Please welcome today’s contestants:
– J.J., a community volunteer from California, counts raptors in a lovely setting;
– Peter, a lawyer from California, did a non-romantic proposal at his wife’s request; and
– Sam, a teacher from Minnesota, was distracted by a “bird” in the studio during introductions and gets “the usual” haircut when he travels the country. Sam is a four-day champ with winnings of $113,801.
Sam doubled to $13,200 on DD1, then J.J. took a slight lead on DD3, but Sam was able to reclaim first place going into FJ with $27,800 vs. $21,200 for J.J. and $6,400 for Peter.
DD1 (video), $600 – IT’S ALL IN THE PAST – England could have had a King Fred, but Frederick Lewis, Prince of Wales, son and father of kings with this name, died young in 1751 (Sam won $6,600 on a true DD.)
DD2, $1,200 – STATE CAPITALS – It’s less than 15 miles from Hersheypark to the capitol building in this city (Peter won the window maximum of $2,000 on the first clue of DJ.)
DD3, $1,600 – IN THE AIR – In a Khaled Hosseini book, the “real fun began” when the string of one of these “was cut” (J.J. won $6,000 from her total of $8,800 vs. $14,600 for Sam. Against an excellent champion, J.J. should have just bet it all.)
FJ – EUROPEAN COUNTRY NAMES – Resolving a decades-long dispute with its neighbor to the south, in 2019 this 28-year-old republic added “North” to its name
Sam and Peter were correct on FJ, with Sam adding $14,601 to win with $42,401 for a five-day total of $156,202. Second place J.J. wagered $8,399, the most she could bet while shutting out Peter. However, the bet was a bit too large, because if Sam had missed, J.J. still would have lost by a few hundred dollars.
Triple Stumper of the day: In a category about things that end with “art”, no one knew “a defensive embankment with a parapet on top” is a rampart.
This day in Trebekistan: At the end Alex talked about how they’ve given away “a lot of money” this season and how much they “love it”. Since they love giving away money so much, that must mean next season they’re going to be increasing the clue values for the first time since 2001, right?
Correct Qs:
DD1 – What is George?
DD2 – What is Harrisburg?
DD3 – What is a kite?
FJ – What is Macedonia?