Jeopardy! recap for Fri., Oct. 2

Introducing today's contestants:

- Jason, a litigation attorney, wants to nail Johnny Gilbert's introduction;
- Thembi, a writer, can say "thank you" in eleven languages; and
- Phillip, a naval officer, is a commander who has been in the service "all me bloomin' life, sir." Phillip is a one-day champ with winnings of $23,000.


Phillip found DD3 on the last clue of DJ with a chance to secure a runaway, but made a very small bet, so the game remained alive into FJ with Phillip at $18,200 vs. $9,400 for Jason and $6,700 for Thembi.

DD1, $600 - WAR, AMERICAN STYLE - By a vote of 19-13, the Senate passed the declaration of war for what would be called this, aka "Mr. Madison's War" (Phillip won the table limit of $1,000.)

DD2, $2,000 - LAST WORDS - This term for "the end of the line" was once a god celebrated at the end of the Roman year (Thembi added $2,500 to her score of $3,000,moving closer while still in third place.)

DD3, $1,600 - RUSSIAN OPERA - This iconic insect theme was written by Rimsky-Korsakov as an interlude for the opera "The Tale of Tsar Sultan" (Phillip improved by $1,000 to finish DJ with $18,200 vs. $9,400 for Jason.)

FJ - ARCHITECTURE - Begun in the 1170s on former marshland, it has been called a "perfect imperfection" & a "legendary mistake"

​​Only Phillip was correct on FJ. The percentage play for Phillip would have been to bet less than $3,000 to lock out Preston, but instead he gambled with a wager of $10,000 to win with $23,000.

Everyone was correct on FJ. Phillip added $1,800 to win with $20,000 for a two-day total of $43,000.

Wagering strategy: On DD3, a bet of $1,601 by Phillip would have given him the runaway when correct, but if he had missed, Thembi would have been brought into contention. So by betting $1,000, Phillip was giving up a shot at a sure win, instead choosing to face one live opponent in FJ instead of possibly two.

This approach probably only makes sense if Phillip had a very low confidence level in the category. This was likely the case since Russian Opera was left for last by everyone.

Historical hiccups: No one knew the aviator who was against the U.S. entering World War II was Charles Lindbergh, or the legendary 1930s self-help author who wrote "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" was Dale Carnegie.

Judging the writers: "Clues from a 1960s Jeopardy! Home Game" is my favorite category idea in a long time.

​Correct Qs: DD1 - What is the War of 1812? DD2 - What is terminus? DD3 - What is "Flight of the Bumblebee"? FJ - What is the Leaning Tower of Pisa?