Jeopardy! recap for Tue., Jul. 12

 Please welcome today's contestants:

- Ben, a history teacher, was introduced to Jeopardy! via EPCOT;

- Tehmeena, a business developer, was disqualified from poolside trivia in Mexico; and

- Steve, a lawyer from "regular Virginia", didn't get to offer lemonade to a golf ball hitting stranger. Steve is a one-day champ with winnings of $18,401.

Jeopardy! 

HUMAN ANATOMY // THE LYIN' KING // WHO'S IN THAT COMMERCIAL? // IN DISPOSABLE (responses are made up of the letters in "disposable") // NATIONAL-SOUNDING ITEMS // WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

DD1 - $800 - THE LYIN' KING - This mythical king whose name now refers to a never-ending task lied to get out of Hades (Steve won $1,000 from his leading score of $6,400.)

Scores going into DJ: Steve $7,400, Tehmeena $4,800, Ben $0.

Double Jeopardy! 

LAKES & RIVERS & A MOUNTAIN // VAMPIRES IN LITERATURE // THE ALEXANDER FILES // SOUNDS SMART // ON THE LABEL // "TOP" OF THE POPS

DD2 - $1,600 - THE ALEXANDER FILES - The second monarch of the kingdom of Serbs, Croats & Slovenes, Alexander I renamed the country this in 1929 (Steve added $2,000 to his total of $11,400 vs. $4,800 for both opponents.)

DD3 - $2,000 - ON THE LABEL - Above Campbell's on tomato soup cans, this word meaning "reduced to a compact form" (On the last clue of the round, Steve, with $15,000 and not wanting to risk possibly falling behind Ben going into FJ, added $5,000 vs. $10,000 for Ben.)

Steve was left with an interesting wagering situation on DD3 and opted not to go for the runaway, entering FJ with $20,000, exactly double of Ben at $10,000. In third place was Tehmeena at $3,200.

Final Jeopardy!

PAIRS IN ASTRONOMY - Discovered in 1877, they were named for siblings of the Greek god of love

Only Ben was correct on FJ, but amazingly didn't play for the possible win, as he only wagered $3,000. This allowed Steve to take the victory, losing $1 to finish with $19,999 for a two-day total of $38,400..

Odds and ends

Wagering strategy: The unusual finish wouldn't even have happened if Steve had made stronger wagers on the first two DDs, which would have enabled him to put the game away on DD3. Also, Tehmeena lost everything on FJ, while she should have considered betting $0 to take second money if Ben bet it all as expected and missed.

Musical miscues: No one knew the "Jungle Love" singer of The Time from 1984, Morris Day, or in "TOP" OF THE POPS, could remember 1965's "I Can't Help Myself" group The Four Tops.

Correct Qs: DD1 - Who is Sisyphus? DD2 - What is Yugoslavia? DD3 - What is condensed? FJ - What are Phobos and Deimos?