Introducing today’s contestants:

• Paul, a system administrator, is an accomplished softball pitcher;
• Susan, an Arabic translator, has seen 25 national parks; and
• Lisa, a stay-at-home mom & community volunteer, was the first in her family to attend college. Lisa is a one-day champ with winnings of $16,100.

Susan opened a sizeable lead on DD1 and just kept on building on her way to an easy runaway at $25,600 vs. $7,200 for Paul and $100 for Lisa.

DD1 – $600 – GIMME THE NUMBERS! – It’s the difference in the number of U.S. states in 2020 vs. the number of U.S. states in 1790 (Susan won $3,600 on a true DD to extend her lead.)

DD2 – $800 – FAREWELL TO THE AUTHOR – On his 1875 passing in Copenhagen, it was said though his eyes were closed, in children’s hearts, he would live forever (Susan won $4,000 from her score of $17,600 vs. $6,800 for Paul.)

DD3 – $1,600 – ENTERTAINMENT ADD A LETTER – Add a letter to this Leslie Caron favorite & you get a Ben Affleck & J. Lo not-so-favorite (Lisa, who gave the correct response but was ruled out of time before she did, lost $700 from her total of $800.)

FJ – 19TH CENTURY AMERICANS – In 1869 he moved to Yosemite Valley & was the first to say the area was formed by glacial erosion, a theory generally accepted today

Only Susan was correct on FJ, adding $10,000 to win with $35,600.

Triple Stumper of the day: For a first-round top-row clue, no one took a guess that the city of 14th century Prince Ivan I was Moscow.

Judging the judges: Lisa was having some trouble pronouncing Dostoevsky, and although her response was initially accepted, the judges “listened carefully to the tape” and ruled her incorrect. Although she added an “i” sound in the first syllable, this struck me as a tough ruling.

Correct Qs: DD1 – What is 37? DD2 – Who was Hans Christian Andersen? DD3 – What are “Gigi” and “Gigli”? FJ – Who was Muir?