Monday, November 17, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Ceruleanveritas]

Does Julia really have no current job other than "20 time Jeopardy! champion"? Weird.

Why did they call mocha a candy made with milk and hot chocolate? I thought a mocha was a type of coffee made with espresso and chocolate, and I can't find any reference to mocha in candy form.

Can't say I recognize Eritrea as even being a country.

I thought Rhyme Three Times was fun. Mock rock clock was my only miss because I got tripped up on trying to think of another word for fake. Might've gotten it if I'd attacked it from the other end. Earl Grey (my mom's favorite tea) and Laredo were my only other gets.

No guess on FJ! If you don't know anything about Spanish history and are terrible at calculating distance, it could be nearly anything.

I don't know if Julia does or does not have a job, but she did win over $400K on the show last season didn't she? And I remember Alex telling her that she might not want to get a job right away, as she would be in a very high tax bracket. She's probably kept busy preparing for the TOC. The fact that she won 20 games is her Jeopardy! "calling card" so to speak, and I think they say it because it's a great achievement, something noteworthy and impressive to fans of the show.

She may be the most "popular" contestant of the season because of it.

Personally, while I like Julia Collins and also Ken Jennings, a lot, I don't really like seeing someone winning so many consecutive games. I don't know why, probably because they're too good and it gets kind of boring. But I suppose I like it better than the old rules of win 5 games and leave with a car, or a couple of Cameros like Brad Rutter did way back in the day. OMGosh, I feel old. Where have the years gone? Measuring life and the passage of time through library book renewals and Jeopardy seasons. LoL


I knew the DD was Mocha, but also have never heard reference made to it in candy form. I didn't over-complicate it though, to me, coffee + chocolate = mocha.
I was telling Jared not to wager so much, but obviously he couldn't hear me.

In my locale, last years/seasons Jeopardy! games are re-run before the "new" current shows are broadcast(ie. there's two shows aired back to back the second being current). Jared Hall's run of wins just came to an end last Friday and it was interesting how in the interview with Alex he was talking about his girlfriend giving him wagering "tips" which seeming led to his wagering more on daily doubles. It cost him in that game as he didn't win, but it may have cost him even more today when he lost a bundle on a bunch of DDs. I implored him to be more cautious, the clues were obviously difficult. I don't know what it says about me, but I got the answers wrong just like he did, I specifically remember answering "Night" knowing it was wrong, to one of the DDs.

From what I've read, it seems a lot of people had an easy time on the Rhyme Three Times category, I have to admit that I had a difficult and frustrating time and didn't get any. I was always able to put two rhymes together but could never get the third.

Finally, regarding FJ, I have to say, I read the clue three times and still did not understand the question.

I agree with what someone said up above, if they simply asked which world capital was furthest from Madrid I would have had a chance. I probably would have got it wrong, but at least I would have had a decent guess.

I didn't know Wellington, New Zealand was antipodal to Madrid, but I do know it is the southern most capital city in the world.

Finally, I do also know that Asmara is the capital of Eritrea, which I believe is in Africa, the northeast coast, but I don't think that was the question.

Anyway, it was a good and challenging match, and I wish Julia luck in the Finals.

[Robert K S]

I don't know if Julia does or does not have a job

In various media profiles she's talked about how she's on the job search, but not too intensely until after the ToC. Spending the time to relax and study--a month in Paris, a week in London--rather than to stress up and get bogged down will have paid off. Assuming she has a 1/3rd chance of getting any particular prize in the finals, her choice has an expected payoff of $133,333. And one can argue that she has a better than even chance at taking $100,000 or $250,000. That's more than most people make in a year.

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/11/ ... -test-yet/
http://www.kiplinger.com/article/spendi ... d-her.html

[Bamaman]

If you win $181,000, you can buy your own damn donuts.

[BobF]

Good thing Manila didn't come to my mind.

My thought process: Canberra sounds kind of Spanish. Wellington seems like at least as good an answer as it's further away. What about Santiago? Did some mental estimation of the distance and decided to stick with Wellington.

[Ceruleanveritas]

Thanks for that info.

If Julia wins $100K or more she'll have earned well over half a million for the year, more than most make in a decade.

