Jeopardy! recap for Tue., Jan. 17

 Please welcome today's contestants:

- Stephanie, a aerospace engineer, had a bilingual wedding on her husband's home island of Crete; 

- Vince, a risk manager, stepped in as organist for a native choir in Canada ; and

- Katie, a museum interpreter, participated in Star Wars-themed running events.  Katie is a one-day champ with winnings of $23,100.

Jeopardy! 

THE REAL REAL HOUSEWIVES OF... //  "I" ON ART // ALL ABOUT HAIR // SUMMING UP THE SPIELBERG MOVIE // DOUBLE VOWELS NEXT TO DOUBLE CONSONANTS // DURING THE LIZ TRUSS WEEKS

DD1 - $800 - THE REAL REAL HOUSEWIVES OF... - ...New York enjoy this 1,046-foot Art Deco skyscraper designed by William Van Alen & built between 1928 & 1930 (Katie doubled to $2,400.)

Scores at first break: Katie $1,200, Vince $3,800, Stephanie $1,400.

Scores going into DJ: Katie $6,200, Vince $7,000, Stephanie $1,400.

Double Jeopardy! 

A LITTLE WORLD HISTORY // 1980s BESTSELLERS // 3 LETTERS, 2 MEANINGS // INTERNATIONAL FOOD & DRINK // EMMY WINNERS // SCIENCEY STUFF

DD2 - $1,600 - 3 LETTERS, 2 MEANINGS - A body of water, or a deep, drawn-out howl (Vince dropped $5,000 from his total of $15,400 vs. $10,200 for Katie.)

DD3 - $2,000- A LITTLE WORLD HISTORY - He reunited the Eastern & Western Roman Empires in 324 A.D., & the new capital soon bore his name (Katie dropped $6,000 from her score of $13,000 vs. $12,400 for Vince.)

The game tightened up when Vince missed DD2, then Katie found DD3 with a slim lead, made a substantial bet and missed, narrowly keeping the game alive into FJ at $7,400 vs. $14,000 for Vince and $1,000 for Stephanie.

Final Jeopardy!

GEOGRAPHY MNEMONICS - MIMAL, sometimes said to be the silhouette of a chef or elf, stands for Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and these 2 states

For the second straight game, everyone was incorrect on FJ. Vince dropped $1,000 to win with $13,000.

Final scores: Katie $2,400, Vince $13,000, Stephanie $101.

Odds and ends

Triple Stumper of the day:  In DOUBLE VOWELS NEXT TO DOUBLE CONSONANTS, no one knew the "trial" item metaphorically floated to gauge public reaction is a balloon.

FJ wagering strategy: Given the size of Vince's lead going into FJ, Katie's best winning chance was to bet it all, but by wagering just $5,000, she wouldn't have won even if she was correct. However, the $5,000 bet did serve to lock up second money, so if that was her goal, well played.

Pedantry corner: The FJ category title sounds a bit clumsy IMO, better if they had gone with an adjective before the noun, GEOGRAPHICAL MNEMONICS. Also, is MIMAL really a mnemonic here in the sense that it's used for memorization? Feels more like an acronym.

Correct Qs: DD1 - What is the Chrysler Building? DD2 - What is bay? DD3 - Who was Constantine the Great? FJ - What are Arkansas and Louisiana?