Friday, February 15, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

[Archivists]

Game Recap for Show #7930, 2019-02-15

CONTESTANTS
Mark Smith, an environmental scientist from Salem, Ohio
Amanda Holm, a project manager from Livonia, Michigan
Eric R. Backes, an attorney and government relations professional from Round Rock, Texas (whose 4-day cash winnings total $105,602)

OPENING REMARKS
Alex: Thank you, Johnny. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Our current champion has won his games in many different ways. In his first game, he won big, picking up over $48,000. Game 2, $28,000 in a runaway. Game 3, he missed Final Jeopardy! but still wound up with more money than his opponents at the end of the day, so he won that game. And yesterday, he won because an acquaintance of his is from Brownsville, which was the correct response in Final Jeopardy! What will happen today with Amanda and Mark joining us? Let's start finding out. Here we go. And the categories now in play are...

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
THE WORLD ALMANAC 2019 (4/5)
WORD PUZZLES (5/5)
A MATTER OF WIFE & DEATH (4/5)
BODY PARTS IN LATIN (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
IT WAS SO FUNNY (5/5)
YOU HAD TO BE THERE (4/4)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Eric: 16 R (including 1 DD), 2 W
Amanda: 6 R, 0 W
Mark: 4 R (including 1 rebound), 2 W

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



SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Eric: $5,400
Amanda: $400
Mark: -$800

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex: Mark Smith is an environmentalist from Ohio, and there has to be a story here. You met your wife where?

Mark: In a coal mine.

Alex: Of course. 3,000 feet below the surface. How did that happen?

Mark: Actually, it was a surface coal mine.

Alex: Oh, okay.

Mark: And I was a coal mine inspector, and my boss said, "We have this new person we hired named Grace, who we want you to go out and train." And I took her out, and she was very beautiful. And fireworks went off, and we had a lot in common. And 38 years later, we just welcomed our first grandson to the Earth.

Alex: Congratulations.

Mark: Thank you.

Alex: Good story.




Alex: Amanda Holm from Livonia [liv-oh-NEE-ah], Michigan?

Amanda: Livonia [li-VOHN-ya].

Alex: All right. It says here, and the first time I read it, I almost said you are a bed-wetter. It's a bead-weaver.

Amanda: Yes.

Alex: Yeah.

Amanda: That is a key distinction.

Alex: Yeah.

Amanda: Yes.

Alex: Tell me what a bead-weaver does. Weaves beads.

Amanda: Well, essentially, yes.

Alex: You make--

Amanda: Stitches together beads to make pieces like the ones I'm wearing today.

[Alex points to Amanda's necklace.]

Alex: Did you do that?

Amanda: I did.

Alex: That's very complicated to do.

Amanda: Yes.

Alex: That's amazing.

Amanda: It's made from one stitch, actually.

Alex: Wow. Way to go.




Alex: Eric Backes is our champion, ladies and gentlemen. He's an attorney now, but he went on a job interview, and you got the job even though you responded incorrectly to all the questions?

Eric: It was an organization that did exit polling during one of the presidential elections. And I kept referring to the Electrical College instead of the Electoral College, but I still got the job.

Alex: Okay.

Eric: So, you know.

Alex: So that doesn't make my "bed-wetter" look really bad, does it? Yeah. Wanted you guys to know.

JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Eric found the Daily Double on the 20th clue. Eric had $7,000, Amanda had $1,600, and Mark had a deficit with -$800. Eric wagered $2,500.

BODY PARTS IN LATIN $600: Gingiva

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
THE WORLD ALMANAC 2019 $1000: On Nov. 11 expect a rare one of these events of Mercury--it'll pass between Earth & the Sun & be visible in silhouette
(Mark: What is an eclipse?)

A MATTER OF WIFE & DEATH $400: In the Old Testament this favorite wife of Jacob died after giving birth to Benjamin
(Mark: Who is Sarah?)

BODY PARTS IN LATIN $1000: Genu (as in genuflect)
(Eric: What is the waist?)
...
[The end-of-round signal sounds.]

