Master Minds Recap: June 24, 2020

Here’s a recap of the clues on Master Minds for Wednesday, June 24, 2020 with host Brooke Burns.

Today’s episode title: “Trivia, Smarts & The Big Apple”
Today’s Master Minds: Ryan Chaffee, Muffy Marracco, Jonathan Corbblah
Today’s challengers: Niño, Leszek, Shawn

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) EDUCATION: In 2005, the maximum SAT score temporarily rose from 1600 to 2400 with the addition of what new test section?
(a) essay (b) history (c) science
(2) MINERALS: Which of these minerals ranks highest on the Mohs scale of hardness?
(a) gold (b) copper (c) topaz
(3) ETIQUETTE: Emily Post says you are not obligated to tip which person for basic services rendered?
(a) takeout cashier (b) parking valet (c) restroom attendant
(4) ORCHESTRAS: In a typical symphony orchestra, which section of instruments and players sits closest to the conductor?
(a) strings (b) brass (c) percussion
(5) FUEL: Winter blend gasoline differs from summer blend in what way?
(a) it decreases emissions (b) it yields better mileage (c) it costs less
(6) NICKNAMES: New York City got its name ‘The Big Apple’ from a sportswriter’s column about what type of competition?
(a) horse racing (b) basketball (c) baking
(7) BOOKS: Whose words did John Steinbeck use as the title of his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel?
(a) Emma Lazarus (b) Harriet Beecher Stowe (c) Julia Ward Howe

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 1:
Niño 300 Leszek 600 Shawn 500 / Ryan 600 Muffy 700 Jonathan 600

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) FOOD: Though he probably never ate it, what sticky-sweet fried chicken dish is named for a Chinese military commander?
(2) GEOGRAPHY: Originally called “Cape of Storms”, what South African peninsula was explored by Bartolomeu Dias in 1488?
(3) DUOS: How many pairs of U.S. Presidents have had the same last name?
(4) CONDITIONS: Occurring when you feel cold, what is the more common name for piloerection?
(5) AFRICA: The World Wildlife Fund’s list of ‘Big 5’ safari animals includes the lion and what other cat?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 2:
Niño -100 Leszek 1000 Shawn 500 / Ryan 1200 Muffy 100 Jonathan 600

Niño and Muffy 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.

Leszek and Shawn go first:

(500) Since 1989, a Swedish resort is rebuilt annually using what from the frozen Torne River?
(600) ‘Involuntary musical imagery’ caused when a song gets stuck in your head is better known by what bug-like term?
(700) What southwestern city is the biggest U.S. state capital by population?
(800) Bette Davis and columnist Sidney Skolsky have both been credited with giving what award its nickname?
(900) In radio, A.M. stands for ‘amplitude modulation’, and F.M. stands for what?
(1000) In the Samuel Beckett play, Vladimir and Estragon are waiting for what title character?
(1100) Individuals who guided freedom seekers between safe houses on the underground railroad were called what?
(1200) The soma, axon and dendrites all make up what cellular unit of human anatomy?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 3:
Leszek 4600 Shawn 3100

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

(500) What treat is the state dessert of Massachusetts?
(600) “The Deep End of the Ocean” by Jacquelyn Mitchard was the first selection of whose famous book club?
(700) What famous Gustav Klimt painting was bought in his native Austria in 1908 before it was even finished?
(800) The source of its elemental symbol, ‘plumbum’ is Latin for what metal?
(900) What clownish stock character in Italian commedia dell-arte is credited as being the first to wield a slapstick?
(1000) Vaslav Nijinksy was a member of which Paris ballet company founded by Serge Diaghilev in 1909?
(1100) What nickname for the U.S. State Department comes from the name of the neighborhood in which it is located?
didn’t count
(1200) Which surgeon implanted the first Jarvik-7 total artificial heart into Barney Clark?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Ryan finished with 4100 to Jonathan’s 1400 so Ryan will join Leszek in the Ultimate Trivia Challenge. If Leszek beats Ryan, 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) One of the oldest surviving works of French literature, “The Song of Roland” depicts what king’s military defeat?
(2) Portuguese travelers introduced fritter-style cooking to Japan in the 16th century, resulting in what popular dish?
(3) What body of water is bordered by exactly five continental U.S. states?
(4) “Guaranteed to keep you dry” is the trademark of what fabric whose namesake is in the Plastics Hall of Fame?
(5) When burning wood, what color flame has the lowest temperature?

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

Leszek and Ryan were tied at 3 right apiece so Leszek got to play the Ultimate Trivia Question. He does not have to beat Ryan on this one. He just has to get it right.

For $10,000: ULTIMATE TRIVIA QUESTION: What household appliance is displayed in a protective case at Nike’s World Headquarters in Oregon

ANSWER: show

Leszek got it right. He wins $10,000 and he will be back tomorrow to try for a second win. Regular Jeopardy! viewers will be sure to remember Leszek, who was last seen in the 2014 Battle of the Decades. Even though Leszek had the misfortune to go up against Roger Craig in his quarter-final, he still made it to the semi-finals, only to have to compete against Brad Rutter. If anyone can make it to the 3-game finish line and get on the Master Mind team, I’d put my money on Leszek!!

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