Thursday, December 8, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #6264, 2011-12-08

CONTESTANTS
Dan Kull, a U.S. Army captain from Colorado Springs, Colorado
William Castañeda, a human resources professional from San Francisco, California
Tony Hightower, an event planner from Astoria, New York (whose 1-day cash winnings total $21,300)

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thank you, Johnny. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome aboard. Well, guys night out--Dan, William, and Tony, good to have you with us today. Good luck. Let's go to work. And now let's find out what the categories are.

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
SCHOOLS OF THE HEISMEN (5/5) (Alex: The Heisman Trophy will be awarded this weekend, so we have a whole category devoted to that trophy. it's called...)
NON-ROMAN EMPERORS (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
EBONY & IVORY (4/5)
YOU AUTO KNOW THE CAR MAKER (5/5)
TOYS & GAMES (4/5)
"PRE"-CISELY (4/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
William: 13 R (including 1 DD), 1 W
Tony: 10 R, 0 W
Dan: 3 R, 0 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 4
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $3,600



SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
William: $4,000
Tony: $1,600
Dan: $1,400

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Dan, we introduced you as being from Colorado Springs. Is that where you're stationed? Do we have an Army post there?

Dan: Yes, I'm stationed at Fort Carson, in Co--uh, just south of Colorado Springs.

Alex: How long have you been in the Army?

Dan: I've been in the Army over eight years, coming up on nine years now.

Alex: Okay, do you have a family?

Dan: I do, I have a wonderful wife Danielle, and, uh, a 14-month-old son Ian.

Alex: Okay, good for you.

Dan: Thank you.




Alex: William. William Castañeda from San Francisco. Uh, he once performed a monologue, I hear, in front of an entire school assembly, but it wasn't an ordinary monologue. What was it?

William: No, uh, as a sophomore in high school, I somehow thought it was a good idea to dress up as Orphan Annie with the wig, the dress, the tights, and Mary Janes, I believe, uh--

Alex: And did you have Sandy by your side, the dog?

William: No, there was no dog, it was just me. It was all me.

Alex: Oh. And what was the monologue about?

William: It--well, we were doing a presentation on the Great Depression, and I was, uh, reading as if I had written a letter to FDR.

Alex: Okay. Did it go over well?

William: I survived high school.

Alex: All right.




Alex: Tony Hightower is our champion. Quite often, players who appear on Jeopardy! have had encounters with celebrities. The other day, we had somebody who saw Melanie Griffith, and was quite excited about that. You, too, ran into a celebrity.

Tony: I did. I was working for, uh, an entertainment concern briefly, and I got to meet Yoko Ono...

Alex: Mm-hmm.

Tony: Uh, once, and she gave--she sent our office, uh, everyone in our office a-a Christmas present of these teas that were from--I'm not sure, Indonesia, or someplace, and it was the perfect Christmas gift, because the teas were unbelievably horrible tasting, and so, uh, I got--I kept them, because it's a gift from Yoko Ono, but I--and I will never drink them, because they are unbelievably bad.
It was the perfect Christmas gift.

Alex: Okay. Yeah, because you don't consume it.

Tony: Exactly.

Alex: Right.

Tony: It lasts forever.

Alex: It's not like a box of chocolates. They're gone. Well, what do you mean they're gone? You never got them.

Tony: Yeah.

JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
William found the Daily Double on the 27th clue. Tony had $4,000, William had $4,800, and Dan was at $1,400. William wagered $2,800.

NON-ROMAN EMPERORS $1000: As the mighty emperor of the Incas in 1532, Atahualpa faced 180 soldiers led by this Spaniard

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
TOYS & GAMES $1000: This number comes before "Q" in the name of a game using artificial intelligence to "read your mind"

"PRE"-CISELY $1000: For plants, this word describes flowers that come before leaves emerge; for kids, it describes early achievement

EBONY & IVORY $800: Some of the best ebony is grown in the flat country west of Trincomalee on this "teardrop island"
(William: What is Madagascar?)

NON-ROMAN EMPERORS $800: Emperor until 1913, Menelik II helped unite this African country into its modern form

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
William: $8,200
Tony: $5,800
Dan: $1,400

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
FUN WITH THE PERIODIC TABLE (4/5)
THE ANNIE HALL OF FAME (4/4)
GREEK LETTER HOMOPHONES (3/5)
QUOTES ABOUT PLACES (4/5, including 1 missed Daily Double)
BEFORE & AFTER AT THE MOVIES (5/5)
ONCE THERE WERE NO COMPUTERS (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Tony: 10 R (including 1 rebound), 3 W
William: 9 R (including 2 rebounds and 1 DD), 2 W
Dan: 6 R (including 2 rebounds), 5 W (including 1 DD)

Clues revealed: 29
Triple Stumpers: 3
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $2,400



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
William snagged the next Daily Double on the 18th clue. Tony had $9,800, William had $14,600, and Dan was at $2,600. William wagered $2,000.

