Final Jeopardy: Rivers (7-1-21)
Today’s Final Jeopardy question (7/1/2021) in the category “Rivers” was:
In “Notes on the State of Virginia”, Thomas Jefferson said the most beautiful river on earth is this one no longer in Virginia
3x champ Courtney Shah, a community college instructor from Portland, OR won $58,100 since the start of this week. In Game 4, she is up against: Marciano Lopez, a bartender from Philadelphia, PA; and Leanne Zobrist, a law clerk from Boyds, MD.
Round 1 Categories: Nonfiction – Landforms – 14-Letter Words – The Movie in Question – “C” as in Cat – Boston: News Clues
Marciano found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Nonfiction” under the $1,000 clue on the 18th pick of the round. He was in third place with $1,000, $3,000 less than Courtney’s lead. He made it a true Daily Double and went with Adam Smith. That was WRONG.
This author’s first major book was 1742’s “A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist” show
Courtney finished in the lead with $5,000. Leanne was second with $3,800 and Marciano was last with nothing. No clues went uncovered.
Round 2 Categories: The First of July – Trying on Some Genes – The 3 “R”s – Innovative Women – The Masked Musician – ‘Tis Shakespeare
Courtney found the first Daily Double in “Innovative Women” under the $800 clue on the 5th pick. She was in the lead with $5,800 now, $2,000 more than Leanne in second. She bet $2,800 and thought it was makeup. That was WRONG.
In the early 1900s Melitta Bentz used a piece of blotting paper to create this and then a company to make them show
Courtney also got the last Daily Double in “’Tis Shakespeare” under the $2,000 clue, with 12 clues left after it. In the lead with $9,400, she had $2,800 more than Leanne in second. She bet $1,000 and tried Ophelia. That was WRONG.
”Give me my robe, put on my crown; I have immortal longings in me”, declares this character before taking her own life show
Courtney finished in the lead with a runaway $14,000. Marciano was next with $4,800 and Leanne was in third place with $4,600. One clue went uncovered.
NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
Jefferson finished the first version of his “Notes on the State of Virginia” in 1781, updating it in 1782 and 1783 (before Virginia officially became a state on 1/25/1788). Jefferson’s opinion that “The Ohio is the most beautiful river on earth” appears in “Query II: Rivers” followed by rather detailed information on the river’s width and length.
Today, the Ohio River begins at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in Pittsburgh, PA. Then, it flows through or along 5 states. Northern side: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois; southern side: Kentucky and West Virginia. Here’s a page I found that shows how huge the territory of Virginia was when Jefferson began writing his book and how the boundaries came about over time. It does not show rivers, but you can see that before the Northwest Territory was created, the Ohio River flowed through Pennsylvania and Virginia. Kentucky took over Virginia’s claims to the river when it was created and the last stretch of the Ohio in Virginia went to West Virginia in 1863.
But wait! That wasn’t the end of it — Indiana and Kentucky were involved in boundary litigation well into the 19th century. Ohio got involved in the 20th century.
Leanne picked the Monongahela. That cost her $4,599 and left her with $1.
Marciao wrote down the Potomac. He lost $4,401 and finished with $399.
Courtney thought it was the Shenandoah. She only lost $42 and she won the game with the $13,958 she had left. Her 4-day total is $72,058. Rejoice! Courtney Shah has broken the long spell without a 4x champ.
A triple stumper from each round:
THE MOVIE IN QUESTION ($600) 1977, starring Richard Pryor: “Which Way is ____?”
‘TIS SHAKESPEARE ($1600) In a bit of payback for all the female roles taken by men, In 1899, this French actress played Hamlet
2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “International Organizations”
The first time this organization invoked Article 5 was on September 12, 2001 show
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I’m late to the scene here–but the answer and question has been bugging me–this is the first time I had a chance to do some research–
Yes it appears Jefferson did write that–but I have found NO evidence he ever actually saw the Ohio–
From researching Jeffersons travels -a web page sites a book indicating the furthest west he ever got was Falling Springs Falls in Virginia–still more than 100 miles from the Ohio River–That said he could have easily seen the Monongahela–giving credence to one of the answers.
Plus I’m a bit amazed that Gupta didn’t know how to pronounce Monongahela–really? I would think these guest hosts are briefed on possible answers and that should have been one–Really –the Mon is half of what makes the Ohio!
seriously…“sister sledge”…are you kidding??
Maybe it’s just me but, the 2nd DD practically contained the answer (question)—Melitta, blotting paper…Perhaps the writers could’ve made it even easier by adding “so you could brew your java.” 🙂
I just saw that Howard beat me to t.
I was stunned to learn a few weeks ago that the Potomac River belongs wholly to Maryland and DC. And that significant portions of the Virginia side of the river also belong to Md/DC!! Blinded by this knowledge, I was shouting, “It’s the Potomac, you idiots!!” Nothing like being wrong at the top of your lungs.
lol, Hugh, I know the feeling. I am always humbly reminded of the immortal words of Alexander Pope: A little learning is a dangerous thing
VJ, thank you so much for excellent research. One thing I have learned watching game shows focusing on trivia is the factoid about the most populous state around the 1800’s. Virginia is never mentioned but ends up being the correct response. Contestants seem to forget that the first settlement was in Virginia as your research verifies. If contestants remembered that West Virginia seceded from Virginia perhaps, or maybe not, they may have come up with the Ohio river. I liked the fj clue. It required knowing the history of Virginia.
Disappointed episode as all 3 DDs were missed and a triple stumper in Final Jeopardy.
The first two DDs were extremely difficult.
Albert, the first daily double wasn’t that hard. Have you ever played solitaire, blackjack or hearts? If you have I suggest you purchase hoyle classic card games if you can find it on Amazon.
“According to Hoyle” is a very old and well-known expression. And I’ve never drunk coffee, but the name Melitta was a dead giveaway. The last DD and the Final clue were my undoing.
At last we got a four time champ and the long four month dry spell is broken. That daily double on nonfiction about hoyle was pretty easy if marciano know about hoyle solitaire, blackjack and so forth. The monogahela is in.west Virginia and enters Pennsylvania so it is too far north. A big skunking in daily doubles and final jeopardy.
That’s right, the DDs and FJ were not nice to anybody today. I am sure Richard Corliss will say darn those daily doubles.
Lou, wasn’t West Virginia part of Virginia when Jefferson wrote about rivers? Is it correct that it didn’t become West Virginia until it seceded from Virginia in the 1800’s?
It was the Ohio river. Besides, nobody knows about geography.
For the first time since February, we finally have a 4 day champ. Congrats to Courtney! If she wins tomorrow’s game, she will be the first contestant this season to sweep the week.