Final Jeopardy: Languages (12-7-23)
Today’s Final Jeopardy question (12/7/2023) in the category “Languages” was:
Since it can make someone “Japanese laugh as heartily as a Dane”, Lillian Gish saw film as an aesthetic this, the name of a language
The Champions Wild Card quarter-finals continue today with these three champs: Scott Shewfelt, a writer orig. from Tavistock, Ontario; Yungsheng Wang, a deputy public defender orig. from Lafayette, LA; and Robin Lozano, a technology chief of staff from Shavertown, PA.
Round 1 Categories: Oklahoma! – Super Bowl Stars – Fire Place – On the “T”able – 4 Your Consideration – A Donut Shop Dictionary
Robin found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Fire Place” under the $800 clue on the 3rd pick of the round. She was in the lead with $1,000, $400 more than Yungsheng in second place. Robin made it a true Daily Double and she was RIGHT.
Circa 50 B.C.: This city’s library is torched (by Julius Caesar, some say) show
Robin finished in the lead with $5,000. Yungsheng was in second place with $4,800. Scott was last with $2,000. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Greek Alphabet Puzzlers – Amphibians – During Lou Gehrig’s Consecutive Game Streak – Labor Unions – It’s Raining Mensa – Star Wars Before & After
Robin found the first Daily Double in “Amphibians” under the $1,200 clue on the 7th pick of the round. She was in the lead with $8,600, $2,800 more than Yungsheng in second place. Robin bet $3,000 and but couldn’t come up with a guess in time so she was WRONG.
Although this “biblical” frog is the world’s largest at around 12 inches long, its tadpoles are the same size as other frogs show
Scott got the last Daily Double in “During Lou Gehrig’s Consecutive Game Streak” under the $2,000 clue on the 16th pick. He was in last place with $6,400, $2,800 less than Yungsheng’s lead. Scott bet it all and he was RIGHT.
He became the Cook County Jail’s most famous inmate on Oct. 24, 1931 show
Scott finished in the lead with $14,400. Yungsheng was in second place with $12,000. Robin was last with $4,800. All clues were shown.
Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS ESPERANTO?
Esperanto is a language invented in 1887 by L.L. Zamenhof, a Polish oculist. It was meant to become a second language that people all over the world could easily learn and communicate in, regardless of their native tongue. There are loads of YouTube videos with Esperanto lessons.
Lillian Gish, the First Lady of American Cinema, was an actress, director and screenwriter who had a 75-year career on the stage and screen that began in the silent film era. In 1929, in the early years of talkies, she wrote an article for Britannica’s new 14th Edition. In it, she describes motion pictures as “potentially at least, a species of aesthetic Esperanto.” Presumably, she was advocating for Esperanto films, but what she proceeds to describe as what people all over the world will understand regardless of language barriers is pantomime: “there is probably no land where the spectacle of soldiers marching off to war or a fat man being struck with a custard pie is not instantaneously hailed with understanding.”
Robin thought it was English. She bet and lost her whole $4,800.
Yungsheng got it right. He bet $11,000 and finished with $23,000.
Scott went with French. He lost $10,000 and finished with $4,400. That made Yungsheng Wang a semifinalist.
A triple stumper from each round:
OKLAHOMA! ($600) Tahlequah, Oklahoma is the tribal capital of this Native American nation
4 YOUR CONSIDERATION ($1000) 4 patterns of Greek letter-named brain waves are beta, alpha, delta & this one from 4 to 8 Hz that allows access to the unconscious
2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “Organizations”
In the U.S. & its territories, this nonprofit whose roots trace to 1980 fulfills a word in its name every 34 minutes show
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Just a note on Esperanto: You can learn it much faster than other languages because of its grammatical simplicity and regularity, and about two million people speak it! Esperanto USA
A mystifying FJ and a couple of nasty DDs. Smart group, but I thought they had some gettable misses tonight. Oklahoma tribe; 3-letter newt (a VERY common crossword answer); violent windstorm; Rod Stewart song/Jedi greeting; AAUP who teach older children; and 1970 troops that replaced what strikers.
True story: I was at Madison Sq Garden in spring 1970 attending a Knicks NBA playoff game. Mike Riordan of NY was in the National Guard and earlier that day had to work as a postman. After he scored a basket, the scoreboard flashed “Mike Delivers the Mail!”
Good on Yungsheng. I liked when he was champ.
I didn’t get final. I didn’t even have an answer. However, MY excuse is, I’m in the hospital with a broken pelvis! I should be transferred to rehab tomorrow. I can walk, though, and didn’t need surgery! Also, VERY little pain meds!
Physician, heal thyself. Best wishes.
Jason, Wishing you a speedy recovery.
So sorry to hear about this, Jason. I also wish you a quick recovery.
I was happy to see Yungsheng get FJ! and win, too.