Final Jeopardy: The 20th Century (5-20-26)
The Final Jeopardy question (5/20/2026) in the category “The 20th Century” was:
51 days after this event, Edward Teller said the United States had lost “a battle more important & greater than Pearl Harbor”
10x champ Tristan Williams, a data scientist orig. from Lincoln, NE, has now won $221,902. Tristan could be the first superchamp to lose Game 11, if he doesn’t defeat these 2 players: Allegra Rosenberg, a writer orig. from Skokie, IL.; and Chris D’Angelo, a content manager from Washington, D.C.
Round 1 Categories: 10-Letter Words – Mexico Through the Ages – Bible People in the Quran – It Figures It’s Newtons – Wanna Bet? – Star Wars, the Mandalorian & Grogu
Tristan found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Bible People in the Quran” under the $1,000 on the 11th pick of the round. He was in second place with $2,600, $1,000 less than Chris’ lead. Tristan bet $1,600 and guessed Esther. That was WRONG.
A Tafsir, or commentary, says this royal “set forth from her country and reached Jerusalem” show
Chris finished in the lead with $8,000. Tristan was in second place with $4,400. Allegra was last with $2,000. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: U.S. National Parks – We’ve Got Your Back – The Original Language – The Great Days of Jazz – Women – “Ora” Farming
Tristan got the first Daily Double in “We’ve Got Your Back” under the $2,000 clue on the 17th pick. He was in second place with $12,000 now. Chris was in the lead with $13,600. Tristan bet $3,500 and tried compression. That was WRONG.
From Greek for “narrowing”, spinal this occurs when the space inside the backbone is too small for the nerves, & ouch show
Allegra got the last Daily Double in “‘Ora’ Farming” under the $800 clue with 9 clues left after it. In last place with $5,200, she had $6,800 less than Chris’ lead. Allegra bet $5,000 and but came up empty so she was WRONG.
Alexander Hamilton said of this quadrennial institution that, while it might not be perfect, it was “at least excellent” show
Chris finished in the lead with $12,800. Tristan was in second place with $9,700. Allegra was last with $1,400. All clues were shown.
Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS THE SPUTNIK LAUNCH?
The launch of Sputnik I by the Soviets on 10/4/1957 was a wake-up call that Soviet technology was superior to that of the USA. Physicist Edward Teller, aka “the father of the hydrogen bomb”, characterized the event as a defeat “greater than Pearl Harbor” in a televised appearance on “Face the Nation”. Teller believed “if the Russians go ahead faster than we do in this direction, we will be just helpless.” President Eisenhower was criticized for playing golf with a little poem by then Michigan governor G. Mennen Williams:
“Oh little Sputnik, flying high
With made-in-Moscow beep,
You tell the world it’s a Commie sky
And Uncle Sam’s asleep.
You say on fairway and on rough
The Kremlin knows it all
We hope our golfer knows enough
To get us on the ball.”
Nevertheless, swift steps were taken to remedy the situation and, on 1/31/1958, the artificial satellite Explorer I was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral.
Allegra wrote down Hiroshima & Nagasaki. She lost $1,101 and finished with $299.
Tristan thought it was the fall of Saigon. He lost $3,101 and finished with $6,599.
Chris got it right after crossing out the Tet Offensive. He bet $6,601 and won the game with $19,401. Chris D’Angelo is the new Jeopardy! champ.
2 triple stumpers from THE GREAT DAYS OF JAZZ:
($800) NYC’s first racially integrated nightclub, Cafe Society opened in 1938 & this singer hooked audiences with “Strange Fruit”
($2000) John Coltrane’s liner notes to a masterpiece say God’s “way is in love, through which we all are. It is truly– this title
2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “COUNTRIES’ LANGUAGES”
About 70% of its people can speak Portuguese; about 20% can speak Umbundu, 8% Kikongo & 8% Kimbundu show
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The bets show what actual IQ of a player is. Not clear why Tristan bet $3,100 at FJ – wrong strategy. The best startegy for him was not to bet anything.
Tristan’s wager was brilliant. Chris more or less had to wager at least $6601 in case Tristan doubled to $19400. Tristan could win only if Chris got Final wrong. $3101 was correct in case Chris wagered $0 and Tristan was correct on Final. If they’d both missed Final, Tristan would win with $6599 and Chris would sink to $6199, assuming he made the larger wager.
“In case Chris wagered $0”. Are you kidding?
Terrific finish, despite the wrong answers/missed DDs/stumpers. When we were kids, the proprietor at the local store that sold candy/magazines/cigarettes/newspapers called me Sputnik and my sister Little Sputnik. Why, I don’t know, and he probably did that for all the kids.
I was thinking the bombing of Japan like Allegra. I loved the Wanna Bet category but otherwise blew the DDs/FJ and the few stumpers. I worked in a casino long ago and still deal at private functions and fundraisers.
I knew the first DD because of Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida. I knew the spinal DD from working in a personal injury law firm.
I loved the Wanna Bet category too. It brought back memories of beginners luck. 😃
It was another fabulous game, and Chris emerged as the new Jeopardy champion. As for me, I was stumped in FJ. Personally, I wouldn’t have described the Sputnik launch as having been a greater loss to the United States than the battle at Pearl Harbor, but I suppose that the physicist was entitled to his opinion.
Darn Those Daily Doubles! Most importantly, for the 1st time in J! History, a 10-Day Champion lost Game 11. It had to happen sooner or later to that streak.
Didn’t matter if Tristan was right or not. He would win if Chris got it wrong
Chris is the giant-killer as he becomes the new champion. Had Chris not crossed off his initial response, Tristan would have been an 11 day champion. Tristan still made the right bet in Final if Final was a triple stumper.
So Tristan is the first superchamp to lose Game 11. Ah, well, he had a good run. I laughed out loud at the same time as Tristan when he laughed at his own Dave Clark response.
Congrats to Chris. He was quicker on the buzzer than Tristan it seemed, so maybe he has the stuff to go on a run. Still, the pre-FJ! scores were mighty low for a game with so few triple stumpers because of the DDs.