Introducing today’s contestants:
- Mary, a game play engineer, bakes pies for “Pi Day”;
- John, a marine aviator, is a third-generation pilot; and
- Kate, an assistant athletics director, was a cheerleader without knowing American football. Kate is a one-day champ with winnings of $16,800.
John played an outstanding game throughout, but he gave up the runaway when he missed DD3, leading into FJ with $24,200 vs. $12,800 for Kate and $6,200 for Mary.
DD1, $600 – ABANDONED PLACES – The Exclusion Zone created after this 1986 event covers some 1,600 square miles, & you should still keep out (John won $1,000 from his leading score of $7,200.)
DD2, $2,000 – INVENTORS & INVENTIONS – Inspired as a boy by H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds”, he launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket in 1926 (John won $2,000 from his total of $23,000 vs. $12,800 for Kate.)
DD3 – $1,600 – A NOVEL CATEGORY – E.M. Forster saw his first major success in 1910 with this novel named for a country estate (With one other clue remaining, John lost $1,600 from his score of $25,800 vs. $12,800 for Kate.)
FJ – U.S. MONUMENTS – More than 100 years after it was first proposed, this monument was dedicated by President Chester Arthur
Everyone was correct on FJ. John added $2,000 to win with $26,200.
That’s before our time: No one knew the Attorney General who got prison time for his role in Watergate was John Mitchell.
This day in Trebekistan: Sadly, Kate fell well short of the benchmark Alex set for her of winning $58,000, double of what her mother won as champion before they raised the clue values.
Correct Qs: DD1 – What is Chernobyl? DD2 – Who was Goddard? DD3 – What is “Howards End”? FJ – What is the Washington Monument?