Friday, February 17, 2017 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #7470, 2017-02-17

2017 College Tournament quarterfinal game 5.

CONTESTANTS
Gary Tse, a freshman at the United States Naval Academy from Ellicott City, Maryland
Julia Marsan, a senior at Georgetown University from Brookfield, Wisconsin
Zach Atwell, a senior from the University of Kentucky from Lexington, Kentucky

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thank you, Johnny Gilbert. Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Decision Day. At the end of this half-hour, we will know the names of the 9 players who return to our program next week as semifinalists in this year's college championship. It could be Zach, Julia, and Gary. It could be all three of you. We'll find out. Good luck in this half-hour. Here are the categories for you...

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
SERIOUS HARDWARE (3/5)
HEALTH & MEDICINE (5/5)
MTV MOVIE AWARD FOR BEST VILLAIN (5/5)
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
GEOGRAPHER'S DICTIONARY (5/5)
COLLEGE MAJORS IN OTHER WORDS (4/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Gary: 10 R (including 2 rebounds and 1 DD), 2 W
Julia: 10 R (including 2 rebounds), 4 W
Zach: 6 R (including 1 rebound), 1 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 4
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $2,800



SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Julia: $5,000
Zach: $1,200
Gary: $1,200

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Gary Tse would like to be at sea. He's at the United States Naval Academy, and we introduced you as being from Maryland. Was that part of the influence in you wanting to be at Annapolis?

Gary: Um, yeah, for sure, that was definitely something that got me interested and more aware of it in the first place. But my dad being enlisted in the Navy--

Alex: Ah.

Gary: Had that initial tidbit of interest. So, yeah.

Alex: Yeah, so the Navy tradition continues in the Tse family.

Gary: It does.

Alex: Good for you.




Alex: Julia Marsan is from Brookfield, Wisconsin. Your major is classical languages. And I'm curious. You once wrote a paper for college comparing two--two people who are very different.

Julia: Uh, yes. I wrote a paper for my Roman elegaic poetry class comparing Ovid and Beyoncé.

Alex: And what were the comparisons that could be made between the two?

Julia: I compared Ovid's exile poetry to Beyoncé's most recent album, Lemonade and in terms of how the narrative structure of the work influences our perceptions of the author of the work.

Alex: Of course.

[Laughter]

Alex: I didn't understand a word she said.




Alex: Zach Atwell is a senior from Lexington, Kentucky. University of Kentucky, big basketball school. You took a college course called Chemistry of Spirits. Are we talking about alcohol here, or what?

Zach: Yes, that's right, Alex. Um, so--

Alex: We are?

Zach: Yeah, absolutely. So, uh, it was actually taught by the director of the Mass Spectrometry Lab at UK, and we just went over the chemical processes of distilling alcohol. And the best part about it is it's a great icebreaker at parties. For example, "Hey, did you know that vodka you're drinking was distilled to the azeotropic level?"

[Laughter]

Alex: Actually, that would be a "Shut Alex up" moment.

[Laughter]

JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Gary found the Daily Double on the 29th clue. Zach had $2,400, Julia had $4,800, and Gary was at $4,200. Gary wagered $2,000.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES $800: This service goes back to 1862, when we needed a way to fund the Civil War

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
COLLEGE MAJORS IN OTHER WORDS $400: Making one drink last a long time

SERIOUS HARDWARE $1000: A computer tool used to connect networks, or a hardware tool that cuts below the main surface

SERIOUS HARDWARE $400: You can use this type of adjustable wrench, seen here, under the light of the moon

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES $1000: This Cabinet department runs a meat & poultry hotline
(Julia: What is the Department of the Interior?)

