Final Jeopardy: Government Officials (7-17-23)
Today’s Final Jeopardy question (7/17/2023) in the category “Government Officials” was:
In 1867 he wrote to General Rousseau, “On arriving at Sitka…You will receive from the Russian commissioner the formal transfer”
New champ Daniel Moore, a contract compliance analyst from Pittsburgh, PA, won $25,000 on Friday. In Game 2, he is up against: Jerry Powers, a retired elementary teacher orig. from Fanwood, NJ; and Leann Craumer, a librarian from Catonsville, MD.
Round 1 Categories: Tom Swift Tales – World Royalty – 6-Letter Words – Fish People – State Flags – What’s the Name of that TV Show?
Daniel found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “6-Letter Words” under the $1,000 clue on the 13th pick of the round. Daniel was in the lead $3,400, $1,800 more than Jerry in second place. Daniel bet $1,200 but ran out of time to answer so he was WRONG.
This poetic name for the land of Robert Burns is in the name of a Canadian province show
Daniel finished in the lead with $4,600. Leann was second with $2,000 and Jerry was last with $1,600. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: The National Recording Registry – Double Talk – Who’s that Poet? – I’ll “B” There – With Bells On – Oppenheimer
Jerry found the first Daily Double in “Oppenheimer” under the $1,200 on the first pick of the round. He was in last place with $1,600, $3,000 less than Daniel’s lead. Jerry bet $1,000 but had no response so he was WRONG.
Oppenheimer wasn’t sure why he chose this name for a nuclear test site, but he did recall thinking of John Donne’s poems of death and resurrection, including the sonnet that begins, “Batter my heart, three-person’d God.” show
Leann got the last Daily Double in “I’ll ‘B’ There” under the $2,000 clue on the 9th pick of the round. She was in the lead with $4,400, $1,000 more than Jerry in second place. Leann bet $2,200 and guessed Botswana. That was WRONG.
Though the majority of this country’s population is Hutu, the Tutsi minority has historically held power there show
Daniel finished in the lead with $9,800. Jerry was second with $7,400 and Leann was last with $4,200. All clues were shown.
TWO of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHO IS WILLIAM SEWARD?
William H. Seward was the U.S. Secretary of State from 1861 until 1869. He is most famous for the $7.2M purchase of Alaska from Russia. The formal transfer of that acquisition took place on October 18, 1867 in Sitka, Alaska. Seward was widely mocked over what was called “Seward’s Folly” and “Seward’s Icebox”. Passing away in 1872, he did not live to see gold and oil discoveries in Alaska. The Library of Congress has an abundance of links to more information.
Alaska has two state holidays: Seward’s Day (the last Monday in March) commemorates the signing of the treaty for the Alaska Purchase on March 30, 1867. Alaska Day on October 18th commemorates the formal transfer. As for the Russian Czar, an Alaska Daily News article notes that in his biography “Alexander II, the Last Great Tsar”, Edvard Radzinky wrote “The sale of Alaska is the one act for which Russians have still not forgiven Alexander II.”
Leann thought it was Napoleon. She lost $$602 and finished with $3,598.
Jerry got it right. He bet $$2,401 and finished with $9,801.
Daniel also got it. He bet $$5,000 and won the game with $14,800. His 2-day total is $39,800.
A triple stumper from each round:
FISH PEOPLE ($1000) An “American Masters” documentary on this photographer is subtitled “Prophet of the Avant-Garde”
WHO’S THAT POET? ($2000) An unabashed romantic; “Unbound” effort; drowning, his sorrows
2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “College Life”
This dish associated with Harvard goes back to the start of the school; the wife of the first headmaster made an awful version show
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FJ was a gimme. Uneven show tonight, but all 3 rebounded from their numerous missed DDs and high-$$ questions. Jerry wagered correctly on FJ, Daniel did not.
Like Jerry, I tried out for the show about 55 years ago when it was in NYC. I was under age and surely would have been DQ’d if I’d passed. I think I did OK on the written test but never got called back. I went to a few tapings at NBC and once won the home “Jeopardy!” game (which I still have) from Don Pardo during audience warmup, when I knew who the “It Girl” was.
Tom Swift “attracted and repulsed” only stumper I guessed right. Learned a lot about Oppenheimer and it makes me want to see the movie.
Clara Bow FTW!
Daniel’s uninspired responses kept it close. Jerry seemed somewhat slower in his gameplay than the other two. I noticed Ken ran out of time at the end of the first round – that’s why he cut so quickly to commercial.
But, a win is a win!
Disappointed show with all 3 DDs were missed resulted our eighth skunking. The DDs was not nice to anybody today. Good thing that we got spared from a total bust.
I said “Darn Those Daily Doubles”. I couldn’t avoid it, and you’ll notice that if Jerry wagered everything and got it right, which he did, he & Daniel would have tied at $14,800, because Daniel wagered to tie with Jerry, and they would have had to go to a tiebreaker, but that didn’t happen, because Jerry didn’t go all the way with his wager.