Tuesday, January 7, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Miriam Wu]

I'm hoping those incorrect FJ! responses were "I'm stuck so I'll name an Italian". Unless they think the Titanic passengers were helped by knowledge that the world is round so they weren't going to fall off?

Fermi was 11 years old when the Titanic sank, so I don't know how he could have helped.

As for Galileo, the thought process might have been that he could have invented some technique of celestial navigation which helped rescuers locate the ship.

[skullturf]

I can't fault people too much for writing "Galileo", because it's no worse than leaving it blank, and he at least *was* a famous Italian. Furthermore, there's at least a *chance* that it's the right response, however slim, maybe because of some indirect connection you didn't think of. As Miriam suggests, maybe something to do with planets or navigation or something.

[dhkendall]

And here I was thinking the captain of the Carpathia (that was the rescue ship, right?) was Italian and was wondering why on earth people were guessing these historical figures. (Well, I don't think Marconi was quite "historical" to the Titanic people, but he is now.)

[El Jefe]

Carolyn pronounced Gallaudet incorrectly, as though she'd seen it in print but never heard it pronounced.

Certainly not a bad educated guess if you hadn't heard the "t" pronounced before [gal-uh-day]. Although certainly the correct pronunciation of it as [gal-uh-det] is common, I am used to sometimes hearing it called[gall-uh-det] as well (apparently incorrectly).

Jeffrey

[TenPoundHammer]

I was disappointed that they didn't have my favorite named poker hand, because it would work perfectly in the context of Jeopardy:

Answer: A Flat Tire

Question:

Spoiler

"What's a jack four?"

"What's an aquifer?" "It's fer aqua."

(Rango fanboy.)

[Miriam Wu]

explain Andrew's wager: was he playing for the tie, seeing as how Mary made a crafty wager last night, and hoping she'd stay pat at $12,800?

Scores were Mary 12800 ; Andrew 12400 ; Carolyn 6400.
Carolyn and Andrew could both expect Mary to wager 12001 to shut out Andrew. Thus they might expect Mary to finish at 799 if wrong. Andrew, therefore, probably thought Carolyn might bet 5600 so as to beat Mary on a triple stumper. But if Carolyn bets 5600 and is correct, she would have 12000. Therefore Andrew doesn't want to finish below 12000, so he decides to bet 400 rather than 401.

Alternatively, Andrew might have noticed that Carolyn had exactly half Mary's score, and he thought Carolyn might wager everything while Mary wagered nothing, so he chose to bet 400 because he thought a three-way-tie would be cooler than beating both opponents by a dollar.

But I can't explain Andrew's daily double wager, where he bet to tie Mary.

[teapot37]

Aargh, broke my FJ streak. I was trying to think of an Italian scientist who had a buoyancy law named after him or something. I couldn't think of anybody fitting that description, so I said Bernoulli, who sounds vaguely Italian (although he was Swiss).

[El Jefe]

Fermi was 11 years old when the Titanic sank, so I don't know how he could have helped.

Well, 10 1/2 (close enough?) and nuclear physics doesn't have that much application to recreational cruiseliners (especially in the 1910s). Yeah when the first contestant had G-something crossed out I almost thought they were trying to write Guglielmo (but why would you?) and then was shocked to see Galileo.

Jeffrey

[El Jefe]

An very interesting page of relevance to today's Final Jeopardy (if you like antiquated telecommunications history, that is). I only knew the answer because I had read this some months ago.

http://www.hf.ro

Thanks for the link! It buttresses the point that regardless of who "really" invented the radio, it most certainly was a Marconi room, device, and operators in the ship (not to mention that it's a quote and doesn't have to bear historical scrutiny regarding the accuracy of representations made).

Jeffrey

[MarkBarrett]

Woolworth = 5 + 10 being a TS was bizarre.

I got it correct because my great-grandmother Rose told me she worked at a Woolworth store in the 1940s - and she called it a "5 and 10."

I got it because I shopped in the one within walking distance many times.

*******
Yes, I can poll the requested movie.

***********

I get the players not knowing Henny Youngman and not solving maelstrom. No one knows Asgard? Okay, none of these three will be playing by Friday.

Nice job by the players in Lord of the Rinks to do well and play it out. Lady Byng made me laugh as I used to get teased by teammates, "There goes your Lady Byng" on the rare time I committed a penalty in hockey games.

The Titanic had me writing a bunch of precalls during the break, though not all of them correct:

Carpathia
Californian (I was thinking it was the California)
Mail (from RMS, but thinking royal mail service instead of ship)
Captain Smith
Astor
Belfast
Southampton (I was wrong in thinking it was South Hampton)
Newfoundland (I was wrong in thinking it was Nova Scotia)
White Star
Nearer My God To Thee
Taft out as Pres because of earlier clue

I tried to think of Ismay, but blanked on his name. I thought of Marconi and whether it was SOS or the other one I could not recall (CQD), but didn't write it.

Sometimes I disagree with posters when they are surprised about a FJ! clue going 0/3. No one getting Marconi? Now that is a surprise.

It worked out for Andrew covering Carolyn's potential double-up and a "possible?" zero by Mary. Getting Uruguay saved the day for him.

[opusthepenguin]

I noticed Mary's $400 overwager. That's evidence that she may not be as savvy as her wager the previous game may have suggested.

It was definitely unsatisfying in terms of the discussion over yesterday's game. I expected her to bet $0, which would have lost to a get by Andrew but left her sitting pretty otherwise. But I knew that a shutout bet was perfectly good strategy too and probably what I would have used in her situation.

