Final Jeopardy: Business & Industry (5-15-20)
Today, wrapping up 2 weeks of reruns, we have Ken Jennings’ 75th and last game of his legendary run (original airdate 11/30/2004). The Final Jeopardy question (5/15/2020) in the category “Business & Industry” was:
Most of this firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only 4 months a year
74x champ Ken Jennings, a software engineer from Salt Lake City, UT, has won $2,520,700. In Game 75, he is up against: Nancy Zerg, a realtor from Ventura, CA; and David Hankins, a college student from Minneapolis, MN.
Round 1 Categories: No Soup for You! – Festivus – The Contest – Yada Yada Yada – A Category About Nothing – Some Brainteasers About Seinfeld
Ken found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “The Contest” under the $800 clue on the 19th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $4,600, $1,400 more than Nancy in second place. He bet $3,000 and he was RIGHT.
1984 Walter Mondale got his 13 electoral votes by winning D.C. & this state. show
Ken finished in the lead with $10,600. Nancy was second with $4,800 and David was last with $400.
Round 2 Categories: Zoology – Pro Sports Venues – Funny Hats – Patton Pending – Grab Bag – Slang
Ken found the first Daily Double in “Patton Pending” under the $1,600 clue on the 15th pick. He was in the lead with $14,600 now, $6,200 more than Nancy in second place. He bet $5,400 and came up with Verdun. He must have known that was WRONG, because it’s in France.
On December 26, 1944 Patton’s forces relieved this town in Belgium’s Ardennes; the Germans were driven out in January. show
7 clues later, Ken got the last Daily Double in “Funny Hats” under the $1,600 clue. In the lead with $15,200, he had $6,800 more than Nancy in second place. He bet $4,800 this time and thought it was a campan (a particular type of beret, it seems). That was WRONG.
The name of this often brimless hat, popular in the 1920s, is French for “bell”, after the shape of the hat. show
Ken finished in the lead with $14,400. Nancy was next with $10,000. At negative $2,800, David was out of the game.
Only ONE of the contestants left in Final Jeopardy! got it right.
WHAT IS H&R BLOCK?
Many businesses hire seasonal employees. What sets H&R Block apart from the majority? It’s in the clue– “white-collar employees”. Unlike seasonal employees hired in anticipation of the holiday rush, they are not cashiers, warehouse workers or engaged in delivering packages, etc. H&R Block’s seasonal workforce operates during the tax season, helping people file their tax returns, maximize deductions and get their refunds.
If Ken didn’t watch the 7/10/2006 game, someone must have told him about this clue: THE 2005 FORTUNE 500 ($1200) Ken Jennings should be well aware this accounting firm founded by 2 brothers landed at 467
Nancy got it right. She bet $4,401 and finished with $14,401.
Ken wrote down Fed Ex. He lost his $5,601 bet and the game when he finished with $8,799. “Nancy Zerg, congratulations,” Alex said, “You are indeed a giant killer.”
How strange: SLANG ($400) Wifebeater is a controversial slang term for this ribbed white item of apparel – Ken got a “be more specific” for his “shirt” response. Then he got a second “be more specific” for “undershirt.” They were looking for “tank top” but accepted his third try: “sleeveless undershirt.”
A triple stumper from each round:
THE CONTEST ($1000) In 1884 a booster’s attack on democratic “Rum, Romanism & Rebellion” backfired on this Down Easter
PATTON PENDING ($800) Patton placed 5th at the 1912 Olympics in this event that includes swimming, fencing & the pistol
2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “Geographic History
”
230 miles long, it defined a boundary between a colony founded by Quakers & one founded by Catholics show
Click here to leave well wishes and prayers for Alex Trebek for continuing success in his battle against cancer. There’s also a link to where you can make a donation to pancreatic cancer research in his honor.
We may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made from Amazon.com links at no cost to our visitors. Learn more: Affiliate Disclosure.
The Teachers Tournament starts on May 25 (nine days from now), I’m beyond shocked to see the lineup (like they did for the College Championship in February, that aired in April) for the Teachers Tournament not available at show’s website. Tell me, what happened?
Here we go again. I sure would like to enjoy the new regular games next week without hearing about the Teachers Tournament every dang day.
Thank you so much , VJ for a very informative article. Wow, nothing funny about the origin of that slang, is it!
Couldn’t read the second article because of an annoying spectrum banner. I shall google the other two/word term.
You’re welcome, Cece. I changed the link to a twitter comment showing a clip of what Kacie McDonnell said.
fixed your email, too 😃
Oh no, she didn’t! Is she still alive? Hahaha. I read some of the comments (more than I care to admit). Thanks for the laugh, VJ. 🙂
Wifebeater —that’s hilarious! An “Americana” I never heard before. I wonder why it’s called that. I also wonder if that particular slang was a recurrent clue on Jeopardy ( what with the PC Police and all that).
Anyway, apparently, the clue tripped Ken up and he couldn’t come up with”tank top”. Not even after 3 tries? Strange indeed. 🙂
Cece, this article says the shirt first got associated with that term from a newspaper photo of a guy who beat his wife to death in the 1940s.
Apparently, in some places in the Northeast, they are still calling it by this 2-word name that was more common than wifebeater when I lived in NJ.
For those who don’t understand how he could have possibly guessed FedEx, I am guessing he was thinking about the seasonal increase in shipping at the end of the year for Black Friday and Christmas shopping. I believe UPS, FedEx, and Amazon all hire a lot of temporary employees that time of year to meet demand.
Although they would not be white-collar employees, and that increase wouldn’t last 4 months, if he started going down that line of reasoning, FedEx was a decent guess.
They showed Ken at the end of the show in a current clip. He said: “”When I read that clue and I saw seasonal employees, tax season never even entered my head. I was so sure it was gonna be holiday season, I could have thought about that one all day and not come up with the right response. Still, it all worked out okay for me.”
A bit of an exaggeration, imo. I think he could have come up with the right answer in, at most, a few minutes. Same for the Patton DD, he could have at least come up with the name of a place in Belgium if he just did not know the name of the town at that time. (Ypres?? WWI but at least in Belgium)
Years later, it’s still hard to believe Ken missed both DDs and the FJ on the same show.
@Kevin, ok thanks!
Monday we back to the regular games. Anybody remember who was the returning champion after May 1st
Jesse Laymon.
I would never put down fed ex but it’s too bad dave couldn’t stay for final jeopardy.
Does anybody know at least one new contestant confirmed for the next Teachers Tournament?
No.
Ken Jennings, why in the world would you put FedEx? Were you trying to lose on purpose?
I think Ken was incorrect because he thought it was Fedex for the business and industry. Not knowing that the correct answer was H and R Block.
Ken, in an interview, said that he is not into Business & Marketing. I know that the category was ”Business & Industry”, but that’s what he said, or at least, that’s what I think, in terms of ”What’s In The Market?”.