Final Jeopardy: Homonyms (3-24-26)

The Final Jeopardy question (3/24/2026) in the category “Homophones” was:

A 2008 Best Picture Oscar nominee & a Roman goddess both have names that are homophones of this state capital

7x champ Jamie Ding, a bureaucrat & law student from Lawrenceville, NJ, picked up $33K more yesterday for a total of $195,203. In Game 8, he competes against: Abigail Marcolini, book store clerk orig. from Scottsdale, AZ; and Pranit Nanda, a commodity trader from Houston, TX.

Round 1 Categories: Endangered Species – Presidential Nicknames – The Sounds of Non-silence – They Play One on TV – It’s a Plane – Phrase It in the Form of Some Latin

Pranit found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “It’s a Plane” under the $800 clue on the 11th pick of the round. He was in second place with $2,000, $2,200 less than Jamie’s lead. Pranit bet it all and he was RIGHT.

Despite this rhyming nickname, the Hughes Aircraft H-4 Hercules Flying Boat was built almost entirely of birch show
WHAT IS SPRUCE GOOSE?

Jamie finished in the lead with $10,800. Pranit was in second place with $6,200. Abigail was last with negative $200. All clues were shown.

Round 2 Categories: Endangered Theses – Post-Breakup Playlist Songs – Books of the 1990s – The Great Wealth Transfer – Cities on Islands – Jeoportmanteau!

Jamie found the first Daily Double in “The Great Wealth Transfer” under the $1,200 clue on the 11th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $20,000 now, $11,800 more than Pranit in second place. Jamie bet $6,000 and came up with Levi. That was WRONG.

The corporation of this immigrant who died in 1919 says his fortune has supported insulin’s discovery & “Sesame Street” show
WHO IS CARNEGIE?

Jamie got the last Daily Double in “Endangered Theses” under the $1,600 clue on the 13th pick of the round. Still in the lead with $16,000, he had $7,800 more than Pranit in second place. Jamie bet $3,000 and he was RIGHT.

The so-called “Interaction Problem” is a classic objection to this French guy’s theory that mind & body are separate show
WHO IS DESCARTES?

Jamie finished in the lead with a runaway $27,000. Pranit was in second place with $13,000. Abigail was last with $1,000. All clues were shown.

TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHAT IS JUNEAU?

Juneau, Alaska is the only state capital with a name that sounds like a Roman goddess, specifically Juno, the wife of the head honcho of Roman gods. Unlike Arizona’s Phoenix, which really was named after the mythological creature, Juneau was named after a French-Canadian prospector, Joe Juneau. The 2007 film in the clue, “Juno”, was about an unplanned teen pregnancy. At the 2008 Oscars, “Old Country for Old Men” (winner), “Michael Clayton” and “There Will Be Blood” were the other 3 nominees.

Wikipedia has a disambiguation page for Juno, as well as one for Juneau. Juno has way more entries!

Abigail thought it might be Augusta (supposedly named after the daughter of Henry Dearborn). She lost $999 and finished with $1.00.

Pranit got it right. He bet $3,000 and finished with $16,000.

Jamie got it right, too. His zero bet meant he won the game with the $27,000 he already had. Jamie’s 8-day total is $222,203.