Master Minds Recap: May 25, 2020

Here’s a recap of the clues on Master Minds for Monday, May 25, 2020 with host Brooke Burns.

Today’s episode title: “Trivia, Smarts & American Heroes”
Today’s Master Minds: Ken Jennings, Muffy Marracco, Jonathan Corbblah
Today’s challengers: Joshua, Robert, Alex

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) AMERICA: Both the highest and lowest point in the contiguous U.S. are found in what state?
(a) California (b) Washington (c) Colorado
(2) COLORS: Though technically green, the Japanese say what color means ‘go’ on their traffic lights?
(a) purple (b) white (c) blue
(3) REPTILES: Many non-venomous snakes such as the gopher snake do what when threatened?
(a) spit (b) shake their tail (c) show their fangs
(4) SPORTS: In Olympic figure skating, which jump carries the highest base point value?
(a) a salchow (b) a lutz (c) an axel
(5) NATIVE AMERICANS: Born Amonute, she was better known as Pocahontas, a nickname that roughly translates as what?
(a) shy one (b) playful one (c) stubborn one
(6) CURRENCY: What motto appeared on the first official U.S. coin?
(a) trust in God (b) spend wisely (c) mind your business
(7) OPERA: Which of these characters is a jester to the Duke?
(a) Figaro (b) Fidelio (c) Rigoletto

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 1:
Joshua 500 Robert 500 Alex 400 / Ken 400 Muffy 400 Jonathan 500

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) UNIFORMS: What type of fastener was removed from U.S. Army uniforms in 2010 because it was too loud?
(2) PRISON: A memoir subtitled “Growing up on the Rock” details the life of kids growing up on which prison island?
(3) NUMBERS: If all the whole numbers were spelled out and arranged alphabetically, which number comes first?
(4) RELIGION: Buddhist monk Mikao Usui popularized what form of energy healing in the 1900s?
(5) INDUSTRY: In 1901, what became the first American corporation value at over one billion dollars?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 2:
Joshua 500 Robert 300 Alex 1000 / Ken 600 Muffy 400 Jonathan 300

Robert and Jonathan are 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.

Joshua and Alex go first:

(500) Which tiny European nation has the world’s smallest population?
(600) Exposure to sunlight helps cholesterol in the skin produce what vitamin for the human body?
(700) What Greek courtier sat beneath a dangling sword to illustrate the perilous nature of power?
(800) Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in the U.S. to receive a degree in what field?
(900) Literally meaning ‘fit’, what term refers to foods that meet the dietary restrictions of Jewish law?
(1000) What longest running Gilbert and Sullivan work is a satire of bureaucracy told in a Japanese setting?
(1100) Fabergé eggs were originally created to be given as gifts on which holiday?
didn’t count:
(1200) The ‘genius grant’ is a nickname for what annual $625,000 no-strings-attached award?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 3:
Joshua 3000 Alex 3000

Tie-breaker: S.E. Hinton is credited with launching the “Young Adult” genre with which debut novel
ANSWER: show

Alex rang in but could not get an answer out in time so Joshua 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 Joshua.

(500) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for creating which fictional detective?
(600) Any group of things referred to as ‘abecedarian’ has been arranged in what order?
(700) Though Everest is taller from sea level, what country’s Mount Chimborazo is closest to outer space?
(800) An ascot is traditionally worn around which body part?
(900) With its swinging steel balls, the Newton’s cradle toy demonstrates both the conservation of energy and what?
(1000) The ‘Holy Trinity” in Cajun cooking refers to a base of onions, bell peppers and what third vegetable?
(1100) The nickname of what U.S. state originally referred to tar-heeled Naval supply workers?
(1200) Muscle building exercises done without moving the associated body parts are known by what term?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Ken finished with 4500 to Muffy’s 2100 so Ken will join Joshua in the Ultimate Trivia Challenge. If Joshua beats Ken, he 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 individually and they say their answers out loud.

(1) What African river is the world’s deepest?
(2) In 1970, Gaylord Nelson created which annual event to raise awareness of environmental issues?
(3) Who was the first president restricted by the 22nd Amendment?
(4) In 1889, social activist Jane Addam opened what settlement house in Chicago?
(5) In golf, the name of what large bird of the Andes is given for scoring a hole in one on a par 5 hole?

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

Joshua got 3 right to Ken’s 5. Joshua 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.)

See the pool of trivia experts participating in Master Minds