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Gary: $6,200
Julia: $3,800
Zach: $2,400

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
ROAMIN' THROUGH ROMANIA (5/5)
AFRICAN-AMERICAN AUTHORS (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
A YEAR ENDING IN 00 (5/5)
"T" TIME (5/5)
SOCIOLOGY (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
GROUPS (3/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Gary: 12 R (including 1 rebound and 1 DD), 0 W
Julia: 11 R (including 1 DD), 1 W
Zach: 4 R, 2 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 3
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $2,800



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Julia snagged the next Daily Double on the 12th clue. Zach had $5,600, Julia had $8,600, and Gary was at $9,400. Julia wagered $2,000.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN AUTHORS $1200: The 1845 "Narrative of the Life of" this man was published just 7 years after he escaped slavery

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Gary who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 25th clue. Zach had $7,600, Julia had $13,000, and Gary was at $19,400. Gary wagered $1,845.

SOCIOLOGY $2000: Karl Marx said a capitalist system has 2 classes: the bourgeoisie, which controls resources, & this laboring class

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
SOCIOLOGY $400: Of a third, half or two-thirds, the approximate fraction of American adults with at least a bachelor's degree
(Julia: What is two-thirds?)
(Zach: What is a half?)

GROUPS $400: Hail, hail, since 1917 it's (they've) been "all here"

GROUPS $2000: I'm Kimbra & "I don't want to be, be in your" this group, "girl"

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Gary: $22,445
Julia: $15,400
Zach: $6,400

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
WORLD LANDMARKS

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Two-thirds for first place.
Gary: Wager $8,356 to cover Julia, but no more than $9,644 so as not to fall behind Zach's doubled score.
Julia: You'll want to wager between $0 (venusian) and $1,310 (martian), and you'll win the game if Gary wagers enough and gets it wrong.
Zach: Unfortunately, your score is less than the difference between the scores of the first and second place players, so unless they both blunder, you're competing for second place and have no hopes of first. Wager as much as you desire, but remember, you'll have better chances of advancing to second place if you have a larger sum left over on a Triple Stumper.

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
Completed in 1884, the Washington Monument became the tallest manmade structure but 4 years later was surpassed by this

FINAL SCORES
Zach: $6,400 + $6,400 = $12,800 (What is the Eiffel Tower?) (3rd place)
Julia: $15,400 + $9,000 = $24,400 (What is the Eiffel Tower?) (Automatic semifinalist)
Gary: $22,445 + $0 = $22,445 (What is the Eiffel Tower?) (2nd place)
(Alex: [To Zach] For the International Exposition in Paris, yes.)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $5,600

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Gary: $21,400, 22 R (including 2 DDs), 2 W
Julia: $14,600, 21 R (including 1 DD), 5 W
Zach: $6,400, 10 R, 3 W
Combined Coryat: $42,400

BATTING AVERAGES
Gary: 23/60 = .383
Julia: 22/59 = .373
Zach: 11/58 = .190
Team: 56/63 = .889

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
GEOGRAPHER'S DICTIONARY $200: The "Great Dismal" & the "Big Cypress" are both examples of this low-lying type of wetland with a 5-letter name
(Julia: What is a marsh?)

GEOGRAPHER'S DICTIONARY $600: The structures of accumulated skeletal deposits have been called Earth's most complex aquatic ecosystems
(Julia: What are reefs?)
(Alex: Be more specific.)
(Julia: What are barrier reefs... [*]?)

GEOGRAPHER'S DICTIONARY $800: Intermontane means between mountains, like the Great Basin between the Rockies and this range

HEALTH & MEDICINE $400: (I'm Dr. Jen Arnold.) In 2015 the U.N. reported the good news that improvements in care over the last 25 years have led to a nearly 50% worldwide drop in this type of mortality, from Latin for "new born"
(Gary: What is infant?)

SERIOUS HARDWARE $800: No need to be on the firing range to use this gun, heard in action here
(Julia: What is a stapler gun?)
(Zach: What is an airsoft gun?)

COLLEGE MAJORS IN OTHER WORDS $200: Mutual attraction or rapport between 2 people
(Gary: What is international relations?)

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES $600: It says it's "connecting America through coins"
(Julia: What is Treasury?)

ROAMIN' THROUGH ROMANIA $1200: Romania has rivers, lakes, and coastline along this body of water

ROAMIN' THROUGH ROMANIA $2000: This late, great author of the Holocaust-set "Night" was born in Romania

GROUPS $1200: Synonym for "pair" in a current Grammy category
(Zach: What is a duet?)

