Final Jeopardy: Toys (11-29-11)
The Final Jeopardy question (11/29/2011) in the category “Toys” was:
Invented in 1943, this toy was flung over tree branches by soldiers in Vietnam and used as a makeshift radio antenna.
Two-day champ, Kendra Anspaugh was back for a third try. All she needed to do was beat Mary Redling, from West Virginia, and Kiran Kedlaya, from Massachusetts.
That didn’t start out looking like a slam-dunk. In the Jeopardy! round, Kiran demolished the first category “Latin Body Parts,” racking up $3 grand before anyone else hit the buzzer.
All the same, Kendra got the Daily Double in “Stadium Food.” Kendra bet all she had — $1,200 (the same amount she had yesterday when she found this round’s DD). She got it. but never quite caught up to Kiran.
A few years back Wrigley Field introduced the Northside Twist, a 4-pound one of these with 3 dipping sauces. show
Kiran finished in the lead with $7,800. Kendra had $5,400 and Mary finished third with $2,600.
Mary got the first Double Jeopardy Daily Double in “Odd Words.” With $4,200, she plunked down a $3,000 wager and, happily, they did not throw her a curveball in a category she was good in (we hate that). She moved into second place.
This verb can refer to making & serving ice cream sodas or to cutting meat into long strips to be dried in the sun. show
Mary also did well in “Must ‘C’ TV” and was up to $13,600 when she got the second Daily Double in “Science.” She only felt comfortable with a $1,000 bet in this category. Wise move, because she just didn’t know and was not inclined to take a guess.
It’s the form of glucose that rotates a plane of polarized light clockwise. show
Kiran pulled ahead of Mary in the category “Moat Points.” He finished first with $17,800. Mary was second with $15,400 and Kendra was last with $9,200.
Alex thought that last clue in “Inventions for the Home” (which no one got) was just ingeniously clever: “Zalmon Simmons accepted a patent on a woven-wire one of these in lieu of cash & the ‘rest’ is history.” LOL! It’s easy when you have the answers.
Kendra nodded affirmatively as the camera passed by her, presumably signifying she was sure she had it. And she did. One other contestant had the correct Final Jeopardy answer:
WHAT IS SLINKY
Naval engineer Richard James invented “a spring, a spring, a marvelous thing, everyone knows it’s Slinky.” At its first demonstration at Gimbels Department Store in Philadelphia in November 1945, the Slinky sold out its entire inventory of 400 units in 90 minutes. James and his wife expanded the basic Slinky to include a Slinky Dog, Worm, Caterpillar and other fun Slinky stuff. In 1998, Betty James sold the company to Poof Products, Inc., which still owns it. (Official Slinky website)
Kendra doubled her money, finishing with $19,600.
Mary wrote down “What is Boomerang.” We don’t know which particular boomerang she was thinking of so here’s a link to a bunch of Boomerang Toys
Congrats to Kiran for adding $13,001 to his score and becoming the new champ with $30,801.
