Final Jeopardy: Elements (3-26-24)
The Final Jeopardy question (3/26/2024) in the category “Elements” was:
In his “Natural History” Pliny described it as “argentum vivum”
Today the quarterfinalists competing in the Invitational Tournament of Champions are: MacKenzie Jones, a teacher & Ph.D. student from Tulsa, OK; Arthur Chu, a writer orig. from Cleveland, OH; and David Madden, an academic competition director from Ridgewood, NJ.
Round 1 Categories: Flat Earth – Pick A Card, Any Card – Mammals – 4-Word TV Synopses – Magazines – Sporty Talk)
Arthur found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Flat Earth” under the $800 clue on the 3rd pick of the round. He was in the lead with $800, $200 more than MacKenzie in second place. Arther bet $1,000 and he was RIGHT.
The Alkali Flat can be found in this New Mexico national park that’s surrounded by a famous missile range show
Arthur finished in the lead with $6,400. David was second with $4,200 and MacKenzie was last with $2,200. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Supreme Court Justices – Short Shakespeare – Religious Ranks & Titles – Museums Spread Their Wings – World Star – Feeling Jittery
David found the first Daily Double in “Religious Ranks & Titles” under the $1,600 clue on the 5th pick. He was in second place with $5,400 now, $2,200 less than Arthur’s lead. He bet $5,000 and he was RIGHT.
Familiar from Monty Python sketches, this word for an Anglican or Episcopal priest is from the Latin for “substitute” show
Arthur got the last Daily Double in “Feeling Jittery” under the $1,600 clue at the halfway poing. In second place with $13,200, he had $800 less than David’s lead. Arthur bet $10.000 and had no response so he was WRONG.
It describes someone weakened by nerves, & also the instrument seen here show
David finished in the lead with a runaway $18,400. Arthur was next with $5,600 and MacKenzie was in third place with $600. All clues were shown.
TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS MERCURY?
From Bloggus Classicus – Show Me Your Metal! Part II: “Mercury (Hg): mercury, also known as quicksilver, the only metal to be liquid at room temperature, was known in ancient times. Pliny deals with this metal in book XXXIII.32, which he calls ‘argentum vivum’ – ‘living silver’, thus recognizing its liquid property. The chemical symbol, however, comes from a Greek term for the element, which calls mercury ‘water silver’ (hydrargurion), also referencing its liquid state at normal temperature.”
They also tell you a what Pliny had to say about sodium, tin and antimony.
MacKenzie wrote down “What is going on.” She lost $10.00 and finished with $590.
Arthur got it right but bet nothing, standing pat on $5,600.
David also got it right. He added a dollar to win the match with $18,401. David Madden is the latest addition to the semifinals list.
A triple stumper from each round:
MAGAZINES ($400) It officially debuted in 1974 with Mia Farrow on the cover & stories on Gloria Vanderbilt & William Peter Blatty, among others
SUPREME COURT JUSTICES ($2000) When he retired in 2010 at age 90, he was the third-longest serving justice in the court’s history
2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “Historic Nicknames”
Napoleon’s troops gave him this nickname not to mock him but for showing the courage of an infantryman in battle show
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My knowledge of Latin was limited so I failed to get the correct response for FJ. On the plus side, I learn something new every day.
Quite an uneven game. MacKenzie hurt herself repeatedly with bad answers. And Arthur, that DD answer was right there in the photo! It cost you a sure win.
Whiff! Is the sound of 3 players striking out on the nickname for the 4th batter in the lineup.
After 50 years, knowing who was on the cover of that popular magazine finally paid off. That Italian word for upset/jitters was a toughie, which I knew mostly because an old song of that name was used at the end of a 1984 Woody Allen movie, “Broadway Danny Rose,” during the credits. Delightful film.
Funny coincidence: This was one of the old clues on Spoiler Talk last Wednesday:
LIQUID: Merbromin, a mercury-bromine compound, has been marketed as an antiseptic under this name
They used to put that stuff on me and my sibs when we were kids
Mercurochrome, right? Pretty sure we used it too, and I think we used it on our own kids.
If you knew the chemical symbol was Ag, then FJ was a breeze. I knew it, but still lazily said silver, which of course is Hg.
In my defense, “argent” is the French word for silver.
The “More Clues on page 2” link didn’t work, but clicking on numeral 2 did.
yes, Howard, it’s mercurochrome. I never used it on my kids. When I was a kid, they had some cures that were considered highly questionable later on — like mixing boric acid with boiling water to treat pink eye.
They also had some chocolate flavored medicine that actually tasted good. I think it was for sore throats. As an adult, I never could remember the name of it.
Maybe I never knew it — my mom often made up names to get us to take medicine or eat certain foods. Moose steak, for example, was really liver so we didn’t even know most kids didn’t like liver till we went to school.
When I was a kid, there was a milk strike in NYC one time. But my mom somehow came up with some milk (I drank lots of it then) and said Dad had been able to get some. It wasn’t till much later that she confessed it was Carnation powdered milk. She’d figured I wouldn’t drink it if I knew. Used to buy it myself after college when I was sort of poor, but eventually tired of it.