Final Jeopardy: Unlikely Authors (6-15-26)
The Final Jeopardy question (6/15/2026) in the category “Unlikely Authors” was:
Set around Tikrit, “Zabibah & the King” is a historical romance novel from 2000 attributed to this man
New champ Adam Remsen, an attorney & theater producer from Memphis, TN, won $20,000 last Friday. In Game 2, he’s up against: Sue Barndt, a professor from Claremont, CA; and Benjy Malings, an attorney from Los Angeles, CA.
Round 1 Categories: Begins Like A Month – The 1930s – TV: Who Said It? – Classical Music – Traveling Across the USA – Toys Old & New
Benjy found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “The 1930s” under the $800 on the 11th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $3,600 now, $800 more than Adam in second place. Benjy bet $1,400 and guessed germanium. That was WRONG.
Marguerite Perey discovered this element in 1939 but had to wait a little while to name it for her homeland show
Adam finished in the lead with $7,400. Benjy was in second place with $1,600. Sue was last with $1,000. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: An Adversarial Relationship – Movies by Characters – You’re Getting Sleepy – 8-Letter Cities – Classic Lit Page-Bait – Before & After
Sue got the first Daily Double in “8-Letter Cities” under the $1,200 clue on the first pick of the round. She was in last place with $1,000 now, $6,400 less than Adam’s lead. Sue bet $2,000 and said Riyadh. That was WRONG.
Check out the nightclub MECA for dancehall music in this world capital show
Benjy got the last Daily Double in “Movies by Character” under the $800 clue on the 4th pick of the round. In second place with $2,800, he had $5,800 less than Adam’s lead. Benjy bet $2,500 and tried “La La Land”. That was WRONG.
A musical in 2017: Jenny Lind, Chang & Eng show
Adam finished in the lead with $14,600. Benjy was in second place with $7,900. Sue was last with $1,000 and out of the game at this point. All clues were shown.
Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHO IS SADDAM HUSSEIN?
Tikrit is a city in Iraq, the birthplace of 12th century Kurdish leader, Saladin. It is also the closest city (about 8 miles) to Al-Awja, the village where former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein was born in the 1930s.
Saddam Hussein is purportedly the author of 4 novels. The first 3 were published in his lifetime: “Zabibah and the King” (2000), The Fortified Castle (2001), Men and the City (2001). The last, “Begone, Demons” was published in 2006 in Japan, 3 years after Saddam Hussein was hanged for crimes against humanity.
Benjy wrote down one of those lines from the eye chart that I can’t read. Just kidding, but the letters didn’t spell anything as far as I could see! It started with an S, so if he had been able to get Saddam out, that would have been okay. Benjy lost $7,600 and finished with $300.
Adam got it right. He bet $1,201 and won the game with $15,801. Adam’s 2x-day total is $35,801.
A triple stumper from each round:
CLASSICAL MUSIC ($800) This Austrian composer’s Symphony No. 2 is popularly known as the “Resurrection” symphony
CLASSIC LIT PAGE-BAIT ($2000) In this work by Kate Chopin, Edna responds positively to a smooch, “It was a flaming torch”, but let’s leave it at that
2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “2 LAST NAMES, SAME FIRST LETTER”
Born 344 years apart, they are the 2 real people mentioned by name in the titles of 1990s Best Picture Oscar winners show
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Adam wagered $1,201, to cover a double up by Benjy.
Sometimes, it seems the contestants can’t get out of their own way.