London and Paris, hmmm... I wonder why there, I'd guess they're pretty expensive places to visit, but if she's got the money...

You gave some good numbers, maybe you could answer me this.

What are a contestant's chances of actually winning a game and becoming a Jeopardy! Champion?

Or should I ask what are the odds of losing as a Jeopardy contestant?

The way I see it, if there are three contestants with only one winning the game(the vast majority of the time, ties very seldom occur) then two must lose, making the chances of losing 2/3. The winner returns and two new contestants will challenge him/her the following day. If the champion wins again, then a total of five contestants would have appeared on the show over two days and only one person won. So at this point, the odds of a contestant losing is 4/5. On day three, two new contestants will appear to challenge the now 2-time champion. Let's say the champion wins again, making it three straight, at this point, seven players, including the champion have appeared and only one(the three time champion) has won. So this means 6/7 people have lost.

We can see a trend that the more consecutive times the champion wins, the greater the number and ratio of contestants would be that have lost.

Am I correct so far?

I'm not a statistician or mathematician so could certainly be wrong, am guessing I probably am which is why I'm asking the question.

I guess some entity may keep statistics on this, but how many games on average does a Jeopardy Champion win?

I just going to haphazardly guess based on watching the show that most champions win let's say no more than three or four games, but the majority probably only one or two.

I suppose you'd have to take a weighted average to get an exact answer, but can I say that at least two out of three people who appear on Jeopardy will not win a single game? And because of repeat champions, that number is actually slightly higher?

If it goes from 2/3 to 4/5 to 6/7, or 66.6%, 80% and 85.7% in just three days, quite a jump, especially from 2/3 to 4/5, then the number of those who don't win will be significantly higher than 2/3 or 66.6% ?

If I mentally interpolate, deduce and extrapolate based on my above reasoning, could one fairly say that it's likely that close to 3/4 or 75% of all the people who go on Jeopardy will never win a single game?

Quite a daunting statistic if it's even close to true.

I guess I'd better rethink my making a career out of being a Jeopardy! contestant.

I don't know if Julia does or does not have a job

In various media profiles she's talked about how she's on the job search, but not too intensely until after the ToC. Spending the time to relax and study--a month in Paris, a week in London--rather than to stress up and get bogged down will have paid off. Assuming she has a 1/3rd chance of getting any particular prize in the finals, her choice has an expected payoff of $133,333. And one can argue that she has a better than even chance at taking $100,000 or $250,000. That's more than most people make in a year.

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/11/ ... -test-yet/
http://www.kiplinger.com/article/spendi ... d-her.html

[Ceruleanveritas]

If you win $181,000, you can buy your own damn donuts.

Yeah, of course he/they can, but celebrities get special treatment, ie. free stuff, even when they don't need it.

But this is nothing. I'm no expert, don't live in L.A. but I've heard that celebrities get gift bags when they go to award shows.

Free stuff for the wealthy, giving more stuff to those who already have everything, what a world we live in, and the fantasy world of celebrities. Unbelievable!

[Silverfox]

Wow. That was an exciting game for me to watch. Well don Julia!
I think the Mae West clue was difficult for them since they all are young. I got it instantly. I guess getting older has some advantages!
FJ was hard for me, not enough time for me to work it out, so no response.

[Robert K S]

Free stuff for the wealthy, giving more stuff to those who already have everything, what a world we live in

I think this phenomenon predates modern celebrity culture; see Matthew 25:29.

[John Boy]

Regardless of what you do or do not know, it can only be about 1 of half-a-dozen things tops.

If you don't know how far 12,330 miles is, then how could it be only one of half-a-dozen things tops? Santiago could be 12,000 miles away from Madrid for all I know. Washington, DC could be that far away for all I know.

Seriously? Eastern Seaboard U.S. cities are roughly 3,000 to 4,000 miles to various Western European capitals. If you think they might be 5,000 that is a mistake that can be understood. But 10,000-12,000?? Seriously?

[opusthepenguin]

So I guess I'm the only one who never read Sophie's Choice and then compounded it by forgetting that Schindler's List was written years later?

Only three years later, in 1982. By an Australian. Other than that, it fits. I went with it too.

