning. All the verses and the music.”
Click here for a history of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. For future reference, GoodReads has a list of biblical titles. Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” is No. 1. “The Grapes of Wrath” didn’t make the list!
Brian was on the right track but left the “L” out of republic, rendering his response wrong. He lost his whole $5,200.
Dave didn’t have a response. He lost a mere $400 and finished with $10,800.
Jilana got it right. She bet $10,900 and won the game with $22,400. For the next two days, we will see Jilana Cotter compete with Emily Sands and Aaron Craig as they wrap up this tournament. (And, yes, another Champions Wild Card starts on Thursday.)
Reversal: KISS MY GRITS! ($1000) This “colorful” southern gravy is made from ham drippings, hot coffee & water – Brian’s response of red gravy was rejected. Likewise Jilana’s brown gravy. Dave gave ’em what they were looking for– red-eye. Brian gained $2,000 on reversal and Jilana’s response was treated as if it never happened, meaning she got back $1,000.
2 triple stumpers from the last round:
TO THE EXOPLANETS! ($1200) The first Earth-size exoplanets were found by the NASA satellite launched in 2009 & named for this 17th c. German astronomer
POTPOURRI ($2000) It’s the Hebrew name for the prayer shawl seen here (image)
2 years ago: BOTH contestants left in Final Jeopardy! gotthis FJ in “1960s History”
After around 8 pm EDT on July 21, 1969 a major part of a transport known by this 1-word name was never seen again show
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Brian and Jilana started out surprisingly slowly, but finished strongly. Dave seemed on his way to a runaway till that DD eluded him. Jilana’s FJ wager was to play for a tie, which is mind-numbing.
DDs and FJ unkind to me. Couldn’t get “East of Eden” out of my head and wasted the rest of the time trying to remember the name of the novel with Lenny (“Of Mice and Men.”). Good that two of them got it, more or less. Only redemption I got was knowing the German astronomer; the Joplin song; the foot parts; and Heinlein’s 4-letter word.
Brian made a mistake I’ve seen too many contestants make in fj over the years. He wrote his response quickly then did the “stand and stare” without proofreading what he wrote. As the old adage goes “haste makes waste.” Since he is a retired educator I’m surprised he did that. I guarantee that when he was an educator in the classroom, or lecture hall, he told his students over and over to proofread their work and tests before handing them in to be graded.
Not that it would have made a difference in the outcome of the game, but, it sure would have saved him from the public embarrassment on national TV. I wonder how many former students of his were watching the show.
Hmmmm…..I came up with ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ for FJ. Actually, I always considered the ‘Battle Hymn Of the Republic’ to be rather antiquated, but that was just my opinion.
I’m sorry about that, Brian, but you would not have won, because of Dave’s wager. At this point, I’m rooting for Emily Sands to win the Diamonds Group of Champions Wildcard.
As you said, darn those daily doubles to Dave,
What the “L”? Tough break for Brian but the rules say incorrect spelling acceptable only if phonetically correct. I’m pleased for Jilana. She seems a fine finalist and I wish her luck
That was painful to see Brian’s response being ruled incorrect by leaving the L in republic. But Jilana wins despite not making a cover bet again. Jilana becomes the first player to make it to the finals both times. First the Second Chance and she won that and now the Champions Wildcard finals.