The Final Jeopardy question (10/7/2013) in the category “Toys” was:

A caveman-themed game in which “rocks” were thrown at other players led to the creation of this product in 1969.

New champ, Cori Wilhelm won $18,001 in Friday’s game. Today she defends against these two opponents: Mary Murrell, from Madison, WI; and Marc Muneal, from Barnesville, GA.

Marc found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “A Journey to Baja, California.” He was in the lead with $3,800, $400 ahead of Cori in second place. He bet $1,200 but didn’t know. He took a guess with water but that was WRONG.

Baja’s famous sand dunes are home to a type of plant known as a halophyte. The name means it thrives in environments rich in this compound. show

WHAT IS SALT?

Cori finished in the lead with $3,400. Mary was second with $3,000 and Marc was last with $2,600.

Marc found the first Double Jeopardy Daily Double in “Trademarks.” He was in a tie for second place with Mary. They both had $4,600, exactly $2,000 less than Cori’s lead. He bet $600 and he was RIGHT.

This 5-word boast is the trademark of Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. show

WHAT IS “THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH”?

The contestants ran out of time, leaving one clue on the board in “International Men of Mystery” and 2 clues uncovered in “They Were in Charge 30 Years Ago.” The second Daily Double was under one of those clues.

Marc finished in the lead with $11,600. Cori was next with $10,200 and Mary was in third place with $4,600.

Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHAT IS A NERF BALL?

Parker Brothers originally developed Nerf, beginning with a 4″ polyurethane foam ball. In 1969, Reyn Guyer, a Minnesota-based games inventor, came to the company with a volleyball game that was safe for indoor play, and after studying it carefully, Parker Brothers decided to eliminate everything but the foam ball. In 1970, the Nerf ball was introduced as the “world’s first official indoor ball”, the name “Nerf” being a slang term for the foam padding used in off-road racing. The brand is currently owned by Hasbro. (more info)

Mary got it right and bet $2,500. She finished with $7,100.

Cori had “a Nerf Gun.” That cost her $10,198. She finished with $2.

Marc wrote down “a hackey sack.” He lost 10,000 so he ended up with $1,600.

So Mary Murrell may have been trailing going into FJ! but she emerged the new Jeopardy! champ. Cool beans — for Mary!