Final Jeopardy: American Authors (12-15-11)
The Final Jeopardy question (12/15/2011) in the category “American Authors” was:
He was born in NYC on April 3, 1783 toward the end of the Revolutionary War & named for one of the War’s heroes.
The Adventures of Boomie Aglietti continued today as he made an attempt to become the second 3-day champion since Francis Lansagnan on November 23rd. Beth Watkins from Georgia and Silas Crawford from Florida also were taking a shot at winning.
Alex’s wife Jean, his 90-year old mom, Lucille, and his only American cousin, Dolores, were in today’s audience.
Boomie found the Jeopardy round Daily Double in “Burns, Baby, Burns,” a category all about poet, Robert Burns. In the lead with $4,200, he bet $1,200 and he was RIGHT. We would have appreciated the dramatic pause in supplying the correct answer much more if the bet had been larger.
Steinbeck took note when Burns wrote “The best-laid schemes o” these 2 things “gang aft agley” show
Boomie finished the first round in the lead with $7,000. Beth was second with $4,800 and Silas was last with $3,400.
Beth got the first Daily Double in Double Jeopardy. The category was “‘Churches & Cathedrals:” Only $2,200 behind Boomie with $10,800, she decided to bet $3,000. She was RIGHT and was now in the lead by $800.
Teddy Roosevelt spoke to a crowd of 10,000 at the laying of the foundation stone for this cathedral in 1907. show
Beth still had the lead when she got the second Daily Double in “Times Past.” She chose to bet $2,000 of her $16,600. She thought it was Paris and that was WRONG (but she got that $2,000 back in short order).
“In the Congress System of 1815-25, nations tried to solve conflict diplomatically, starting with the Congress of here.” show
Boomie got the last couple of clues and they ended up in a tie with $18,600 each. Silas went into Final Jeopardy with $8,600.
TWO contestants had the correct Final Jeopardy answer:
WHO IS WASHINGTON IRVING
“One day in 1788, in a little bookshop in New York, General Washington was accosted by a Scotch nursemaid with a small boy clinging to her hand. Pushing the boy forward, with a curtsy she said quaintly, ‘Please, your Honor, here’s a bairn was named after you.’
“The bairn was Washington Irving. It might have surprised ‘the father of his country’ if he had been told, as he smiled and laid his hand on the child’s head, that he was giving his blessing to his future biographer. The ‘biographer’ was at that time five years old. Many years after [Irving] said, ‘I can feel that hand upon my head even now.'” (The Merrill Reader – Google Books)
Silas got the correct answer. His $8,000 bet brought his total to $16,600.
Beth also got it right. She bet it all, bringing her total to $37,200.
Boomie also bet it all, to our surprise, but what choice did he have? Alas, he wrote down “Hawthorne.” Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts on Independence Day in 1804 and was named after his father.
Congrats to new champion, Beth Watkins, who will return tomorrow to wrap up the week.
