Final Jeopardy: Reptiles (3-9-26)
The Final Jeopardy question (3/9/2026) in the category “Reptiles” was:
Studying a hormone in the venom of this reptile species that may allow it to eat infrequently led to the weight-loss drug Ozempic
New champ James Denison, a college prof. & museum curator orig. from Alexandria, VA won $36,199 last Friday. In Game 2, he is up against: Katie Hoppenjans, a luxury travel marketer from Atlanta, GA; and Jonathan Rosales, a university fundraiser from Glendale, CA.
Round 1 Categories: Facts About Poets – Forklift Certified – Out of This World Movies – Capitonyms – Large & in Charge – Small but Mighty
Katie found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Facts About Poets” under the $800 clue on the 2nd pick of the round. She was the only one on the board with $800. Katie bet the $1,000 allowance and she was RIGHT.
In 1761 the Wheatley family bought a girl from this slave ship & named her after it; she became the 1st major African-American poet show
James finished in the lead with $6,600. Katie was in second place with $6,200. Jonathan was last with $1,400. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Take Me to the River – Face, the Music
Museum Pieces – The Social Bookshelf – Crime & Punishment – Crossword Clues “G”
James found the first Daily Double in “Take Me to the River” under the $1,600 clue on the 6th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $10,600 now, $3,200 more than Katie in second place. James bet $6,800 and he was RIGHT.
This end-of-the-alphabet river begins in the central African plateau & drains an area of 500,000 square miles show
James got the last Daily Double in “The Social Bookshelf” under the $1,600 clue on the 8th pick of the year. In the lead with $17,400 now, he had $12,000 more than Katie in second place. James bet $6,000 and he was RIGHT.
Chapter 3 of “The Souls of Black Folk” by W.E.B. DuBois is about the views of this educator & rival show
James finished in the lead with a runaway $31,000. Katie was in second place with $8,200. Jonathan was last with $7,000. All clues were shown.
Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS THE GILA MONSTER?
In the late 20th century, Dr. Daniel Drucker was looking for a hormone that could suppress the human appetite and help regular blood sugar. It had to be similar to the human gut’s GLP-1 and not be rapidly broken down by the body. He found two hormones that looked like GLP-1 through other doctors’ research of Gila monster venom. It took several years to created a synthetic hormone to treat type 2 diabetes, but that happened in 2005.
Because it suppresses the appetite, Ozempic also became popular as a weight-loss drug, although it is not without unpleasant side effects. Scientists are now looking into other possible uses in regards to addictions.
Jonathan thought it was the Komodo dragon. He lost $3,700 and finished with $3,300.
Katie went with a viper. That cost her $6,000 and left her with $2,200.
James got it right. He bet a big $14,599 and won the game with $45,599. That gives James an enviable 2-day total of $81,798.
A triple stumper from each round:
SMALL BUT MIGHTY ($400) These rodents, genus Cynomys, weigh just 2 to 4 pounds but are pivotal to the grasslands; their digging aerates & fertilizes the soil
TAKE ME TO THE RIVER ($2000) If you include the Irtysh as part of the main course, this Siberian river flows over 3,300 miles (but only uses 2 letter to do so)
2 years ago: NONE of the players got this FJ in “WORD ORIGINS”
A radical in an 1833 failed uprising in Germany, Ludwig von Rochau coined this term for acts taken for practical reasons not ethics show
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Now that I know this, I wonder if I could use Gila monster as an alternate nickname for Skinnybones