Master Minds Recap: August 30, 2023

Here’s a recap of the clues on Master Minds (Season 4) for Wednesday, August 30, 2023 with host Brooke Burns.

Today’s episode title: “Trivia, Smarts & Scratch & Sniff”
Today’s Master Minds: Mark “The Beast” Labbett, Monica Thieu, Brendan Sargent (became a Master Mind on 8/23/23)
Today’s challengers: Scott, Erin, Mikey

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) MOVIES: In “The Wizard of Oz”, what character seen all through the film earned $75 more per week than the Munchkins?
(a) Flying Monkey (b) Winkie Guard (c) Toto
(2) ASTROLOGY: According to Reader’s Digest, the fewest people are born in January and February, making what the rarest sign of the Zodiac?
(a) Aquarius (b) Taurus (c) Libra
(3) ART: A theory gaining traction among scholars proposes that Michelangelo secretly painted himself as God in what fresco work?
(a) The Last Supper (b) The Creation of Adam (c) The Raising of Lazarus
(4) SHOPPING: At over 22,000 square feet, Saks Fifth Avenue’s New York flagship has a women’s shoe floor so big that it has its own what?
(a) zip code (b) police department (c) urgent care
(5) GEOLOGY: According to legend, the gemstone known as alexandrite was named for whom?
(a) Alexander the Great (b) a Pope (c) a Russian czar
(6) ENTERTAINMENT: What video game series featuring the exploits of a plumber has a sidekick whose real names is. T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas?
(a) Legend of Zelda (b) Super Mario Bros. (c) Sonic the Hedgehog
(7) MONEY: Although bank officials insist it’s not true, many Canadians believe their money smells like what?
(a) maple syrup (b) spruce needles (c) moose spray

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 1:
Scott 700 Erin 400 Mikey 500 / Beastie 500 Monica 700 Brendan 400

Round 2: There are 5 subjects and questions. No multiple choice. Correct answers are worth 200 points for the first 4. The last question is worth 400 points. At the end of the round, the person with the lowest score on each team is eliminated.

(1) LANGUAGE: Coined by Thomas More in 1516, what term for an imaginary, perfect world is derived from the Greek for “no place”?
(2) SPORTS: The name for what gymnastics apparatus also refers to the protruding front of a saddle??
(3) EVENTS: What annual star-studded fundraising benefit in New York City is referred to as “Fashion’s Biggest Night Out”?
(4) NATIONAL PARKS: Covering 275 square miles of desert, the world’s largest gypsum dune field is found in what New Mexico National Park?
(5) ENVIRONMENT: Adopted in 1997 by over 150 nations, what international treaty aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 2:
Scott 1300 Erin 1000 Mikey 900 / Beastie 1300 Monica 1700 Brendan 1200

Mikey and Brendan are eliminated.

Scott and Erin advance to the next round, as do Beastie and Monica.

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.

Scott and Erin go first:

(500) After a 104-yr run, what monocled snack mascot was killed off in 2020, only to be resurrected a month later?
(600) The ancient city of Rome was built on how many hills?
(700) What location was mentioned in the original title of the poem written by Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814?
(800) What Disney+ series follows the adventures of a teen Muslim superhero named Kamala Khan?
(900) What heavy-duty, colorful tableware did the Homer Laughlin China Company start producing in 1936?
(1000) Which of the planets considered to be a “gas giant” is closest to the Sun?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Scores at end of Round 3:
Scott 1300 Erin 1600

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

(500) In literature, Jules Verne’s “Around the World in Eighty Days” begins and ends in what city?
(600) “Grits” are made from what dried vegetable?
(700) A demon king from mythology inspired the character of Pazuzu in what classic ’70s horror film?
(800) Selling his 10% stake in the business for a mere $800 in 1976, who was the third co-founder of Apple?
(900) Allowing speakeasies to flourish along the Chesapeake, what was the only state that refused to enforce prohibition?
(1000) With a name meaning “lord of the people”, what Hindu deity is depicted as having the head of an elephant?
(1100) After being insulted by Enzo Ferrari, an Italian tractor manufacturer started what luxury sports car company?
(1200) What South Carolina native became a popular Paris nightclub singer before recording her timeless 1953 hit “Santa Baby”?

CORRECT ANSWERS show

Monica finished with 5100 to Beastie’s 3900 so Monica will join Erin in the Ultimate Trivia Challenge. If Erin beats Monica, she will win $10,000 and return on the next show. Any player who makes it through 2 shows and wins $20,000, 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 Strauss waltz is considered Austria’s unoffical national anthem?
(2) Which of Dr. Seuss’s books ranks highest on the New York Library’s all-time most borrowed list?
(3) Since 2010, what oil company was the only corporation to top the Fortune 500 other than Walmart?
(4) In 1775, what American statesman became the first Postmaster General of the United States?

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

Monica got 3 right to one for Erin. Erin is going home with $1,000 and we will see 3 new challengers tomorrow.

FYI: If you see someone on Master Minds that you think was on Jeopardy!, you can look up their player page on J-Archive. JBoard keeps track of Jeopardy! contestants’ appearances on their Master Minds thread. Also, IMDB has a list of many contestants that includes their last name.

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