ONCE THERE WERE NO COMPUTERS $2000: A "nonexistent domain" error on a failed e-mail is kind of the new version of this 1962 Elvis song

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Dan who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 25th clue. Tony had $9,000, William had $15,400, and Dan was at $4,600. Dan wagered $4,500.

QUOTES ABOUT PLACES $1600: In "The Third Man" Orson Welles said it "had 500 years of democracy & peace, & what did that produce? The cuckoo clock"
(Dan: What is Vienna?)
(Alex: Oh, no, that's where the action takes place, of course, but he was referring to [*].)

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
FUN WITH THE PERIODIC TABLE $1200: Element 107, named for this man, has the symbol Bh
(Dan: What is bohrium?)

GREEK LETTER HOMOPHONES $400: One way to propel a boat
(Dan: What is an oar?)

GREEK LETTER HOMOPHONES $800: Feline vocalization
(Dan: What is purr?)

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
William: $17,400
Tony: $12,600
Dan: $1,700

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE SIGNERS

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Two-thirds for first place. Shore's Conjecture.
William: Wager $7,801 to cover Tony, but no more than $13,999 so as not to fall behind Dan's doubled score. If you're a fan of shoretegic wagering, you might risk $4,401.
Tony: You'll want to wager between $0 (venusian) and $3,000 (martian), and you'll win the game if William wagers enough and gets it wrong.
Dan: 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
The only Roman Catholic signer represented this state

FINAL SCORES
Dan: $1,700 - $830 = $870 (What is Massachusetts?) (3rd place: $1,000)
Tony: $12,600 - $5,000 = $7,600 (What is Pennsylvania?) (2nd place: $2,000)
William: $17,400 - $8,000 = $9,400 (What is Delaware?) (New champion: $9,400)
(Alex: And as a matter of fact, the state was founded by a Catholic family.)
...
(Alex: No, the correct response--what is [*]? The Calvert family.)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $6,000

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
William: $15,600, 22 R (including 2 DDs), 3 W
Tony: $12,600, 20 R, 3 W
Dan: $6,200, 9 R, 5 W (including 1 DD)
Combined Coryat: $34,400

BATTING AVERAGES
William: 22/60 = .367
Tony: 20/58 = .345
Dan: 9/59 = .153
Team: 51/63 = .810

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
TOYS & GAMES $400: Originally called "Little People", this perennial favorite is seen here

SCHOOLS OF THE HEISMEN $200: 1945 & 1946:
Doc Blanchard & Glenn Davis of this service academy
(Tony: [Apologizing to Dan, who appeared in his [*] uniform] Sorry.)
(Alex: Dan's disappointed that you got in ahead of him on that one.)
(Tony: Sorry.)

BEFORE & AFTER AT THE MOVIES $400: Han Solo meets up with Lando Calrissian while time-traveling with Marty McFly
(Dan: What is... uh, The Empire Strikes--)
(Alex: Oh, sorry.)

FUN WITH THE PERIODIC TABLE $800: By atomic number, this noble gas, number 10, is the first whose symbol matches a state postal abbreviation
(Tony: What is argon?)
...
(Alex: NE for Nebraska.)

FUN WITH THE PERIODIC TABLE $2000: The temporary symbols given to elements 113-118 all begin with a double this vowel
(William: What is O?)

QUOTES ABOUT PLACES $800: (Sarah of the Clue Crew reports from Mont St. Michel, France.) Mont St. Michel's most dramatic natural feature is the arrival of the tide; this French romantic novelist described it as "coming in as swiftly as a galloping horse"

QUOTES ABOUT PLACES $1200: A Byron poem says, "I stood in" this city, "on the Bridge of Sighs; a palace and a prison on each hand"
(Tony: What is Florence?)

THE ANNIE HALL OF FAME $1200: In 1991 she had her first museum exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, a rare honor for a living photographer
(Tony: Who is Annie Leibowitz?)
(William: [Laughing] Who is Annie Leibowitz?)
...
(Alex: You got it right, yes, that's a common mistake. A minute to go now, Dan.)

THE ANNIE HALL OF FAME $1600: Learn to play poker like a pro from this pro in DVDs like "Advanced Texas Hold 'Em Secrets"
[The end-of-round signal sounds.]

