Final Jeopardy: The Southern Hemisphere (2-12-26)
The Final Jeopardy question (2/12/2026) in the category “The Southern Hemisphere” was:
A 1606 map of America shows this archipelago as part of a southern continent by a canoe with smoke billowing from its center
We have arrived at the last of 6 quarterfinal matches in the 2026 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament (JIT). Today’s players are: Long Nguyen, a retired engineer from Las Vegas, NV; Will Yancey, a lecturer of history from Gadsden, AL; and Adriana Harmeyer, an archivist from West Lafayette, Indiana;
Round 1 Categories: The Independent Spirit Awards – Bodies of Water – In Black’s Law Dictionary – Antonyms – “E.E.” – Comings
Adriana found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Antonyms” under the $800 clue on the 9th pick of the round. She was in second place with $1,000 now, $2,800 less than Long’s lead. Adriana bet it all and she was RIGHT.
of seldom: this adjective that as a verb means to go somewhere often show
Long finished in the lead with $5,200. Will was second with $4,600 and Adriana was last with $3,400. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Getting the Literary Jitters – Women in Music – International Observances – All About Animals – Many-Lettered Words – Remains to Be Seen
Long found the first Daily Double in “International Observances” under the $1,200 clue on the 5th pick. In the lead with $8,000, he had $3,400 more than Will in second place. Long bet $2,000 and he was RIGHT.
Meaning “new day” in Farsi, the March observance of Nowruz dates to spring rites of this ancient religion show
2 clues later, Long landed on the last Daily Double in “All About Animals” under the $1,200 clue. He was in the lead with $11,600 now, $5,400 more than Will in the second place. Long bet $1,700 and he was RIGHT.
Just between us, these mammals’ genus is Odobenus, meaning “tooth walk”– they use their tusks to get out of the water show
Long finished in the lead with $19,600. Will was next with $7,400 and Adriana was in third place with $3,400. All clues were shown.
TWO contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS TIERRA DEL FUEGO?
Jodocus Hondius the Elder (1563-1612), aka Joost de Hondt, was a prominent Flemish geographer whose maps helped Amsterdam dominate European cartographic trade in the 17th Century. His fascinating 1606 map “America” is the one that shows a canoe by the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. The archipelago appears as part of “Terra Australis” which was, at the time, believed to be a continent.
Magellan, it has been said, wanted to name the archipelago Tierra del Humo (Land of Smoke) when he first saw the smoke from bonfires that the natives used for warmth, cooking and communication. The Spanish Crown is said to have made the change to Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire). On the Hondius map, it says “Tierra del Fogo”, fogo being the Portuguese version, although it should be “Tierra do Fogo”.
Adriana got it right. She bet it all and doubled her score to $6,800.
Will went with the Antilles. He bet and lost his whole $7,400.
Long got it right, too. He added $2,000 to his already winning score and snagged the last semifinal spot with $21,600. See the comments for all the semifinalists, including the 3 Wild Cards. As always, thanks to Richard for posting the list every day.
So ends a rough week of quarterfinals. It was tough watching players throw away a Wild Card chance with all in bets, but they had no way of knowing they were doing that.
A triple stumper from each round:
THE INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS ($1000) 40 years ago, this film won twice at the first Independent Spirit Awards for actor M. Emmet Walsh & Best Director–tie–Joel Coen
GETTING THE LITERARY JITTERS ($2000) “The Tremor of Forgery” is one book that led Graham Greene to call this American novelist “the poet of apprehension”
2 years ago: NONE of the players got this FJ in “LANDMARKS”
The distance between its 2 legs at ground level is 630 feet, making it as wide as it is tall show
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Semifinalists:
Long Nguyen: $21,600
Matt Amodio: $18,800
Roger Craig: $15,000
Andrew He: $10,801
Alison Betts: $2,786
Drew Goins: $1,600
Wild Cards:
Karen Farrell: $16,400
Jennifer Giles: $8,400
Drew Basile: $7,200
============================
Adriana Harmeyer: $6,800
Mehal Shah: $6,001
Liz Feltner: $1,599
Tom Cubbage: $1
Josh Hill: $0 ($7,600 $3,400)
Isaac Hirsch: $0 ($7,600 $3,200)
Will Yancey: $0 ($7,400)
Veronica Vichit-Vadakan: $0 ($7,200)
Eric Ahasic: $0 ($5,600)
Will would have advanced to the semifinals as a wild card with his pre-Final score, but he went all in and was eliminated. Had he stood pat, he would have made it to the semifinals as a wild card. Adriana was correct but didn’t have enough higher score to advance. Instead it’s Jen and Basile who earned the last two wild card spots.
Will didn’t know that, because he was in the Green Room all day. It wasn’t Adriana’s day on the buzzer, but she did give more than 500 correct responses, and she has an overall total winnings of $446,600. Not enough to beat Paolo Pasco’s $448,717, but it is enough to beat Buzzy Cohen by less than $5,000.