Final Jeopardy: Presidents & First Ladies (2-3-14)
The Final Jeopardy question (2/3/2014), in the category “Presidents & First Ladies” was:
The only foreign-born First Lady was the wife of this man who served in the diplomatic corps from age 14.
Today is the first game of the Battle of the Decades. Our three contestants are: Jim Scott, 1991 TOC winner, now from Arlington, Va; Chuck Forrest, 1986 TOC winner, now from Rome, Italy; and India Cooper, a 5x champ in 1992, now from Madison, IN.
Chuck found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Name the Bible Book” under the $600 clue. He was in the lead with $3,400, after picking up an additional $1,600 on a clue previously judged incorrect.* That put him $3,000 ahead of Jim in second place. He bet $1,500 and he was RIGHT.
“But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea and there was a mighty tempest.” show
Chuck finished in the lead with $8,700. India was second with $3,200 and Jim was last with $1,600.
India found the first Daily Double in “Latin” under the $1,200 clue. She was in second place with $8,000, $3,900 less than Chuck’s lead. She bet $4,000 and she was RIGHT.
This phrase literally means”until seasickness”. show
India found the last Daily Double in “Physiology” under the $800 clue. Now in the lead with $14,000, she had $2,100 more than Chuck in second place. She bet $1,500 and thought it was the uvula. That was WRONG.
When you swallow, this flap of cartilage acts like a lid to the larynx. show
India finished in the lead with $18,500. Chuck was next with $16,700 and Jim was in third place with $3,200.
TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
Louisa Adams, born Luisa Catherine Johnson, was born in London on February 12, 1775, to an American merchant (the brother of Maryland’s first Governor) and an Englishwoman. Louisa grew up in London and Nantes, France, where her family took refuge during the American Revolution. She was 4 years old when she first met 12-year-old John Quincy Adams in Nantes. (Louisa Adams Biography)
Jim got it right adding $3,000 to his total. He finished with $6,200.
Chuck also got it. His $16,700 bet brought him up to $33,400.
India thought it was James Madison, whose wife Dolley was born in Greensboro, NC. She lost $16,500 and wound up with $2,000.
So Chuck Forrest is the first quarter-final winner of the Battle of the Decades. He gets to advance to the next level. The top prize in the Battle of the Decades is a cool million!
Jeopardy Calendar Clue of the Day: ($200) Places in Literature
Jean Valjean’s flight through Paris’ sewers is one of the most famous scenes in this novel. show
*One last note on what went down with that $800 clue in “On the ‘M’enu” in the first round: The clue was “This 2-word term means chemistry & physics have come to the kitchen; liquid nitrogen & lasers might be involved.” Jim said “molecular.” Alex said “we need more than that.” Jim said “molecular cuisine.” Alex said “nope.” Chuck rang in with “molecular cooking.” Alex said “nope.” India didn’t try and Alex gave the answer they were looking for “molecular gastronomy.” Chuck was given credit later but Jim was told they had to stand with their ruling on him because they were looking for 2 words. Well, Jim was given the opportunity to supply another word and he supplied as fine a synonym for gastronomy, if not better, than cooking. So that decision was just WRONG, even though it made no difference in the final analysis.
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@ vj
could you do me a big favor please? alex might have explained it, but i am drawing a complete blank on the format of this 3 week tournament……..??????
Alex really didn’t say much about how this tournament is going to pan out except that they are playing for a million bucks. I am as much in the dark about how they are running Battle of the Decades as you are. But I read somewhere that they will run it randomly and aaaa made a comment the other day that the whole 3 weeks are not going to be devoted to the Battle of the Decades.
I also read somewhere that the 2-day finale of the Battle of the Decades will be on May 15th and 16th.
@vj
never saw the show (power outage) but the way you described it “molecular cuisine” are 2 words. at least in my book. so jim should have been given credit and chuck’s answer should not have counted, since jim answered it already correctly. since india got fj wrong it did – as you said – not matter. still,…..
sorry you had a power outage. I made a video clip of that part.
In an earlier entry, I said I didn’t like the way Arthur Chu played the game. I got pretty much attacked for what I said. (And this ties in with this, because Chu has cited Chuck Forrest as one of his inspirations.)
Well, I’m not alone. Most people agree with me. Even Alex Trebek himself isn’t a Chu fan. I just hope and pray Chu loses sooner rather than later. I just flat out don’t like his personality. Thank goodness for this three week respite.
Oh, how do I know many people agree with me? Read this
Chuck’s wagering in FJ! was inoptimal. Jim could have won on a triple stumper if he wagered less than $1200 because of it.
i think there is almost always a variety of …. “what if” wagering, some more obvious than others.
Thanks for your regular updates. I just recently discovered your site and really appreciate what you are doing. Not being able to afford high cable costs, your updates keep me connected to the best quiz show ever on TV.
Thanks for saying that, Nomi, and thanks for visiting.