Final Jeopardy: Famous Ships (7-13-23)
Today’s Final Jeopardy question (7/13/2023) in the category “Famous Ships” was:
This first U.S. battleship ever built was launched in 1889 but lasted less than 9 years
New champ Ittai Sopher, a digital journalist and news producer from New Orleans, LA, won $12,401 yesterday. In Game 2, his opponents are: Kathy Barkey, an engineer from Kingston, NY; and Dennis Leung, a biotech scientist from Half Moon Bay, CA.
Round 1 Categories: From the Headlines – Live Cams – Eat It! Wear It! or Sit on It! – Nonfiction – “R” Song – Animal Expressions
Dennis found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Animal Expressions” under the $600 clue just before the commercial break. He was tied in last place with Kathy at $3,200, $200 less than Ittai’s lead. Dennis went all in and he was RIGHT.
A call at a frequency inaudible to humans, or a political statement with a hidden secondary meaning show
Dennis finished in the lead with $9,400. Kathy was second with $5,000 and Ittai was last with $4,000. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Flightseeing across America – Flowery Poetry & Prose – Medicine – Movie Before & After – Religious Objects & Symbols – Espan-O
Ittai found the first Daily Double in “Religious Objects & Symbols” under the $1,600 on the 15th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $12,000, $2,600 more than Dennis in second place. Ittai bet $2,000 and tried the Sistine Chapel. That was WRONG.
Measuring about 14-1/2 feet long, it was called by Pope John Paul II “A Mirror of the Gospel” show
Ittai got the last Daily Double in “Flowery Poetry & Prose” under the $800 clue with 3 clues left after it. He was in second place with $10,400, $3,000 less than Dennis’ lead. Ittai bet $3,100 and he was RIGHT.
The Spike Jonze film “Adaptation” is about trying to bring this steal of a book by Susan Orlean to the big screen show
Dennis finished in the lead with $13,800. Ittai was a very close second with $13,500 and Kathy was last with $6,600. Two clues worth $800 were not shown.
TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT IS THE USS MAINE?
This looks like another one of those FJ! clues that will spark debate. Many sites say that the USS Texas was the first American battleship. It’s quite confusing to me so I can’t sort that one out. It appears they were both authorized by Congress on 8/3/1886. The Maine was “laid down” (whatever that means) on 10/17/1888; the Texas on 6/1/1889. The Texas was launched first on 6/28/1892; the Maine on 11/18/1889. These dates are in the sidebar of the Wikipedia pages for the respective ships so make of it what you will.
As for the early demise of the Maine, the Library of Congress says: “On February 15, 1898, an explosion of unknown origin sank the battleship U.S.S. Maine in the Havana, Cuba harbor, killing 266 of the 354 crew members. The sinking of the Maine incited United States’ passions against Spain, eventually leading to a naval blockade of Cuba and a declaration of war.” The rallying cry “Remember the Maine, to Hell with Spain!” got shortened to just “Remember the Maine!”
Kathy got it right. She bet $3,300 and finished with $9,900.
Ittai got it right, too. He bet $301 and finished with $13,801.
Dennis thought it was the Washington. He lost his $13,201 bet and landed in third place with $599. So Ittai won this game from second place and he has a 2-day total of $26,202.
A triple stumper from each round:
FLOWERY POETRY & PROSE ($1200) Completes A.E. Housman’s “Lent Lily” rhyme: “Find the windflower playing with every wind at will, but not the” this
($2000) Robert Frost’s poem “Design” features this flower known for its curative powers
2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “Musical Landmarks”
A cleft in limestone in England sheltered Rev. Augustus Toplady from a storm & inspired this popular hymn show
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“Laid Down” “Launched” “Commissioned” Navy has particular terms for ships (As it should). Laid Down usually means the keel (backbone of almost any ship) has been started. Launched means sliding down the slip into the water for further construction; Commissioned is when the Navy wastes a full bottle of Sailor strength booze, by breaking it over the bow of the ship allowing the crew to board her and bring the ship to life.
Thanks for that info, Dave
FJ came to me fairly quickly once I realized what happened in 1898. The Pulitzer and Hearst newspapers fanned the flames with their yellow journalism to help provoke war with Spain.
Good group tonight, a competitive game, and a smart wager by the champ.
I visited the crater in Honolulu in 2015. Was hoping someone would get the French word for nativity scene, but that falls into the “either you know it or you don’t” category. I knew Kathy would get dinged on that Eastwood/Brando movie question. I remember the book that became the Brando film. Big best-seller at the time.
I was at Shea Stadium in October 1973 watching the Mets and Reds in a playoff game, when the scoreboard announced that Agnew had resigned. Huge cheer from the large crowd. Just another grifter who got into politics for the money. I don’t know who wrote his speeches, but he used phrases such as “nattering nabobs of negativism” and “effete corps of impudent snobs” to label those who opposed the administration.
Forgot to mention: I was wondering why “Lady Day” was accepted as the 2nd half of the movie mashup clue, but I just looked it up, and there was a TV movie long ago of that name about the star. The Diana Ross film was the famous one, of course.
The Maine is an interesting subject. She is not listed as a Battleship by the United States (BB-1 was the USS Indiana) she was ordered as an armored cruiser but was re-designated as a second class battleship because she was too slow to be a cruiser. The first official battleship (actually designated as one) was the USS Texas, which was commissioned on 15 August 1895, a month before the Maine (17 September 1895). Thus, the Maine had a career of two and a half years, not the nine mentioned in the question (careers are measured from commissioning date, not launching date). The upshot is that the information in the question was wrong, the Maine wasn’t a battleship, and wasn’t first.
VJ, I would tend to disagree as the category was ‘Famous Ship’s, and the USS Texas battleship just did not fit that bill. Needless to say, the USS Maine was the first U.S. battleship that went down in history.