Final Jeopardy: U.S. Presidents (11-14-12)
The Final Jeopardy question (11/14/2012) in the category “U.S. Presidents” was:
The only 2 Presidents never to present a State of the Union address are William Henry Harrison & this man.
Today is the first match of the Teachers Tournament Semi-Finals. John Hines from Tacoma, WA; Whitney Collins, from New York, NY; and Michael Farabaugh, from Charlottesville, VA. are competing for a spot in the finals.
One semi-finalist and two wild card spot winners. Ever wonder how they decide who will play against whom? Us, too. Anyhow, Alex informed us that these are called “sudden victory” games. Only the winner gets to come back on Monday for the final two matches of next week.
John found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “The Maya.” He was in the lead with $2,800, $200 more than Michael in second place. He bet $1,200 and he was RIGHT.
Mayan ruins have revealed workplaces for crafting with this shiny rock formed by the rapid cooling of lava. show
Michael finished in the lead with $5,600. John was second with $5,400 and Whitney was last with $5,200.
Michael found the first Double Jeopardy Daily Double in “Fun with Science.” He was in a tie for the lead with Whitney at $9,200. They both had $3,000 more than John. He bet $5,000 and he was RIGHT.
If you’ve got a 1982 penny, it could be either mainly copper or mainly this material next to copper on the periodic table. show
Whitney found the last Daily Double in “F. Scott Fitzgerald.” She was in second place with $11,600, $3,400 behind Michael’s lead. She bet $2,000, guessed “A Movable Feast,” and that was WRONG.
Scott got this title from “Ode to a Nightingale”, where it precedes “and haply the queen-moon is on her throne. show
Michael finished in the lead with $18,200. John was next with $13,400 and Whitney was in third place with $10,400.
NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
James Garfield and William Henry Harrison never gave State of the Union addresses because neither served a year as President. After being sworn in as President in March 1881, Garfield was struck down by an assassin’s bullet in July, and died in September of the same year.
“The only person to serve less time in the White House than James Garfield was William Henry Harrison, America’s ninth president. Several weeks after his March 4, 1841, inauguration, Harrison caught a cold that turned into pneumonia. He died on April 4, after just a month in office.” (History.com: James A. Garfield)
Whatever Whitney wrote down, Alex couldn’t figure it out and Whitney didn’t enlighten him. It cost her everything but a dollar.
John picked Zachary Taylor. That cost him everything. So Whitney had $1.00 more than him.
Michael wrote down George Washington. He bet $8,601 so even though his total went down to $9,599, he was the victor in the “sudden victory” game and we will see him next Monday and Tuesday in the 2-match finals.
Whitney and John each received $10,000 for making it to the semi-finals.
