Master Minds Recap: December 29, 2020

Here’s a recap of the clues on Master Minds for Tuesday, December 29, 2020 with host Brooke Burns.

Today’s episode title: “Trivia, Smarts & Hot Air Balloons”
Today’s Master Minds: Ken Jennings, Muffy Marracco, Jonathan Corbblah
Today’s challengers: Jon, Meagan, David

The show’s format pits 3 contestants against each other and 3 Master Minds against each other. There are 3 rounds and the contestant with the highest score wins $1,000 and faces off in the Ultimate Trivia Challenge against the winning Master Mind. If the contestant beats the Master Mind, the prize money goes up to $10,000.

Round 1: Here are the 7 categories and questions. 100 points for each correct answer.

(1) WEATHER: The Santa Ana Winds originate in the Great Basin region surrounding Nevada and blow west into which of these states?
(a) California (b) Washington (c) Utah
(2) HOME ELECTRONICS: Launched in 1976 by JVC, the VHS videotape format was preceded one year earlier by which format from Sony?
(a) HI8 (b) Betamax (c) MiniDV
(3) FLIGHT: During a hot air balloon ride in 1858, what occurred for the first time?
(a) parachute jump performed (b) aerial photo taken (c) rain cloud seeded
(4) FAMOUS ATHLETES: A world record holder in her sport, Patty Berg was the first president of what professional women’s sports organization?
(a) WTA (b) LPGA (c) WNBA
(5) WHICH CAME FIRST: Which sweet treat came first — shake, razzles or roll?
(a) Malted milkshake (b) Razzles candy (c) Tootsie Roll
(6) WHITE HOUSE PETS: What type of animal was introduced to America as a gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes?
(a) toucan (b) Siamese cat (c) Shetland pony
(7) GEOGRAPHY: Which Japanese island is the largest in total land area?
(a) Honshu (b) Kyushu (c) Shikoku

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 1:
Jon 600 Meagan 400 David 600 / Ken 600 Muffy 600 Jonathan 400

Round 2: There are 5 subjects and questions. No multiple choice. Only the first player on each team to buzz in gets to answer. Correct answers are worth 200 points for the first 4. The last question is worth 400 points. Wrong answers are penalized by the value of the question. At the end of the round, the person with the lowest score on each team is eliminated.

(1) IN THE GARDEN: Grafting together two members of the nightshade family, the “Ketchup ‘N’ Fries” plant yields what two vegetables?
(2) METROPOLITAN: What U.S. city is home to 41 buildings with their own zip codes, including the Woolworth Building at 10279?
(3) MUSIC: What often-humorous genre of Caribbean music shares its name with a goddess who imprisoned Odysseus?
(4) NOISE: The relative intensity of sound is expressed by which unit of measurement?
(5) EARLY JOBS: Before she assumed office, what European statesperson worked for many years as a chemist?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 2:
Jon 0 Meagan 600 David 600 / Ken 800 Muffy 1200 Jonathan 800

MASTER MINDS TIEBREAKER:
Known for its enormous octagonal dome on its east end, Florence’s Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is nicknamed what?

ANSWER show

Ken buzzed in first with the correct response, so Jon and Jonathan were eliminated.

Round 3: Each team faces off in a rapid-fire 1-minute trivia battle. The first question is worth 500 points and each additional question goes up an additional 100 points. The winners go on to the last round.

Meagan and David go first:

(500) What famous land deal acquired territory in 15 U.S. states?
(600) Once made from a type of mercury, what cosmetic shares its name with the French word for “red”?
(700) What common type of digital symbol is a combination of the Japanese words for “picture” and “character”?
(800) According to the title of the novel, young Mary finds what hidden location growing wild on the grounds of Misselthwaite Manor?
(900) Rooks in a rookery are actually a European variety of which bird?
(1000) Which current Editor-in-Chief at Vogue is known for her bobbed hair and bold leadership style?
(1100) Initially called “missing matter”, what invisible substance is thought to compose about 27% of the universe?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 3:
Meagan 3300 David 1700

Meagan wins $1,000 and advances to the Ultimate Trivia Challenge. But first, Ken and Muffy will battle it out for a minute to see who joins Meagan.

(500) Also a word meaning a very small amount, what is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet?
(600) Usually filled with cold cuts, cheese and olive salad, the muffuletta sandwich is the proud invention of what U.S. city?
(700) What portable personal cassette player did Sony originally call the “Soundabout”?
(800) George Washington Carver’s interest in peanuts involved their ability to replenish the soil with what element?
(900) Awarded for excellence on the internet, what trophy resembles a spring with ones and zeroes etched on it?
(1000) What ceremonial firing of fifty guns is done at noon every July Fourth in the US?
(1100) Named for the rules of the sport, what type of single- seat open cockpit cars are featured in the Monaco Grand Prix?
(1200) What British author wrote “Brighton Rock” and “Gun for Sale?”

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Ken finished with 5100 to Muffy’s 2700 so Ken will join Meagan in the Ultimate Trivia Challenge. If Meagan beats Ken, she will return on the next show. Any player who makes it through 3 shows and wins $30,000, gets to join the Master Minds expert team.

Ultimate Trivia Challenge: The questions are presented to the players at the same time and they write their answers down.

(1) What leaf of the laurel tree is used to flavor soups and stews during cooking, but usually removed before eating?
(2) In a standard deck of 52 playing cards, a total of how many are typically identified by letters instead of numbers?
(3) “From hell’s heart, I stab at thee!” were among the final words of what literary character?
(4) If you fly to Hungary, you can scuba dive in the caves under what capital city?
(5) What 3-letter word is found spelled out in the last names of eight U.S. Presidents?

ANSWERS: (unless otherwise indicated, both were correct)
show

Meagan got 3 right to Ken’s 5. Meagan is going home with $1,000 and there will be 3 new players tomorrow.

Master Minds airs daily on Game Show Network. Check your local listings for times. (Here in the Central Time Zone it comes on at 3:00 p.m.)

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