Note to Mark: No corrections, so you don't have to read this for work purposes. I like to feel I'm fascinating enough to read purely for recreation, but I'll leave that decision to you.
My oh my the odd things one learns from Jeopardy! J3 MAMMALS $300: World Book says the flesh of these bony-plated mammals is good to eat
Armadillo. What other "bony-plated mammal" can one name? The pangolin? Nice try, but that's keratin. It's interesting that the clue cites World Book. Almost as though the writers aren't willing to vouch for the actual fact, only for the fact that some research tool makes the claim. I certainly had no idea that armadillo was edible at all, except maybe out of desperation.
These days we'd definitely have a negbait debate on J4 MAMMALS $400: Native to Africa, this nocturnal mammal that feasts on ants is the only living member of its order
Aardvark. I think I'd have clammed initially. I leaned toward aardvark because of the Africa-Dutch connection. Plus at $400, "anteater" seemed a little on the nose for "mammal that feasts on ants". But after Margot helpfully eliminated that possibility and Bob took a flier with our friend the pangolin (!), I think I'd have scooped this one up. So, not surprised at the anteater neg, but definitely surprised by the pangolin guess--especially since I'd just mentioned pangolins--and also surprised this clue ended up a TS.
Seems like every tenth game came with a side of Bible back then! This is 1990 AND it's a Seniors Tournament, so I'm predicting we'll be fine. Let's see... missed the $100 clue! They did, and so did I: In the Bible you didn't just put these on, you "girded" them on, as David did in I Samuel 25:13
Swords. Like Bob I fell for the "loins" neg even though I know what loins are and that one doesn't exactly put them on and take them off. But the association of "gird" and "loins" is so strong that I figured it was the WRITERS who were making another one of their Bible mistakes, not me. Silly me. Pride goeth before what now?
Destruction. It's "an haughty spirit" that "goeth before a fall".
I even remember a hymn we occasionally sang in the Presbyterian church based on Psalm 45 that had the line "Now gird thee with thy sword." Still, though, not a great clue for the $100 slot--or ANY slot, really. It's got the (admittedly nonsensical) negbait of "loins". And sweeping that aside, without citing an obscure verse, the clue can't be pinned to "sword". A quick search reveals instances in the KJV of girding on weapons of war, sackcloth, and girdles (in one case with a sword fastened on it, but it was the girdle that got girded).
Ok, shake it off. How'd we do on the REST of the BIBLE category? $200 was easy peasy. Then more trouble for me (but not our doughty contestants, or at least Margot) in J10 BIBLE $300: It wasn't the name of just one king but a dynasty that ruled in the Holy Land in New Testament times
Herod. The clue just took me too long to parse and I initially missed the all-important "New Testament" qualifier. So I wasted a couple of seconds thinking of the Davidic/Solomonic line. Once I saw the NT, I got to Herod almost immediately. Maybe if this had been a stand-and-stare I'd have sorted things out before Alex provided the correct response. Would definitely knock this one out as a DD or FJ. That's where you'd see a clue like this today.
So now I'm 1 for 3 on BIBLE. I get the next one, but wow! They want ALL THREE languages?! J11 BIBLE $400: The three languages in which Pilate wrote "Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews" on the cross at the crucifixion
Latin, Greek, Aramaic. Bob got all three. Good for him. This is definitely one where I'd ring in without having all three in mind, just confident that I could get there in time. These days, this clue would ask for at MOST two of the three and even at that it'd be a DD. As a side note, they'd also have to accept Latin, Greek, and Hebrew since that's what Jeopardy!'s Bible of record, the KJV, says.
That puts me at 2 for 4 on BIBLE. Let's check on the $500 clue. Oh, we'll have to wait. After that last one, we're going to a different category. Bob may have gotten it right, but he doesn't want to roll those dice again just yet. Smart man. Instead, he takes us to J12 FILMS OF THE '40s $400: He was a well-respected actor in England before taking his 1st U.S. role in "Anna & the King of Siam"
Rex Harrison. Like Margot, I fell for the negbait of Yul Brynner. This game is turning into a disaster for me.
Ok, we eventually make our way back to BIBLE and it's another toughie. J19 BIBLE $500: Psalms has the most chapters, 150, & this prophetic book is second with 66
Isaiah. Margot, who called for the clue, gets it right. This is another one where I'd ring in first and figure it out on the fly. My first thought was Jeremiah which is second longest by word count. But then I thought, no, I can't recall Jeremiah going past 60 chapters and I know for sure that Isaiah does. I think most people who get this will do so by reasoning it out rather than happening to know the exact fact. This is another clue that would not fly today.
Final BIBLE score for Opus: 3 right, 1 clam, 1 neg. $1000 out of a possible $1500. Grrrr....
Wow, this game is super-negbaity, at least for me and the contestants. I joined Hank with his wrong guess on DD2 DJ10 COLONIAL AMERICA: By 1775 it was the second largest city in the British Empire
Philadelphia. Hank went with Boston as did I. I used most of my think time swatting away New York, which had come up in a previous clue. Given the choice of Philadelphia or Boston, I think I'd have gone with Phillie. But Boston was the one that popped into my head with time running out.
I think we'd definitely get a couple of poll questions out of the following. DJ17 POTLUCK $600: A mournful poem composed to lament someone who has died
Dirge. But after initially rejecting Hank's response of "elegy" there was a score reversal. I'm surprised "elegy" wasn't on Alex's card as an alternate. In fact, I'd be LESS surprised if elegy had been the expected response and they'd initially negged "dirge" before grudgingly reversing that decision. I'm checking the box that says "I had elegy" on this one.
FJ was totally gettable but I only came up with one. I wonder if I'd have gotten both back in 1990.
I'm checking the box that says "I had Bess but not Betty". Mrs Penguin would check the Betty not Bess box. Between the two of us, we got this one right. I subbed in Coolidge for the second spot. Her name was actually Grace, which makes sense for the wife of John Calvin Coolidge. I'll try to remember that. Mrs Penguin went with [Turns out it's Lou] Hoover.
J7 BREAD $100 should be 