CORRECT RESPONSES
the IRS
nursing
a router
a crescent wrench
the Department of Agriculture
Frederick Douglass
the proletariat
a third
gang
posse
the Eiffel Tower
a swamp
coral reefs
the Sierra Nevada
neonatal
a nail gun
chemistry
the Mint
the Black Sea
(Elie) Wiesel
a duo

[theFJguy]

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
WORLD LANDMARKS

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
Completed in 1884, the Washington Monument became the tallest manmade structure but 4 years later was surpassed by this

Zach Atwell: 6400+6400=12800
Julia Marsan: 15400+9000=24400 (Semifinalist)
Gary Tse: 22845+0=22845 (Wildcard)

Correct response:

Spoiler

Eiffel Tower

Daily Doubles
Gary: 4200+2000
Julia: 8600+2000
Gary: 19800+1845

Coryats
Zach: 6400
Julia: 14600
Gary: 21800

Combined: 42,800

[MarkBarrett]

I've posted a video link in the Secret Bunker thread for the whole game.

Young people these days. They don't even know a crescent wrench.

If Alex gives you time then keep on swinging. Reef, Great Barrier Reef, coral reef.

I matched the student with one swing and out when I tried marsh for the clue that wanted swamp.

For the FJ! round I recalled the category was WORLD LANDMARKS, so no chance of some kind of domestic fail and made it an instaget to complete the sweep for the week.

Unlike the triple sweep of the FJ! clue from yesterday this game did produce a wildcard.

[JayK33]

Well, at least I got one FJ right this week. No self-made Oprah Winfrey meme this time.

[Bamaman]

Oui, oui, I get to check Mark's happy box tomorrow for the first time in a long time. Sure, it is just the college tournament and the FJs would have been easy on Kids Week, but I'll take any 5/5 I could get,

Was Gary paying homage to Frederick Douglass' book with his DD bet?

Not sure what the gasp from the audience was about when Gary's FJ bet was revealed. Even if I didn't literally have the scores in front of me, I would have been pretty sure he had earned a wild card. In fact, had he made the MSB and missed FJ, he still gets a wild card.

I thought Julia's FJ bet was very risky. She didn't know she had it sewn up, but that is pretty solid wild card territory and she bet way too much.

Zach cost himself a wild card with the duo/duet miss on the last clue. A clam (and another all-in FJ bet) and he comes back next week. Of course, he didn't help himself in the first round when he went to the top of the board with only three clues left and the DD still unseen. Then it pops up in the next clue down in government agencies.

I never knew the Washington Monument was once the world's tallest structure. I wonder where it would rank today.

A quick check of the category to see it was a world monument made the Eiffel Tower an easy guess get.

[TenPoundHammer]

Marsh/swamp seemed like a coinflip at $200.

Is there any kind of reef besides a coral one? That was an odd BMS. Then again, my mom somehow thinks that "reef" is a synonym for "pull", which is supported by absolutely no dictionary I've ever checked.

Ran Health, surprisingly, and got all but "typhoid" in "T" Time.

So I'm supposed to recognize a nail gun entirely from its sound?!

Alice Walker = The Color Purple rings no bells.

Sociology for $400 shows just why I hate "Of X, Y, or Z" clues. You should NEVER have to take a 1-in-3 gamble with literally nothing pointing you to the correct response. Especially not in the top box.

Lach Trash: Crescent wrench, gang.

And I'm 0/5 on a College Week. Go me. Didn't even know where to start.

[jpr281]

I love how the audience gasped when it was revealed that Gary wagered $0, like they thought he had messed up.

[xxaaaxx]

Sociology for $400 shows just why I hate "Of X, Y, or Z" clues. You should NEVER have to take a 1-in-3 gamble with literally nothing pointing you to the correct response. Especially not in the top box.

Whereas I saw that clue and thought to myself, "no f******* way 50% of adults have a bachelor's degree", and got it right immediately. Perhaps I'm too cynical.