CORRECT RESPONSES
Pizarro
20
precocious
Sri Lanka
Ethiopia
"Return To Sender"
Switzerland
Niels Bohr
row
mew
Maryland
a Cabbage Patch Kid
Army
The Empire Strikes Back to the Future
neon
U
(Victor) Hugo
Venice
Annie Leibovitz
Annie Duke

[econgator]

Tao and Tau are not homophones. The former is essentially pronounced 'dow'.

FJ for me was essentially "Pick a colony that isn't Pennsylvania." I guessed incorrectly with Georgia.

[TomKBaltimoreBoy]

Glad I'm not the only that thought that; but it wouldn't be the first time J! has let that slide, only one of the more egregious. "Tao" is "dow" and "Tau" is "taw" -- not even close.

I AM surprised -- especially since I've gotten to know Tony -- I was also at the party in NY last night -- that FJ was a triple stumper. Pennsylvania and Rhode Island were the only possible alternatives, but Maryland is almost Pavlovian for Colonial America + Catholic. And, even though I played Chase in 1776, that doesn't make it less obvious.

(Why not PA? Unlike Massachusetts, the Quakers were fairly tolerant, once they got away from England.)

[Paucle]

Instaget for me. Not only instaget, but instaknow, like, bet the house. Last two I got right away, but considered other possibles for the timer duration and found nothing I liked better.

I'm assuming Tony lost this game on a bad FJ wager?
My assessment is that 3rd place had no chance with good wagers; 1st place should've had 7,801 at stake to cover a doubling up, yes? So Tony should wager any amount to be left with 9600 or more in case William misses?

The only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence represented this state.

Spoiler

answer: Maryland; Dan = MA, William = DE, Tony = PA

Dan: 1700-830 = 870
William: 17400-8000 =9400
Tony: 12600-5000= 7600

[Bob78164]

This game is a draw for the Weak Form of Shore's Conjecture. The second-place player bet "small." --Bob

[alietr]

I guess it helps living here. That was a double get in our living room. Maryland has a pretty long association with Catholicism in Colonial days. Plus no other states were making any sense. I tried going through the musical 1776 in my head, but I don't think it came up there. So Maryland it was.

[DBear]

I find it incredible that three J! class players miss this FJ. I thought this was college or even teen level, taught in every American History class.

[vellore]

Wow. That game was a bizarre combination of deft gets and triple stumpers, culminating in the FJ. It took me (a non-American) no time to make the Catholic-Maryland connection. Just goes to show you that notions of "common" knowledge can be pretty subjective. Loved the moment when Tony looked over to Dan and apologized for poaching the "Army" Heismann answer.

[MarkBarrett]

I find it incredible that three J! class players miss this FJ. I thought this was college or even teen level, taught in every American History class.

Instaget for me. Not only instaget, but instaknow, like, bet the house.

I'll just copy these. What was funny was letting my hand get ahead of my brain as I quickly scribbled Marilyn on my paper before cleaning up my response.

No one getting Sri Lanka was the other surprise in the game.

[goforthetie]

I find it incredible that three J! class players miss this FJ. I thought this was college or even teen level, taught in every American History class.

Not in mine; I've only vaguely heard of the Calverts. Naturally started in Boston thinking about Irish and Italians, quickly realized they weren't around yet, and then fished around for other ethnic groups that might be Catholic and had emigrated already. Figured that Germany has a lot of Catholics and therefore went with Pennsylvania, though I didn't like it, and only after the music ended did I remember that all of the PA Dutch are Mennonite anyway. I'd like to think if I had had 2 minutes to think about it I would eventually have realized the Mary connection, but who knows...

No one getting Sri Lanka was the other surprise in the game.

Really? I thought that clue was pretty tough; I've never heard of the "Teardrop Island" moniker before (I think that's what it was). I got it, but only because of the mention of Trincomalee, which I had thought was fairly obscure.

[econgator]

Really? I thought that clue was pretty tough; I've never heard of the "Teardrop Island" moniker before (I think that's what it was).

I'm with you there. Never heard of that nickname.

[SavoyGirl]

Maryland popped into my mind because in the musical 1776 they were always referring to the colony as "Mary-land". Then tried to talk myself out of it and couldn't come up with anything better.

[billy pilgrim]

I also was surprised that no player got FJ. I did think tony's FJ wager was perfectly reasonable absent not getting it right- which is always the ex-post facto criticism.

[dhkendall]

Maryland popped into my mind because in the musical 1776 they were always referring to the colony as "Mary-land". Then tried to talk myself out of it and couldn't come up with anything better.

I was unaware of the colonial Maryland = Catholic link before (picked Massachusetts due to its current Catholic-ness), that "Mary-land" mnemonic is a good way of remembering it, thanks! I just wish you told me that 10 minutes ago.

Tao and Tau are not homophones.

