Final Jeopardy: U.S. Presidents (12-18-25)
The Final Jeopardy question (12/18/2025) in the category “U.S. Presidents” was:
His mom Eliza, the first mother to attend her son’s inauguration, survived him by about 6 years; his wife, by 36
It’s the first of the 2-day finals in the 2025 Second Chance Tournament (Week 1). The finalists are: Pete Johnston, filmmaker & educator orig. from Alma, MI; strong>Dave Widmayer, a trivia host from Portland, OR; and Eugene Huang, a teacher from Paramus, NJ.
Round 1 Categories: ‘Tis The Season – Art & Artists – The 14th Century – New In The Cambridge Dictionary – Civics – Before Children
Pete found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Civics” under the $1,000 clue on the 16th pick of the round. He was in last place with $2,800, $1,400 less than Eugene’s lead. Pete made it a true Daily Double and guessed habeas corpus. That was WRONG.
The 5th & 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution enshrine this 2-word guarantee of a fair trial show
Eugene finished in the lead with $6,000. Dave was second with $4,600 and Pete was last with $600. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Bodies of Water – Literary Awards – The Life of a Showgirl – Useful Plants – Law & Order – Before Children
Pete found the first Daily Double in “The Life of a Showgirl” under the $2,000 clue on the 1st pick. He was in last place with $600 now, $5,400 less than Eugene’s lead. Pete bet the $2,000 allowance and guessed Carmen Miranda. That was WRONG.
This American was a sensation at the Folies Bergere, dancing while wearing not much but a skirt ornamented with bananas show
Dave got the last Daily Double in “Bodies of Water” under the $1,600 clue on the 14th pick. In second place with $8,200, he had $200 less than Eugene’s lead. Dave bet $4,200 and thought it was the Dnieper. That was WRONG.
Care to Gdansk? Then come on down to the mouth of this river, its country’s longest show
Eugene finished in the lead with $12,000. Pete was next with $7,400 and Dave was in third place with $4,000. All clues were shown.
NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHO IS JAMES A. GARFIELD?
James A. Garfield became the 20th U.S. president on 3/4/1881. He died at age 49 on 9/19/1881, after being shot by Charles Guiteau on 7/2/1881. Garfield left behind his wife, Lucretia; their 5 living children; and his mother, Eliza. Grandma Garfield was the first mother to attend her son’s inauguration. She also lived at the White House during her son’s short tenure. Garfield had the first elevator installed in the White House for her, possibly after he got tired of carrying her up and down the White House stairs.
Garfield (49) and Kennedy (46) were the only Presidents to die in their 40s. These assassinated Presidents were in their 50s: Lincoln (56) and McKinley (58). These Presidents died in their 50s from illness: Polk (53); Chester A. Arthur (57); and Harding (57). (From potus.com)
Dave thought it was William Henry Harrison. He bet and lost his whole $4,000.
Pete went with Harrison, too. He bet and lost his whole $7,400.
Eugene came up with FDR. He lost half his score, leaving him with $6,000.
That’s the 4th FJ! debacle this week! The finalists would have been wiser to stand pat today, considering how they all blew FJ! in their individual games. As it stands, Eugene is the only one who didn’t blow all his loot today so he’ll start out with $6,000 when Week 1 of Second Chance wraps up tomorrow.
A triple stumper from each round:
BEFORE CHILDREN ($1000) …you can spontaneously book that adults-only Resort Samanvaya
on this island in Indonesia directly east of Java
USEFUL PLANTS ($2000) This herbal partner of goldenseal is no recent fad–it was introduced in the 1880s as “Meyer’s Blood Purifier”
2 years ago: NONE of the players got this FJ in “FROM PAGE TO STAGE”
The opera based on this 1993 memoir was staged at a prison for the first time in 2023, at Sing Sing with a chorus of 14 inmates show
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I started watching the Netflix miniseries about Garfield “Death by Lightning” last night. It’s been getting rave reviews with people saying they didn’t know anything about him before. (Huh? Never heard of the musical Assassins? Never heard the song Mr. Garfield Got Shot Down?)
Maybe it gets better, but I fell asleep in the middle of the first episode. š²
Missed the show. Definitely got the first 2 DDs, but probably not in time on the first. Blanked on final.
Not sure I get Eugene’s FJ wager. $2801 was sufficient to beat both opponents if all 3 got it right. Missing it still would have locked out Dave, regardless of Dave’s answer.
Guessed the Scandinavian canal country. Those Cambridge words befuddled me, although I’ve heard a couple of them before.
Bad day for me today! 0/3 on DD and missed FJ! I, also, said WH Harrison. I thought for just a moment T Roosevelt, but, he was emergency inaugurated at the Wilcox Mansion in Buffalo. In any case, I was wrong!
Garfield’s assassin, Charles J. Guiteau, was, in the 1850s, part of a “free love” community, but, they didn’t take to Charles: they called him “Git out”!
Garfield was shot in April, died in September, and Guiteau was executed in October. He may have been schizophrenic. 2 things: 1. Garfield, like McKinley about 20 years later, both would survive, easily, today and 2. Guiteau would not be executed today.
These Second Chancers looked the part today.
Why doesn’t Ken say runaway anymore? Drives me nuts; did the producers force him to stop saying it?
I read it was a policy thing that producers gave to him. But, “John has a big lead going into Final” seems to be just a change in words, meaning the same thing.
Its like we are watching celebrity SNL jeopardy with these finals
I’m not sure if the name Eliza rang a bell with the 2 who answered W.H. Harrison. His mother’s name was actually Elizabeth, but she died before he was even 20. FDR’s mother was Sara.
Eliza was the part of the clue that helped me. I figured it had to be one of the assassinated presidents. I knew Lincoln’s mother was Nancy. (His stepmother, Sarah, outlived him by 4 years). I also knew Kennedy’s mother was Rose. So that left me with Garfield and McKinley. I eliminated McKinley, thinking his Mom would have a more modern name. Turns out, it was Nancy!
We are 0-for-12 in Final this week. If we don’t get a correct response in Final tomorrow, it will be 0-for-15 this week making it a wipeout week. I don’t think we’re going to get any correct responses at all this week and I could be right. Week 1 Second Chance was just a terrible week for Final Jeopardy!
Who knows? Maybe, in 1 week, FJ! isnāt kind to the players at all, and next week, the players will go 15/15 in FJ!. I canāt promise that, but next week has gotta be better than this week. Oh, and also, āDarn Those Daily Doubles!ā.