So, assuming he still goes all-in, that duo/duet blunder cost Zach a wild card. And that incomprehensible wager yesterday did indeed come back to haunt. If only Zach had made it, we could've completed the bad-WC-wagers-kill exacta. Speaking of which, no idea why Julia bet 9k.

Instaget FJ. Possibly the easiest of the week.

[econgator]

Was Gary paying homage to Frederick Douglass' book with his DD bet?

Annapolis opening.

[BigDaddyMatty]

Coryat: $38,400
48 R/3 W
DD: 3/3
FJ:
LT: nursing, router, crescent wrench, Department of Agriculture, gang

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned Zach's blunder at the end of the J! round. With three clues left on the board, he goes away from the category where the DD is guaranteed to be to pick the one clue it can't possibly be. I know it's hard to keep everything straight in the middle of the game, but finding DDs has to be Job One.

[Fleeboy]

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
WORLD LANDMARKS

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
Completed in 1864, the Washington Monument became the tallest manmade structure but 4 years later was surpassed by this

The actual clue read "1884," right?

[econgator]

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
WORLD LANDMARKS

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
Completed in 1864, the Washington Monument became the tallest manmade structure but 4 years later was surpassed by this

The actual clue read "1884," right?

It did.

[theFJguy]

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
WORLD LANDMARKS

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
Completed in 1864, the Washington Monument became the tallest manmade structure but 4 years later was surpassed by this

The actual clue read "1884," right?

Yes, fixed. Thanks.

[MattKnowles]

Gary's Daily Double wager of 1845 is a shout-out to his school, The Naval Academy, which opened in that year.

Or less likely, it was in reference to "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, the creation of the rubber band, the death of Andrew Jackson, the admission of Texas into the US, or the birth of Wilhelm Rontgen.

I missed Eiffel Tower. I didn't pay close attention to the category "World Landmarks" and I guessed The Empire State Building. There are famous photographs of the construction of the Empire State Building which doesn't fit the 1884-1888 timeline so that was clearly wrong. The Empire State Building was completed in 1931.

I missed Elie Wiesel and Casey Jones. Those come up a lot.

So I'm supposed to recognize a nail gun entirely from its sound?!

You would have won on this clue simply by not ringing in. It looks like nobody got this one.

[IronNeck]

I thought Julia's FJ bet was very risky. She didn't know she had it sewn up, but that is pretty solid wild card territory and she bet way too much.

No kidding. That was a bad bet bailed out by a very easy FJ. At the absolute minimum, she needed to shut out 3rd place in her game (so betting $2,599) and probably betting something like $1,000 was even more optimal. (Recall that the last college tournament had $14,400 as the lowest wildcard score)

LT: router

FJ: Instaget

Another 4/5 week on FJs, even on college week, heh.

On the whole, I have been much more impressed by the college tournament this year than the one a year ago. Looking forward to an excellent semifinals.

[IronNeck]

So I'm supposed to recognize a nail gun entirely from its sound?!

You would have won on this clue simply by not ringing in. It looks like nobody got this one.

Gary buzzed in and answered it correctly.

[Bamaman]

Thanks for the info about when the Naval Acadamey opened. I just thought it was funny his bet came right after they said when Douglas' book was published.

[tiwonge]

Marsh/swamp seemed like a coinflip at $200.

If you know geography, the Great Dismal Swamp (not Great Dismal Marsh) is a swamp in northeastern NC/southeastern VA. I can't remember what the other one was--Big Cypress? The Big Cypress Swamp is also named a swamp (in south Florida), although overlaps with the Big Cypress National National Preserve, so maybe not as clearly named.

So I'm supposed to recognize a nail gun entirely from its sound?!

Yeah, I thought this was an ill-advised question. I don't know how a nailgun sounds different from, say, a high-powered staple gun? (And depending on where the mic is in relation to the device, it could sound louder or softer than a nail gun.)

[Volante]

So I'm supposed to recognize a nail gun entirely from its sound?!

Yeah, I thought this was an ill-advised question. I don't know how a nailgun sounds different from, say, a high-powered staple gun? (And depending on where the mic is in relation to the device, it could sound louder or softer than a nail gun.)

Heck, I thought it was a cap gun real close to the mic...