Final Jeopardy: Ancient Authors (6-22-26)
The Final Jeopardy question (6/22/2026) in the category “Ancient Authors” was:
A mural discovered in Tajikistan of a man stabbing a fowl is cited as evidence that this author’s works traveled the Silk Road
6x champ Adam Remsen, an attorney & theater producer from Memphis, TN, ended last week with $124,502 under his belt. In Game 7, he’ll try to add to his winnings as he takes on these new challengers: Kyla Wall-Polin, a data analyst from Petaluma, CA; and Carlos Cea, a software quality assurance engineer from San Francisco, CA.
Round 1 Categories: Generals & Admirals – Literary Subtitles – At the Museum – Board Games – Kudos – 2U
Adam found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Literary Subtitles” under the $1,000 clue on the 3rd pick of the round. He was in a tie with Kyla. They both had $800. Carlos didn’t get a clue yet. Adam bet the $1,000 allowance and he was RIGHT.
This Cormac McCarthy novel subtitled “The Evening Redness in the West” has been called both the ultimate western & anti-western show
Adam finished in the lead with $10,600. Carlos was second with $3,200 and Kyla was last with $3,000. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Biblical Geography? – Math Folk – 3-Syllable Rhymers – That’s Precious – Musical Potent Potables – Jestermaxxing
Carlos found the first Daily Double in “Biblical Geography?” under the $1,200 clue on the 11th pick. In second place with $8,400, he had $6,200 less than Adam’s lead. Carlos bet $4,000 and he was RIGHT.
The name of this capital city between the Pacific Ocean & the Andes is the Spanish version of an apostle’s name show
Carlos got the last Daily Double in “Math Folk” under the $1,200 clue on the 17th pick. He was in second place with $14,400 now, $1,800 less than Adam’s lead. Carlos bet $4,000 again and guessed Rubik’s Cube. That was WRONG.
In the 18th c. Leonard Euler popularized “Latin Squares”, forerunners of the puzzles that got this name in 1984 show
Adam finished in the lead with $20,600. Carlos was next with $12,400 and Kyla was in third place with $5,400. All clues were shown.
Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHO IS AESOP?
The mural described in today’s clue depicts the Aesop fable, “The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg”. It is one of a number of murals discovered in Panjakent, Tajikistan in the western Sugdh province. The murals are from the 5th to 8th century Sogdian society who, according to Archaelogy Magazine, were an East Iranian people living in present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. They were the leading merchants of the Silk Road in their heyday. The closest city to Panjakent on the Silk Road was Sarmakand, the capital city of Sogdiana. The mural depicts the Greek version of the Golden Goose fable and that’s seems to be how it was connected to the ancient Greek fabulist, Aesop.
A post on BL Asian and African from 2016 on x.com shows the Golden Goose mural.
Kyla thought it was Plato. She lost her $2,900 and finished with $2,500.
Carlos came up with Diogenes. That cost him $8,201 and left him with $4,199.
Adam got it right. He bet $4,201 and won the game with $24,801 for a 7-day total of $149,303.
A triple stumper from each round:
KUDOS ($1000) Stephen Graham won Emmys for writing, producing & acting in this 2025 series that explored the impact of social media on teenagers
JESTERMAXXING ($2000) Yorick & the Fool get all the talk but only real bardheads know Duke Frederick’s jester Touchstone from this play
2 years ago: NEITHER players left in FJ got this one in “NAMES IN THE HEAVENS”
When this body was discovered in 1978, Persephone was suggested as its name show
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I did much better in tne first round but didn’t know the DD. Got the middle DD but fell into the Rubik’s Cube trap on the last. Said Confucius for Final, in light of the Silk Road wording. Guessed right on the rapper’s posthumous album. Kyla had a respectable two-round total considering how little she got to answer. I thought Carlos had a real chance to win this game.
Well, it wasn’t much of a competitive game, but an exciting one nevertheless. As usual, Adam emerged as the reigning champ. As for me, I did slightly better than average in the game, and we all came up with Confucius for FJ.
Ken mentioned in the intro that Adam hasn”t missed an episode of Jeopardy! in 15 years. Neither have I (not even when I was in the hospital for a month), plus that’s about how long I’ve been recapping the show on this site. But I’m nowhere near as smart as Adam!
Well VJ, I think that you’re far smarter than what you’re giving yourself credit for. As for Adam, some people are book smart, but it’s quite a different thing when they try to apply that knowledge. I mean, those type of people would have trouble trying to identify an engine oil dipstick for that matter.
Thanks, Rick. Adam’s a lawyer, though, and I’m sure he’s well-practiced in thinking on is feet.