Please welcome today’s contestants:
– Ashwin, a data scientist from Pennsylvania, fell asleep at the Sydney Opera House;
– Heather, a math teacher from Oregon, was her county’s sixth-grader of the year; and
– John, a slot floor person from California, would have been appreciated by Alex’s slot-loving mother. John entered the game as a two-day champ with winnings of $52,511.
Champ John expanded his lead by running a movie category, missed DD3 and narrowly held the advantage into FJ with $10,600 vs. $9,200 for Heather and $6,000 for Ashwin.
DD1, $800 – 1984 – Thousands gathered at this iconic L.A. location for Olympic track & field events (John won $1,200 on a true DD.)
DD2, $1,200 – GEOGRAPHIC NUMBERS – It’s in the middle of the Susquehanna River just south of Harrisburg (Pennsylvania resident Ashwin lost $1,400 on a true DD.)
DD3, $1,600 – A BRUSH WITH DEATH – El Greco’s painting of the Virgin Mary cradling her dead son is called this, like Michelangelo’s famous sculpture of the same subject (John lost $4,000 from his score of $10,200 vs. $4,400 for Heather.)
FJ – BESTSELLING AUTHORS – Now in her 70s, this author splits her time between Paris & San Francisco, often writing between 20 and 22 hours a day on an old typewriter
Everyone was incorrect on FJ. Ashwin played for the Triple Stumper with a $1 bet, but Heather, perhaps anticipating that Ashwin would make a tiny bet, only wagered $1,401. That was good enough for Heather to win with $7,799 after John’s bet of $7,801 was revealed.
That’s before our time: In a category about famous people named Neil, no one knew “Laughter in the Rain” performer Neil Sedaka.
This day in Trebekistan: Alex introduced the “1984” category by saying, “That was a good year”. That was when the Trebek version of Jeopardy! started, so I guess it was a good year!
Shameless shilling: These was a whole category devoted to item names at IKEA.
Correct Qs:
DD1 – What is Los Angeles (Memorial) Coliseum?
DD2 – What is Three Mile Island?
DD3 – What is The Pietà?
FJ – Who is Danielle Steel?