Jeopardy! recap for Fri., Feb. 18

Introducing today's contestants:

- Carter, an attorney, barely survived an encounter with hot wings;

- Bridget, a communications specialist, wore the ring of her grandmother, also a Jeopardy! fan; and

- Matt, an elementary school teacher, has a big cat with a big name. Matt is a one-day champ with winnings of $21,400.

Jeopardy! 

NORTH AMERICAN LITERATURE // FROM S TO S // STATE QUARTERS // GYMNASTICS // STICK // THE LANDING

DD1 - $1,000 - THE LANDING - In 2019 China's Chang'e 4 probe made the first landing here, a place not even glimpsed by humanity until 1959 (Matt won $2,000 from his leading score of $6,600.)

Scores going into DJ: Matt $8,600, Bridget $2,400, Carter $4,200.

Double Jeopardy! 

HISTORIC MEN // BRING YOUR "A" GAME // BOOKS BY FUNNY PEOPLE // IN THE CHEMISTRY LAB // BODIES OF WATER // END YOUR RESPONSE WITH A PREPOSITION

DD2 - $1,200 - BODIES OF WATER - Formations like the Great Barrier Reef gave this body of water its name (Carter doubled to $12,400 vs. $8,600 for Matt.)

DD3 - $1,600 - IN THE CHEMISTRY LAB - Used to crush & grind, this pair of tools is featured in a permanent display at Philly's University of the Sciences (With one other clue remaining, Carter lost $3,200 from his total of $15,600 vs. $17,400 for Matt.)

Scores going into FJ: Matt $17,400, Bridget $3,600, Carter $13,600.

Final Jeopardy!

PLAYS - First published in 1602, its title characters are Margaret & Alice

Carter and Bridget were correct on FJ, with Carter adding $3,801 to win with $17,401

Odds and Ends

That's before our time: No one knew fictional hero Simon Templar is "The Saint", the sequel to "Evil Dead" that begins with "A" is "Army of Darkness", or the Canadian comedian whose book is titled "I Must Say", Martin Short.

Clue selection strategy: Late in DJ with DD3 still on the board, the players chose the four remaining top-row clues before picking all the clues from the bottom three rows.

Correct Qs: DD1 - What is the dark side of the Moon? DD2 - What is the Coral Sea? DD3 - What is mortar and pestle? FJ - What is "The Merry Wives of Windsor"? (Matt won the day's comedy award by writing "Two Gentlemen of Verona".)