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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Yikes! I was 1/3 on DD and missed FJ. Even researching backwards with knowing the correct response, it’s difficult to find a clear path to the Gila Monster. I said, like my buddy Howard, the Komodo dragon. The closest to anything like that I get is the Pacific yew tree, from which paclitaxel was isolated. For some reason, this FJ brought to mind that “Monticello” final, which referred to the place in Italy. I wonder if the same writer wrote both.
Oh, and, VJ, as to Friday, Portuguese is one language that, so far, has evaded me. All I know is from the churrascaria (Brazilian steak house) – “Sim, por favor” and “nao, obrigado”!
Either the clues were a bit on the easy side tonight, or I got some categories more to my liking. First DD I had no clue, last 2 were quite easy. Figured Final wasn’t a snake, I said Komodo dragon.
Katie was playing well, other than that horrid guess of Po for the Russian river, but no match for James’ epic DD wagers. This guy is darn smart and must have attended the Holzhauer-Craig School of Wagering.
Definitely remembered the Nazi war criminal’s trial in 1962. Was the basis of a movie later, The Man in the Glass Booth. Missed the lead ore’s name by one letter. Shoulda known the 6/3″ prez. The Tom Wicker part of the clue didn’t register till much later.
Yeah, that Po guess on the Russian River blew my mind, too, not so much because the Po is in Italy — because it was a $2K clue.
It always blows my mind when contestants take wild guesses on $2K clues.
Right, that was a poor guess. But I did the same on a $1000 DJ clue (then the max value) and it eventually was the difference between winning and losing.
It was quite a competitive game at first, but then James left the other two contestants far behind with a clear runaway Well, I performed above average in the game, and the Gila Monster instantly came to mind in FJ.
Now that I know this, I wonder if I could use Gila monster as an alternate nickname for Skinnybones
All that I know VJ is that I don’t think that those creatures would make good pets. Then again, some people may surprise us.