Here are today’s contestants:
– Jeff, a journalist from California, met Mel Brooks, who almost killed his grandmother;
– Christina, an audio bookseller from New York, writes with a fountain pen; and
– Sam, a teacher from Minnesota, missed his contestant call while camping in the Australian Outback. Sam is a three-day champ with winnings of $75,601.
Sam dominated all the way, breaking the game wide open with a bold $11,000 wager on DD3 and leading into FJ with $33,200 vs. $13,600 for Christina and $5,200 for Jeff.
DD1, $600 – ORGANIZATIONS – It was founded by 6 cardiologists in 1924 (Sam won $4,400 on a true DD.)
DD2, $400 – GIVE ME 5-LETTER WORDS – In medieval legend, it was the cup or plate used by Jesus at the Last Supper (Christina won $2,600 on a true DD on the first selection of the round, which was a rare top-row DD.)
DD3, $1,600 – “I” ON SCIENCE – A woman’s eggs are fertilized outside her body in this method of assisted reproductive technology (Sam won $11,000 from his leading total of $13,400 vs. $5,200 for Cristina. It was early enough in the round that even if Sam had missed, he had plenty of time to recover.)
FJ – WOMEN AUTHORS – An award for works of horror, dark fantasy & psychological suspense honors this author who came to fame with a 1948 short story
Sam and Christina were correct on FJ, with Sam adding $5,000 to win with $38,200 for a four-day total of $113,801.
Triple Stumper of the day: In “Rhyme Time”, no one figured out that the person down at the docks who clips your locks is a harbor barber.
Pedantry corner: A clue about “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” said players can no longer phone a friend but can bring them to the studio. Actually, they can’t do that either, since the show has been cancelled.
This day in Trebekistan: Alger Hiss earned the rare posthumous “boo hiss” from Alex.
Correct Qs:
DD1 – What is the American Heart Association?
DD2 – What is grail?
DD3 – What is in vitro?
FJ – Who was Shirley Jackson?