Final Jeopardy: Early U.S. History (2-26-21)

Today’s Final Jeopardy question (2/26/2021) in the category “Early U.S. History” was:

Elbridge Gerry, Charles Pinckney & John Marshall were the diplomats in this 1797 incident that led to a quasi-war with France

New champ Michael Colton, a screenwriter orig. from Newton, MA., won $9,201 yesterday. In Game 2, he is up against: Syed Ahamed, operations manager orig. from New York, NY; and Ollie Savage, an English film studies teacher.

Round 1 Categories: Asian History – Baseball Nicknames – Road Trip to the Same-Named Place – Toys & Games – Numbers – “Orial”

Michael found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Road Trip”, under the $2,000 clue with 9 clues to go after it. He was in the lead with $6,000, $4,200 more than Ollie in second place. He bet $2,000 and he was RIGHT.

You start on Interstate 91 out of the one in Massachusetts & you end up on I-55 to reach the one in Illinois. show

Michael finished in the lead with $9,000. Syed was second with $3,200 and Ollie was last with $2,600. No clues went uncovered.

Round 2 Categories: Opera Songs – 17th Century Lit – Med. Abbrev. – Around the World – Large & in Charge – Colorful Language

Ollie landed on the first Daily Double in “Opera Songs” under the $1,200 clue on the 11th pick. He was in second place with $7,400 now, $2,800 less than Michael’s lead. He bet $5,000 and he was RIGHT.

Sung first by Clara, not by either title character, “Summertime & the livin’ is easy” in this 20th century opera. show

Syed got the last Daily Double in “Colorful Language” under the $2,000 clue, with 4 clues left after it. In third place with $11,200, s/he had $4,400 less than Ollie’s lead. He bet $3,000 and he was RIGHT.

The final draft of an authoritative government report is one of these, for the stuff it’s printed on & its color. show

Ollie finished in the lead with $18,400. Syed was next with $14,200 and Michael was in third place with $13,800. No clues went uncovered.

NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHAT IS THE XYZ AFFAIR?

“The XYZ Affair was a series of diplomatic events that involved the U.S. and France during the late 1790s and was one of the most pressing issues during John Adams’ presidency…. In July 1797, in order to peacefully settle the dispute the newly elected president John Adams sent a committee of three men –Charles Cotesworth Pinkney, John Marshall and Elbridge Gerry- to negotiate a peace agreement with France.

Upon their arrival the committee was unable to meet with the French Foreign Minister, Charles Maurice de Telleyrand, instead he sent three agents Jean-Conrad Hottinguer (“X”), Pierre Bellamy (“Y”) and Lucien Hauteval (“Z”) to negotiate a bribe of £50,000 and a loan to the French government before negotiations could begin. The Democrat–Republican Party, suspicious of Adam’s dealings, demanded that he release all correspondence with France, and in doing so, he replaced the French agent names with X, Y and Z.” Read more on John Adams Heritage.com



Michael had no response. He lost his $5,398 bet and finished with $8,402.

Syed had half of the answer with “Affair” but that wasn’t enough to save his $13,500 bet. He finished with $700.

Ollie wrote down “the Rum Barrel Fiasco.” (I guess you had to be there.) He lost his $10,001 bet and finished with $8,399. That was $4.00 less than he needed to beat Michael so Michael is now a 2-day champ who has won $17,603.

Final Jeopardy (2/26/2021) Michael Colton, Syed Ahamed, Ollie Savage

2 triple stumpers from 17th CENTURY LIT:

($1600) An early English novel is “Oroonoko, or, the Royal” this, about an African prince sold to a Suriname plantation

($2000) Published in 1697, this Frenchman’s collection of fairy tales includes “Sleeping Beauty” & “Puss in Boots”

More clues on Page 2

2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “European Artists”

His seldom-used last name reflects his birth near the mouth of a river that flows from the Alps to the North show

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13 Responses

  1. Jeopardy! lover says:

    VJ, he won by $3, not $4.

    • VJ says:

      Jeopardy! lover, I almost put down $3 but then I thought if I say $3, they would have been tied, right? That’s why I said Ollie needed $4 to beat Michael

      • cece says:

        Good thinking, VJ! I knew your math wasn’t that bad 🙂

        Loved the above picture of Michael with the hands gesture.

        • VJ says:

          Thanks, Cece! It’s still funny that the one time I don’t make a math mistake, someone thinks I did, ain’t it? 🤣🤣🤣

      • Jeopardy! lover says:

        Oh, yeah, it makes sense now VJ, Ollie would have needed $8,403 to beat Michael and that would have been $4 more. Sorry about that.

  2. JOHN MONTONDO says:

    His explanation of the XYZ Affair was incorrect. He said that the French agents tried to bribe our agents. It was the exact opposite (explained above).

  3. Rick says:

    I wasn’t even aware that we had a dispute with France at the time. I mean, what quasi-war?

  4. Lou says:

    VJ, do you remember if there was another episode of jeopardy which also has mentioned the xyz affair? Good scores today by the players. I’ve never heard of the run barrel fiasco, but was that a silly response or what.

  5. Ismael Gomez says:

    We end the week with another triple stumper.

  6. William Weyser says:

    This was just a tough week for the leaders. Maybe, next week will be better for them.