A quick glance at the archive says they've asked about the book three times. Once, they gave the author, Thomas Keneally, and asked for the "title German man". Once, they gave the author's nationality and the book title and asked for the author. And once, they gave the author's name and book title and asked for the nationality.

In each case, they have used the American version of the title, Schindler's List. Everybody else (plus or minus Canada, I'm not sure) knew the book as Schindler's Ark.

[John Boy]

Missed "grey eminence" because that's literally the first time I've ever heard that said in English - I've always heard it as "éminence grise", which wouldn't have fit the category.

Likewise. I found myself answering "What is eminence grise, or grey eminence" to make sure that if AT heard me he would count me correct.

Many congrats to Julia. She did indeed deserve the win after her very tough sole get.

In FJ I did indeed think first about the geography, going for a southern hemisphere nation close to the date line. I don't know why Wellington was the first thing that came to me, but it was. I tried to talk myself out of it, wondering if there were a military man named Canberra. When that didn't click I stuck with the one that proved to be right.

Wonder if we're going to see Julia and Arthur matched up in the finals......I hope I hope I hope I hope.

[zakharov]

Regardless of what you do or do not know, it can only be about 1 of half-a-dozen things tops.

If you don't know how far 12,330 miles is, then how could it be only one of half-a-dozen things tops? Santiago could be 12,000 miles away from Madrid for all I know. Washington, DC could be that far away for all I know.

Seriously? Eastern Seaboard U.S. cities are roughly 3,000 to 4,000 miles to various Western European capitals. If you think they might be 5,000 that is a mistake that can be understood. But 10,000-12,000?? Seriously?

for all I know

The problem isn't getting an answer wrong (it wasn't easy, I got it wrong too), the problem is insisting that it's patently ridiculous to expect you to visualize 12,000 miles. The quest of TPH to get answers right without knowing things continues.

[TenPoundHammer]

So anyone wanna explain to me why they called mocha a candy?

Mocha fudge, mocha truffles, mocha chocolate bars...

I was thrown by this in the game too, as i think of mocha as a flavor of fudge, truffles, chocolate bars, lattes, etc., while they seemed to be looking for a specific candy.

That's what bothers me about this clue. Mocha, by itself, is not a candy. Saying it is would be akin to calling eggnog a candy because eggnog-flavored Nips exist.

[TheyCallMeMrKid]

Regardless of what you do or do not know, it can only be about 1 of half-a-dozen things tops.

If you don't know how far 12,330 miles is, then how could it be only one of half-a-dozen things tops? Santiago could be 12,000 miles away from Madrid for all I know. Washington, DC could be that far away for all I know.

Seriously? Eastern Seaboard U.S. cities are roughly 3,000 to 4,000 miles to various Western European capitals. If you think they might be 5,000 that is a mistake that can be understood. But 10,000-12,000?? Seriously?

for all I know

The problem isn't getting an answer wrong (it wasn't easy, I got it wrong too), the problem is insisting that it's patently ridiculous to expect you to visualize 12,000 miles. The quest of TPH to get answers right without knowing things continues.

I think that TPH is a bit prone to hyperbole, (obviously, it couldn't REALLY be ANYTHING)--makes me wonder if he actually enjoys goading people here into exasperation sometimes.


My guess was Santiago because:
I'm pretty weak in world geography. Realized the answer needed to be southern hemisphere, but didn't know how far around to go. Thought about Canberra, but that didn't sound like a likely name. Didn't know the capital of New Zealand. (I told you, weak.) Santiago was the best guess I could come up with, and sadly, was actually a little more certain than I am with most of my WAGs (Spanish name, Madrid, bingo!) Was Santiago the negbait answer?

[mrsal67]

I've long been fascinated with antipodes (for example this map), so FJ was an instaget. (I heard somewhere of a radio contest where someone made an "Earth sandwich" by a person in New Zealand and a person In Spain, at antipodal points, placing a slice of bread on the ground at the same time.).

Was surprised it wasn't more of a fight for Julia, but a lot of people seem to be happy with the results!

