Jeopardy! recap for Fri., Dec. 16

 Here are today's contestants:

- Elizabeth, a strategy consultant, whose dogs have drag personas Norma Jean Barker and Laverne Surly; 

- Neal, a financial analyst, delighted front office fans at the Cubs World Series parade; and

- Ray, a scenic artist, painted a mural for his daughter's junior high stage show.  Ray is a one-day champ with winnings of $32,600.

Jeopardy! 

TIME FOR READING // ALASKAN GEOGRAPHY // MUSIC ICONS // MUMMIES // "TIP" // THE SCALES

DD1 (video) - $600 - ALASKAN GEOGRAPHY - Named for a son of King George III, this sound with Valdez as a main port, was the site of the Exxon-Valdez oil spill (Neal lost $2,000 on a true DD.)

Scores at first break: Ray $1,000, Neal $200, Elizabeth $4,200.

Scores going into DJ: Ray $4,800, Neal $0, Elizabeth $6,000.

Double Jeopardy! 

CHRISTMAS & HANUKKAH // ORNAMENTS OF YORE // THAT'A BIG ANIMAL // 10-LETTER VERBS // INVASIONS // TV & MOVIE PLACES

DD2 - $2,000 - THAT'S A BIG ANIMAL - 40 feet long and weighing 11 tons or more, this largest living fish has 2 animals in its name (Ray added $4,000 to his total of $13,600 vs. $6,000  for Elizabeth.)

DD3 - $1,600 - 10-LETTER VERBS - Latin for "easy" gives us this verb meaning to assist in the progress of something (Neal lost $2,400 on a true DD.)

Ray ran the holiday category early in DJ to open a lead, expanded his advantage on DD2, and scored on the last clue to nail down the runaway at $23,600 vs. $8,800 for Elizabeth and $400 for Neal.

Final Jeopardy!

COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD - It’s home to 58 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, more than any other country; the sites include a volcano & a lagoon

Ray confidently wrote his FJ response and was the only player to be correct, adding $4,400 to win with $28,000 for a two-day total of $60,600.

Final scores: Ray $28,000, Neal $193, Elizabeth $100.

Odds and Ends

Triple Stumper of the day: No one knew the Alaskan city named after a vice president that has 24 hours of sunlight for 70 days across May to July is Fairbanks.

FJ wagering strategy: Elizabeth appeared to have second money all wrapped up, but decided to wager almost everything and dropped to $100, winding up third behind Neal with $193. So maybe 193 is a lucky number for Neal after all.

Correct Qs: DD1 - What is Prince William Sound? DD2 - What is whale shark? DD3 - What is facilitate? FJ - What is Italy?