And how are "beta" and "Beta" considered "homophones"? "Homophone" must have a broader context than I thought ...

Finally, judges, for the clue that had "Oregon State" as a correct response, I just said "Oregon" (I often forget your states usually have two universities with the state name: University of X and X State) - I know the short form is considered short for one of those, but which one? (ie is "Oregon" short for "Oregon State" or "University of Oregon"?)

[opusthepenguin]

And how are "beta" and "Beta" considered "homophones"? "Homophone" must have a broader context than I thought ...

I believe they are both pronounced BAY-tuh in American English. How are you pronouncing them?

The one that bugged me has already been mentioned. Mrs P figured it out first and said, "Do they mean Tau and Tao?" pronouncing them with T and D sounds respectively. A fraction of a second before she said that, I'd formed the same question in my own mind.

It wasn't too long ago they had another really questionable homophone. But now I can't remember what it was.

[Turd Ferguson]

I'm assuming Tony lost this game on a bad FJ wager?
My assessment is that 3rd place had no chance with good wagers; 1st place should've had 7,801 at stake to cover a doubling up, yes? So Tony should wager any amount to be left with 9600 or more in case William misses?

Dan: 1700-830 = 870
William: 17400-8000 =9400
Tony: 12600-5000= 7600

I would suggest that Tony's bet made little sense. Assuming William didn't ridiculously overbet from first place, Tony wagering more than $3K meant that the only way he could possibly win was if he got FJ! correct. If he is effectively betting on himself getting FJ! right, he might as well go "all in". Tony wasn't going to win if he got FJ! wrong, so why leave $7600 on the table?

I think William's situation is more interesting, though, as he had multiple options. The wagering calculator for these scores suggests making either the cover wager ($7801) or the Shoretegic wager ($4401) from that lead. What I think is missing is that I believe that (for an opponent one thinks will bet "rationally"), the best wager in this case is to try "Pawson's Gambit" (betting $1799).

Because Tony was at 2/3, but not at 3/4 of the leader's score, a get on the "smart" bet (<$3K) doesn't get Tony to William's pre-FJ score (maxing out at $15600) Thus, if William assumes that Tony will bet "rationally", he can try Pawson's Gambit and just wager less than $1800 (to stay above $15600 on a miss), which gives him the win no matter what happens in FJ!

The risk (gambit) of such a small wager is, of course, that it leaves the leader vulnerable to losing on a double get and a big "irrational" bet from second place. Part of the problem with Tony's bet is that it wasn't big enough to take the lead if William had actually tried "Pawson's Gambit" (another argument for going all in if you're betting on yourself to win) So, in this case, I think Pawson's Gambit of "assuming the trailer will bet rationally, or only slightly irrationally" would have been the optimal wager, given that Tony did the latter.

[Onairb]

Maryland popped into my mind because in the musical 1776 they were always referring to the colony as "Mary-land". Then tried to talk myself out of it and couldn't come up with anything better.

I was unaware of the colonial Maryland = Catholic link before (picked Massachusetts due to its current Catholic-ness), that "Mary-land" mnemonic is a good way of remembering it, thanks! I just wish you told me that 10 minutes ago.

Tao and Tau are not homophones.

And how are "beta" and "Beta" considered "homophones"? "Homophone" must have a broader context than I thought ...

Finally, judges, for the clue that had "Oregon State" as a correct response, I just said "Oregon" (I often forget your states usually have two universities with the state name: University of X and X State) - I know the short form is considered short for one of those, but which one? (ie is "Oregon" short for "Oregon State" or "University of Oregon"?)

"Oregon"=University of Oregon. Oregon State is usually abbreviated 'OSU'..but so are Ohio State and Oklahoma State. For most state niversities, 'State' will suffice as the short form.

[dhkendall]

And how are "beta" and "Beta" considered "homophones"? "Homophone" must have a broader context than I thought ...

I believe they are both pronounced BAY-tuh in American English. How are you pronouncing them?

Same way, but my problem is that it's the same word! For that matter, "orange" and "orange" are homophones (giving what I thought was an almost unrhymable word a rhyming pair). It's bad enough when songs do it, they shouldn't be called homophones if they're pronounced the same way and spelled the same way. In my book, that's the same word.

[BoK]

Same way, but my problem is that it's the same word! For that matter, "orange" and "orange" are homophones (giving what I thought was an almost unrhymable word a rhyming pair). It's bad enough when songs do it, they shouldn't be called homophones if they're pronounced the same way and spelled the same way. In my book, that's the same word.

I also thought the words had to be spelled differently to be considered homophones, but we're wrong, at least according to dictionary.com:

1. Phonetics . a word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same way or not, as heir and air.