Final Jeopardy: Exploration (4-13-23)
Today’s Final Jeopardy question (4/13/2023) in the category “Exploration” was:
James Cook’s account of a 1774 visit here records an object “near 27 feet long, and upwards of 8 feet over the breast or shoulders”
New champ Ben Chan, a philosophy professor from Green Bay, WI, won $16,001 yesterday. In Game 2, his opponents are: Peter Early, a settlement consultant from Windham, NH; and Liz Jensen, a stay-at-home mom from Metuchen, NJ.
Round 1 Categories: The Scenic Southwest – Letter Perfect – In the Air Tonight – Foodstock – Trademarked Sounds – Fish Out of Water
Ben found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Fish Out of Water” under the $600 clue just before the commercial break. He was in second place with $3,400, $600 less than Peter’s lead. Ben made it a true Daily Double and he was RIGHT.
They’re the southernmost Major League baseball team show
Ben finished in the lead with $10,200. Peter was second with $6,000. Liz was last with $800. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: The Book of Romans – Here’s a Bit of Everything – Secretaries of State – Triple “A” – German Literature – Fish Out of Water on TV
Ben found the first Daily Double in “Secretaries of State” under the $1,600 clue on the 5th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $16,200, $10,200 more than Peter in second place. Ben bet $1,600 and he was RIGHT.
Secretary 1933-1944, Cordell Hull advocated respect for Central & South American nations, a policy known by this friendly nickname show
Ben got the last Daily Double in “The Book of Romans” under the $1,600 clue on the 8th pick of the round. In the lead with $19,000, he had $13,000 more than Peter in second place. Ben bet $3,000 and he was RIGHT.
Hermann Broch wrote a novel titled “The Death of” this greatest Roman epic poet show
Ben finished in the lead with a runaway $27,200. Peter was second with $6,400 and Liz was last with $6,000. All clues were shown.
TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS EASTER ISLAND?
Captain Cook recorded the observations of the men he sent out to explore Easter Island. He could not go himself because he was recovering from an illness. The report for March 15, 1774 says the men first saw some statues that were broken and lying on the ground. Continuing on, they saw “gigantic statues … much larger than the others. Having measured one which had fallen down, they found it very near twenty-seven feet long and upwards of eight feet over the breast or shoulders; and yet this appeared considerably short of the size of one they saw standing, its shade, a little past two o’clock, being sufficient to shelter all the party, consisting of near thirty persons, from the rays of the sun.”
To give you a good comparison of the height of some of these statues, TotaWorld has a great picture of a Chilean boy on horseback next to one of the statues. The 6th paragraph under the image has the text that was quoted in today’s clue.
Liz got it right. She bet $5,000 and finished with $11,000.
Peter didn’t have a full response. That cost him $1,916 and left him with $$4,484.
Ben got it right, too. He bet $2,800 and won the game with $30,000. Ben’s 2-day total is $46,001.
A triple stumper from each round:
THE SCENIC SOUTHWEST ($400) When visiting the Southwest’s Monument Valley, be respectful of this tribe upon whose land the ancient site sits
GERMAN LITERATURE ($1200) Cornelia Funke sold millions of a trilogy beginning with this book & continuing with “Inkspell” & “Inkdeath”
2 years ago: NONE of the players got this FJ in “South America”
2 of the 3 national capitals on the continent whose metro areas have more than 10 million people show
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I have always said that, were I on J!, if the answer came up, I would use the native name for Rapa Nui, and las Islas Malvinas. It’s just coincidental that it was this evening!
I’m glad you loved it, Sam. I thought it was super too.
I’m very proud of Ben and Liz for getting Final Jeopardy correct. In my dotage, I’m finding I overthink the question. They used “an object” which for some reason I supposed meant there were no others. Easter Island is covered with statues, many of them gigantic. Luckily, Captain Cook and the date saved me, although I’m not sure everything would have clicked in the 30 second time limit.
BTW, VJ – loved the picture link! Unless you’ve been there, it’s difficult to grasp the size of these moai (the Rapa Nui name for the statues)