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Eric: $10,300
Amanda: $3,400
Mark: $200

[Archivists]

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
PRESIDENTS' DAYS (4/5)
HOMOPHONIC PAIRS (4/5)
FRANZ KAFKA (4/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
THAT SONG SOUNDS FAMILIAR (5/5)
LIQUIDS (5/5)
WHAT "A" CITY (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Eric: 11 R (including 1 rebound), 1 W
Amanda: 9 R (including 1 DD), 0 W
Mark: 7 R (including 1 DD), 2 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 3
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $4,000



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Mark snagged the next Daily Double on the 7th clue. Eric had $12,700, Amanda had $4,200, and Mark was at $1,800. Mark wagered $2,000.

WHAT "A" CITY $1600: Today a capital & once part of the Byzantine Empire, it fell to Persians, Romans & Turks

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Amanda who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 25th clue. Eric had $18,700, Amanda had $11,000, and Mark was at $7,400. Amanda wagered $3,000.

FRANZ KAFKA $1600: "In the Empty Courtroom" is a chapter in this novel in which Joseph K. is inexplicably arrested
(Alex: Less than a minute now with 5 clues to go.)

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
PRESIDENTS' DAYS $1600: A 2009 Illinois resolution made every February 6 this 20th century president's day
(Eric: Who is... Obama?)

HOMOPHONIC PAIRS $400: The mailed perfume

FRANZ KAFKA $2000: Kafka's last novel is called this, like the one on Hradcany Hill that overlooks his hometown
(Mark: What is In the Penal Colony?)

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Eric: $20,300
Amanda: $17,200
Mark: $6,200

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
19th CENTURY INVENTORS

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
First equals second plus half of third. Shore's Conjecture.
Eric: Wager $14,100--wagering any more risks falling behind Mark's wager of $0. If you feel like using Shoretegy, try wagering $1,701.
Amanda: Risk all $17,200 for the win or tie if you give the correct response (and provided Eric doesn't wager to cover by $1).
Mark: Anticipating that Eric will wager for the tie rather than to cover by $1, and that Amanda will wager everything, you should bet nothing, and you will tie for the win on the Triple Stumper.

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
He spent his life improving a plant-based substance he described as a "vegetable leather" or "elastic metal"

FINAL SCORES
Mark: $6,200 - $200 = $6,000 (Who was G.W. Carver?) (3rd place: $1,000)
Amanda: $17,200 - $4,000 = $13,200 (Who was Dupont?) (New champion: $13,200)
Eric: $20,300 - $14,101 = $6,199 (Who is Carver?) (2nd place: $2,000)
(Alex: [To Eric] "Vegetable leather" or "elastic metal" we all know much better as rubber. We're talking about [*].)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $6,400

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Eric: $18,400, 27 R (including 1 DD), 3 W
Amanda: $15,800, 15 R (including 1 DD), 0 W
Mark: $5,800, 11 R (including 1 DD), 4 W
Combined Coryat: $40,000

BATTING AVERAGES
Eric: 27/59 = .458
Amanda: 15/59 = .254
Mark: 11/59 = .186
Team: 53/63 = .841

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
WORD PUZZLES $200: Kind of ticket you get if all seats are sold out

WORD PUZZLES $400: It has a median in the middle

WORD PUZZLES $600: It's a way some teachers rate their students

WORD PUZZLES $800: Said of some economically vital businesses

WORD PUZZLES $1000: Preoccupied while pondering

YOU HAD TO BE THERE $200: This summons for a defendant to appear in court comes from Latin for "under penalty"
(Eric: What is a warrant?)

YOU HAD TO BE THERE $400: The most important difference between a funeral service & a memorial service is the presence of this
(Alex: Less than a minute now.)

A MATTER OF WIFE & DEATH $800: His first wife Maria bore him 7 children, including Carl Philipp Emanuel, before she died in 1720
(Mark: Who is Bach?)
(Alex: Be more specific.)
(Mark: [*].)