I'm curious why you tag her with a $400 over-wager rather than $399. I might be missing some subtlety. Should she have made the shutout bet to tie rather than win? Realistically, what extra risk did she expose herself to with a bet of $12400 rather than $12000 or $12001?

[bomtr]

What a weird end game; last man falling wins. Lucky for Andrew he chose to make a dumb guess on the last clue when he was assured the lead into FJ if he just stood there. Last man falling. Anybody notice consecutive responses were 'who is low?' and 'who is lowe?' Chicharrones was wrong for the carnitas clue, but it was right a couple clues earlier for the fried pig skin. And it's a fun word to say if you say it right.

[Plactus]

I can't fault people too much for writing "Galileo", because it's no worse than leaving it blank, and he at least *was* a famous Italian. Furthermore, there's at least a *chance* that it's the right response, however slim, maybe because of some indirect connection you didn't think of.

I had Leonardo da Vinci for more or less that exact reason. Marconi never came to mind; the only reason I even recognized the name when Alex said it was the last FJ! I whiffed on because I had no idea who he was.

[econgator]

What a weird end game; last man falling wins. Lucky for Andrew he chose to make a dumb guess on the last clue when he was assured the lead into FJ if he just stood there. Last man falling. Anybody notice consecutive responses were 'who is low?' and 'who is lowe?' Chicharrones was wrong for the carnitas clue, but it was right a couple clues earlier for the fried pig skin. And it's a fun word to say if you say it right.

And three clue concerned Bacon.

No clue on FJ. I just jokingly guessed Leonardo DiCaprio to say something.

[Golf]

I noticed Mary's $400 overwager. That's evidence that she may not be as savvy as her wager the previous game may have suggested.

It was definitely unsatisfying in terms of the discussion over yesterday's game. I expected her to bet $0, which would have lost to a get by Andrew but left her sitting pretty otherwise.

I've never rooted so hard for a non-lock FJ!

Hell, after returning home from a night of trivia the first thing I did was watch this episode to see the wagering. Only then did I examine tonight's online test recap!

[opusthepenguin]

I noticed Mary's $400 overwager. That's evidence that she may not be as savvy as her wager the previous game may have suggested.

It was definitely unsatisfying in terms of the discussion over yesterday's game. I expected her to bet $0, which would have lost to a get by Andrew but left her sitting pretty otherwise.

I've never rooted so hard for a non-lock FJ!

Hell, after returning home from a night of trivia the first thing I did was watch this episode to see the wagering. Only then did I examine tonight's online test recap!

You definitely could have used some clear vindication after the drubbing over yesterday's game! Too bad today's game didn't settle the question at all. I was curious too.

[Vermonter]

I noticed Mary's $400 overwager. That's evidence that she may not be as savvy as her wager the previous game may have suggested.

It was definitely unsatisfying in terms of the discussion over yesterday's game. I expected her to bet $0, which would have lost to a get by Andrew but left her sitting pretty otherwise. But I knew that a shutout bet was perfectly good strategy too and probably what I would have used in her situation.

I'm curious why you tag her with a $400 over-wager rather than $399. I might be missing some subtlety. Should she have made the shutout bet to tie rather than win? Realistically, what extra risk did she expose herself to with a bet of $12400 rather than $12000 or $12001?

A zero wager would have tied a get by Andrew, and was not out of the realm of possibility.

I just put up a video. This is an obscure wager-to-tie situation, but one that can be deduced through the usual calculations.

Carolyn should have wagered $5,600, meaning the $12,000 bet would have put them in a tie had they both gotten it wrong. Andrew might have wagered everything - it's not an irrational wager, either.

[Lefty]

I can't fault people too much for writing "Galileo", because it's no worse than leaving it blank, and he at least *was* a famous Italian.

Would you fault me for saying "Schettino"?

[Kid Charlemagne]

I noticed Mary's $400 overwager. That's evidence that she may not be as savvy as her wager the previous game may have suggested.

It was definitely unsatisfying in terms of the discussion over yesterday's game. I expected her to bet $0, which would have lost to a get by Andrew but left her sitting pretty otherwise. But I knew that a shutout bet was perfectly good strategy too and probably what I would have used in her situation.

I'm curious why you tag her with a $400 over-wager rather than $399. I might be missing some subtlety. Should she have made the shutout bet to tie rather than win? Realistically, what extra risk did she expose herself to with a bet of $12400 rather than $12000 or $12001?

Realistically speaking, not much. In that situation you can guarantee the win if you hit FJ regardless of what other players do, or you can guarantee a win on a Triple Stumper - but you can't do both. The usual thing for the person in second to do has become to assume the leader is locking you out and bet low to assure a win on a TS.

But betting $400 more than a lockout still makes zero sense from the lead. (Yeah, Carlos Ross got away with it once. That doesn't make it a good idea, and in any event Mary is not Carlos Ross.)

What I can say in her defense is that "Titanic" is not quite the "stumper bait" as a category that "Broadway Actresses" is. (Notwithstanding that tonight's FJ was a triple stumper while last night's was not.)

Meanwhile, Andrew played for the tie at both ends (with Carolyn if they both hit and she goes all-in and doubles her score, with Mary if he hits and Mary bets nothing) but ended up with a win.

[Vermonter]

But betting $400 more than a lockout still makes zero sense from the lead. (Yeah, Carlos Ross got away with it once. That doesn't make it a good idea, and in any event Mary is not Carlos Ross.)

Agreed - the best way to win more money is to come back the next day, not to try to tack on a few extra bucks on this show at a non-zero risk of costing yourself the game.