Not to attack you, but where in the question does it explicitly say that the capital has to be an antipode of Madrid? I know it can (and probably should) be inferred; but saying it is on the other side of the globe doesn't automatically mean that, does it? Aren't any islands near the international date line (northern or southern hemisphere) on the opposite side of the globe from England?

Maybe I am just being sensitive because I picked Manilla and I don't like getting made fun of because I picked a capital in the northern hemisphere.

[opusthepenguin]

Not to attack you, but where in the question does it explicitly say that the capital has to be an antipode of Madrid? I know it can (and probably should) be inferred; but saying it is on the other side of the globe doesn't automatically mean that, does it? Aren't any islands near the international date line (northern or southern hemisphere) on the opposite side of the globe from England?

Good questions. I assumed "other side of the globe" mean antipode, but I agree the phrase leaves more wiggle room. One reason I made the assumption, though, was that the distance was specified as 12,330 miles. I know the circumference of the earth is about 25,000 miles, so 12,330 is roughly halfway around.

I didn't think of Wellington or Canberra for some reason. I said Bogota and knew I was wrong. It's in the same hemisphere vertically AND horizontally.

[BobF]

Not to attack you, but where in the question does it explicitly say that the capital has to be an antipode of Madrid? I know it can (and probably should) be inferred; but saying it is on the other side of the globe doesn't automatically mean that, does it? Aren't any islands near the international date line (northern or southern hemisphere) on the opposite side of the globe from England?

Maybe I am just being sensitive because I picked Manilla and I don't like getting made fun of because I picked a capital in the northern hemisphere.

My two cents: It's not a bad guess (as I mentioned, I thought about it for a few seconds), but it is about 7,000 miles. So ignore the "attackers". Look at this google page with the map on it and you pretty much have to fly over Manila to get to either Canberra or Wellington.

https://www.google.com/#q=distance+from ... +to+manila

[El Jefe]

I've long been fascinated with antipodes (for example this map), so FJ was an instaget. (I heard somewhere of a radio contest where someone made an "Earth sandwich" by a person in New Zealand and a person In Spain, at antipodal points, placing a slice of bread on the ground at the same time.).

Was surprised it wasn't more of a fight for Julia, but a lot of people seem to be happy with the results!

Not to attack you, but where in the question does it explicitly say that the capital has to be an antipode of Madrid? I know it can (and probably should) be inferred; but saying it is on the other side of the globe doesn't automatically mean that, does it? Aren't any islands near the international date line (northern or southern hemisphere) on the opposite side of the globe from England?

Maybe I am just being sensitive because I picked Manilla and I don't like getting made fun of because I picked a capital in the northern hemisphere.

Here's the clue: "This capital city, which at 12,330 miles is farthest from Madrid, is named for a soldier who spent time in Madrid."

"Antipodal" is a subset of 'other side of the globe' right? More importanly, for a ToC saying 'antipodal' is too easy...

[dhkendall]

I've long been fascinated with antipodes (for example this map), so FJ was an instaget. (I heard somewhere of a radio contest where someone made an "Earth sandwich" by a person in New Zealand and a person In Spain, at antipodal points, placing a slice of bread on the ground at the same time.).

Was surprised it wasn't more of a fight for Julia, but a lot of people seem to be happy with the results!

Not to attack you, but where in the question does it explicitly say that the capital has to be an antipode of Madrid? I know it can (and probably should) be inferred; but saying it is on the other side of the globe doesn't automatically mean that, does it? Aren't any islands near the international date line (northern or southern hemisphere) on the opposite side of the globe from England?

Maybe I am just being sensitive because I picked Manilla and I don't like getting made fun of because I picked a capital in the northern hemisphere.

Here's the clue: "This capital city, which at 12,330 miles is farthest from Madrid, is named for a soldier who spent time in Madrid."

"Antipodal" is a subset of 'other side of the globe' right? More importanly, for a ToC saying 'antipodal' is too easy...

This. "Other side of the globe" combined with "farthest from" should, IMHO anyways, have you looking at antipodes first and fanning out from there, since antipodes are, by definition, the furthest point. If you've left the opposite hemisphere then you probably missed something.

[TenPoundHammer]

That's the thing. I didn't gather that they LITERALLY meant the other side of the globe, antipodal, and all that.