FRANZ KAFKA $400: Kafka was born in 1883 in this city, then still the capital of the country of Bohemia
(Mark: What is Vienna?)

CORRECT RESPONSES
gums
a transit
Rachel
knee
Ankara
The Trial
Ronald Reagan
sent scent
The Castle
Charles Goodyear
standing room only
a divided highway
grading on a curve
too big to fail
lost in thought
subpoena
a dead body
J.S. (or Johann Sebastian) Bach
Prague

[theFJguy]

The game report will be delayed due to coverage of President Trump's remarks from the Rose Garden.

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
19th CENTURY INVENTORS

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
He spent his life improving a plant-based substance he described as a “vegetable leather” or “elastic metal”

Eric R. Backes: 20300-14101=6199
Amanda Holm: 17200-4000=13200 (New Champ)
Mark Smith: 6200-200=6000

Correct response:

Spoiler

Charles Goodyear (Eric – Carver) (Amanda – Dupont) (Mark – G.W. Carver)

Daily Doubles
Eric: 7000+2500
Mark: 1800+2000
Amanda: 11000+3000

Coryats
Eric: 18400
Amanda: 15800
Mark: 5800

Combined: 40,000

Scores at the end of the Jeopardy! Round
Eric: 10300
Amanda: 3400
Mark: 200

[MarkBarrett]

Good laughs during chat time with Alex admitting he almost read “bead weaver” as “bed wetter” and Eric telling a job story where he called the Electoral College the “Electrical College.”

Alex’s ear piece cord is very visible after completing the chat with Eric for those who have not noticed it previously.

Come on writers, live a little and include a photo of the Flyers mascot. At least got a nice close up of her bead work.

The FJ! clue will bug me all weekend. I wrote G. in starting to match Mark’s response. Elastic metal made no sense for peanuts and I saw how “vegetable leather” could be Goodyear and rubber. I wrote, “Good” and stopped as I let the “elastic metal” mess with me and I switched to Bessemer.

17 in a row to 3/5 last week and now 2/5 this week. Next week could be just as bad for me with 2 All Stars level FJ! clues to navigate.

Amanda was in a strong second place position and knew what to do. Yeah, bet the magic $4000. Works sometimes.

Before the ToC Eric will get knocked down a peg or two or more on the Trackers. He was room to still make it.

[MarkBarrett]

Bumping since the particulars are now filled in after getting the later airing in from Cleveland, MS.

[Bob78164]

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

[floridagator]

I got Goodyear pretty fast but thought about Carver for a few seconds.

[econgator]

I had nothing. Said Burbank just to say something.

[harrumph]

For FJ I had a coin flip between Goodyear and Firestone and had a vague memory of Goodyear refining the vulcanization process so I went with him.

[threearruda]

Another really good game. Final clicked for me about 15 seconds in; pleased to salvage a less than great week in terms of FJs.

Eric's bullfrog stance has started to remind me a bit of Craig Kimbrel's "pterodactyl" lean-in before he throws a pitch. Stats/performance remind me a lot of another personal favorite in Tim Kutz. High-scoring 4-day champ with a huge first win, very strong Coryat scores and a day 5 loss from the lead.

I hope to see you again in the ToC Eric, congrats a great run! ETA: Congrats to Amanda as well for taking out a strong champ!

[Euphonium]

Eric Backes = Slumdog Millionaire-lite?

I considered saying "smoke pot" instead of "text"

As a Colts fan, I can't hear the word "Grit" or any inflection of it without being reminded of Chuck Pagano's generic motivational techniques.

Be-e-e-ead weaver, I believe you can get me through the...ok, can't think of anything that works here

NORMQUIPS would be a good addition to my fortune file collection; I need to create one

BOO ALEX! The Latin "g" is not an affricate!

Hey, Hey, LBJ...

Reuben, Reuben, I've been thinking, what on earth have you been drinking? Is it whiskey? Is it wine? Oh my gosh, it's turpentine!

As Gregor Samsa went out one morning, to breathe the air around Tom Paine's...

