Final Jeopardy: Toys & Games (9-19-19)

Today’s Final Jeopardy question (9/19/2019) in the category “Toys & Games” was:

Invented in 1974 as a model to teach 3-D problems, it became one of the bestselling toys of all time

14x champ Jason Zuffranieri, a math teacher from Albuquerque, NM, has now won $399,543, only $457 away from $400K!! That mark is gonna be passed today unless one of these players has a great game: Nilla Sivakumar, a college student from Dublin, CA; and Adam Clark, a police officer from Philadelphia, PA.

Round 1 Categories: The Hinting of Hull House – Newspapers & Magazines – Ferdinand – The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team – A “Drop” – In the Ocean

Nilla found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Ferdinand” under the $400 clue, with 9 clues to go after it. She was in the third place with $200, $7,000 less than Jason’s lead. She bet the $1,000 allowance and took a guess with Mount Rushmore. That was WRONG.

With a pickaxe blow in 1859, Ferdinand de Lesseps began construction of this. show

WHAT IS THE SUEZ CANAL?

Jason finished in the lead with $8,400. Adam was second with $5,000 and Nilla was last, at negative $200.

Round 2 Categories: Movies About Geography – British Nicknames – One-Word Book Titles – Transportation – We Interrupt This Process – 16-letter Words

Adam found the first Daily Double in “One-Word Book Titles” under the $1,600 clue on the 8th pick. He was in second place with $9,000 now, $1,800 less than Jason’s lead. He bet $4,133 (The Eagles’ Super Bowl victory score, he said) and guessed “Gold.” That was WRONG.

This 1974 James Michener novel covers centuries, not just 1 significant year, in the history of Colorado. show

WHAT IS “CENTENNIAL”?

Adam found the last Daily Double in “We Interrupt This Process” under the $1,200 clue on the 16th pick. In second place with $8,867, he had $4,333 less than Jason’s lead. He bet $5,000 and drew a blank so he was WRONG.

Interruptions at work make you constantly do this, the more technical name for switching between computer windows. show

WHAT IS TOGGLE?

Jason finished in the lead with a runaway $16,800. Adam was next with $6,667 and Nilla was in third place with $3,400.

Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHAT IS RUBIK’S CUBE?

Hungarian architect Erno Rubik invented the toy that the world knows as “Rubik’s Cube” in 1974 as a tool to help explain three-dimensional geometry. The Final Jeopardy clue in the 4/27/17 game was about its original name “Buvos Kocka” (Magic Cube). It was not until 1980 that the toy was renamed and became a worldwide sensation. Rubik’s Cube came in at No. 14 on NowBlitz’s list of best-selling toys of all time.

Also interesting: Mathematics of the Rubik’s Cube on Ruwix, the twisty puzzle wiki.

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Nilla thought it was Play-Doh. She lost her $3,270 bet and finished with $130.

Adam went with “Lego.” That only cost him $134, landing him in second place with $6,533.

Jason got it right. He bet $2,000 and won the game with $18,800. His 15-day total is $418,343. Super duper! Tomorrow may be the day that he surpasses Julia Collins’ $428,100 winnings.

A triple stumper from each round:

BRITISH NICKNAMES ($2000) Lived in the 1400s: “The Father of English Printing”

WE INTERRUPT THIS PROCESS ($2000) In your home, GFCI stands for this circuit interrupter; it makes sure the electricity doesn’t go through you

2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “Comic Books”

Told to create a character called this, Len Wein learned the real animal is short, hairy & will attack an enemy 10 times its size. show

WHO IS WOLVERINE?

Click here to leave well wishes and prayers for Alex Trebek for continuing success in his battle against cancer. There’s also a link to where you can make a donation to pancreatic cancer research in his honor.