Coryat: $44,400

J: 26R3P. Got DD. 5/5 on Word Puzzles, Life & Death, and Body Parts. 4/4 on You Had to Be There. 4/5 on World Almanac. 3/5 on Funny.

DJ: 26R4P. Got both DDs. 5/5 on Kafka, Liquids, and City. 4/5 on Presidents' Days and Homophonic Pairs. 3/5 on Song.

FJ: Nope--went with Carver.

LT: Transit, Rachel, knee, Ronnie Ray Gun, sent scent, The Castle

[TenPoundHammer]

Ran Word Puzzles and Homophonic Pairs, demonstrating my strengths again.

Was 0/5 in "It Was So Funny", though.

Got only $400 in That Song Sounds Familiar.

I have no idea where Bohemia is.

No guess on FJ! Even the "rubber" hint after the fact led me nowhere. Another issue of semantics, as Charles Goodyear just isn't stored in my brain as an "inventor". I find that happens too often anymore.

Lach Trash: knee, sent scent

[Category 13]

Darn, Darn, Darn... I was rooting for Eric and thought he'd come up with another singleton. Also thought he had a good case for wagering shortagey (1700 to outsmart an intelligent wager (4799) from Amanda). I think I would have rolled the dice.
He had a number of negs where I was frustrated that he didn't stay clam. Don't know if that would have been enough to get the crush but I bet it's close.

Mark's silly $200 wager cost him $1000. Makes me wonder if he would've wagered over 11,000 if his and Amanda's scores were inverted.

It took me about ten seconds to decipher Charles Goodyear.

[bkellysky]

Mark's answer of 'eclipse' for the Transit of Mercury was correct. Mercury moving across the disk of our Sun as seen from Earth is a partial eclipse of the Sun.

[twelvefootboy]

Eric - you have several fans here if you check in. Good job of gameplay which got you through but today a sub-optimal wager (on the DD) by the opponent did you in from the lead. That, and the fact that GW Carver isn't one of your friends .

Instaget FJ. I didn't spend any time on GW Carver as his National Park is nearby and he certainly didn't spend his whole life on the peanut. The wording of the clue gives me a new insight into just how transformative the development of rubber had to be. The word "elastic" is about synonymous with these materials for us now, but back then it might have been an obscure technical term. Maybe the development of rubber was like cell phones - nobody knew they needed them before they became readily available. And the real polymer revolution started with nylon and bakelite. I look forward to the ultimate development of a spandex cell phone.

[CasketRomance]

Ran Word Puzzles and Homophonic Pairs, demonstrating my strengths again.

Was 0/5 in "It Was So Funny", though.

Got only $400 in That Song Sounds Familiar.

I have no idea where Bohemia is.

No guess on FJ! Even the "rubber" hint after the fact led me nowhere. Another issue of semantics, as Charles Goodyear just isn't stored in my brain as an "inventor". I find that happens too often anymore.

Lach Trash: knee, sent scent

do you really need to know bohemia? prague is pavlovian with kafka

[CasketRomance]

pre-called all 3 things i know about kafka and all made it to the board

[seaborgium]

I wonder if Mark misread Eric's score as $20,200. If it was an actual mistake, I'm glad Amanda wagered properly so that it cost him only $1,000 and not the game.

I immediately recognized the descriptions in FJ as referring to rubber. My dad went straight for Carver and couldn't see the light even as I emphasized that peanuts weren't leathery or elastic, and pointed out that J! probably wouldn't call peanuts a "plant substance." (I mean, obviously they are, but I don't think anyone seeking to be understood will call a food item a "substance.") At least he wasn't alone.

[JayK33]

Eric was a good champ. There still hasn't been a 5-time winner since Well Dunn, I believe. In other words, there still hasn't been a 5-time winner since I've been watching J! again daily. We've come close a few times.

[Peachbox]

I had nothing. Said Burbank just to say something.

I thought of Burbank at first too, then luckily switched to Goodyear. Salvages a bad FJ week.