All Episodes Discussion: The Daily Double

[Etta Place]

Common knowledge for Jeopardy is different than day-to-day common knowledge. Certain things come up a lot more on the show than they do in most people's daily lives. I wouldn't be too surprised if I asked people on the street for the name of the president before Lincoln and most of them couldn't come up with it. I would be disappointed if Jeopardy contestants couldn't tell you the answer, whether it's asked as "before Lincoln," "15th president," "elected in 1856," "bachelor president," etc. It's a different standard because those are the kinds of things you pretty much know you should study.

 

Even in those few "must know" categories, there's a limit to how much we can stuff into our brains, especially if we don't have any great interest in the topic otherwise. And when you get to things farther afield, it's even more true. I know I could study baseball facts all day, every day for months and not really have it stick because I just don't care enough.

[Tigershark]

Everyone's knowledge is different.  When I was on Jeopardy, there was one question that was a TS, and when I read this board and a bunch of other boards people were commenting on how easy that question was and that they couldn't believe it was a TS.  But I had never heard of it, never come across it, and didn't have a clue, but I'm sure there were a lot of questions that I knew that other people didn't.

 

 

I totally suck in the Shakespeare, opera and chemistry categories.

  That's funny because Shakespeare and Chemistry were two categories that I would put on my "dream" list of categories.  That's probably because I was a chemistry major and a theater minor, so those categories are right up my alley.  Instead I got a Classical Music category.  That's one category I knew I'd be completely useless in.  I think I made a half-hearted attempt at ringing in on one question (I actually knew the right answer).  But someone a couple days ago noted that classical music fans find the classical music questions on Jeopardy to be easy.  Fortunately there was a movie category and a quasi-chemistry related category to make up for that.

 

 

I know I could study baseball facts all day, every day for months and not really have it stick because I just don't care enough.

A while ago I read an interview with Ken Jennings, and he noted the people who tend to do well on Jeopardy are people who like a lot of different subjects and have a lot of different interest, because you tend to remember things you like.  

 

I was watching Jeopardy with my mom and we were both yelling at the TV when no one got the Joe Montana question.  Then again, we are both 49er fans.

Edited July 17, 2014 by Tigershark

[rubaco]

Jeopardy was not on tonight in my market due to extended network news. Did anyone here get the episode tonight? New champ or not?

[ottoDbusdriver]

@rubaco -- Jerome was defeated and we have a new champ (I can't remember her name at the moment).

 

I guess the new champ must have gotten stuck in traffic on the PCH once or twice if she thought that the Pacific Coast was more hellish than Death Valley. </snark>

[peeayebee]

Coverage is preempted here, too. I suppose the ep will be shown sometime later tonight or in the early morning, but who knows when. Of course sometimes when this happens we get a few days a day behind, so Friday's show will be Thursday's show. 

[Prevailing Wind]

The Atlanta affiliate has a sister station (one of the MyNetwork channels) and it'll run "Jeopardy!" at the normal time.  If you tune in to the regular station, they've got a crawl at the bottom of the screen telling you to go to channel 36.  Which I did.  When Alex revealed the FJ category & went to commercial, I turned to the cats & said, "Copernicus."  At the very last 3 seconds, I thought maybe Galileo.  And I have no idea why Copernicus popped into my head.  The cats, of course, didn't care one way or the other.

[dcalley]

All right, the triple stumpers that surprised me in Thursday's episode were Mondale and Janet Leigh. As for why?  I guess I'd expect at least one of them to know the actress in such an iconic scene/movie. The Mondale one I can maybe chalk up to their age, though I was way too young to vote in that election and still knew it.

Edited July 18, 2014 by dcalley

[Tabasco Cat]

I was surprised that not only was the Hess truck a triple-stumper, but three wrong answers! I remember seeing commercials for it every winter; they issued a new truck every year and I had a friend whose parents gave him the new one every Christmas. I wonder if he saved them and if all those trucks are worth anything?

 

They still sell them every year around Christmas. At least in the Northeast. TV ads and all. They change it up a bit every year, too, so it's not just the same truck over and over again. TV jingle stays the same: "The Hess truck's back and it's better than ever! etc etc etc" sung by a chorus of kids to the tune of "My Boyfriend's Back" by the Angels (1963).

 

Tonight I was glad to see 2 of the 3 answer FJ correctly. Instaget for me. In the history of science Copernicus is right up there on the top shelf with the big boys.

 

ETA: I'd never suggest that everyone should have gotten Copernicus. But I will say it for the Surgeon General. That was a $200 single-jeopardy-round clue at best.

Edited July 18, 2014 by Tabasco Cat

[Gilmel]

They still sell them every year around Christmas. At least in the Northeast. TV ads and all. They change it up a bit every year, too, so it's not just the same truck over and over again. TV jingle stays the same: "The Hess truck's back and it's better than ever! etc etc etc" sung by a chorus of kids to the tune of "My Boyfriend's Back" by the Angels (1963)

 

It must be a regional thing because my husband's from the Northeast and he was all, "Hess! Hess! Why don't they know that?" And I was all, "What on earth are you talking about?" I'm from the Pacific Northwest.

 

My husband and I floated both Galileo and Copernicus during the commercial break, so when they revealed the clue, we knew it was Copernicus.

[M. Darcy]

Three of the TS made me sad - Nancy & Molly (in the literary category) and Janet Leigh.

 

 

I'd never suggest that everyone should have gotten Copernicus.

 I would actually.  Isn't that something we learned in elementary school (maybe middle school)?   There are a few scientists that I would think everyone should know and to me he's one of them. 

Edited July 18, 2014 by M. Darcy

[Etta Place]

I did wonder if the Hess answer was a regional thing. I had never heard of it. I'm from California.

 

As far as Nancy/Bill Sikes - that one killed me. I was thinking "Bill Sikes ... that is so familiar!" But I couldn't put it together in time. I ... uh ... read Oliver Twist 4 months ago. *hangs head*

[teebax]

Last night's game was just painful for me to watch. We had board jumping for no apparent reason and a lot of blank staring at the board. That was one of my least favorite episodes in a while. 

 

 

I would actually.  Isn't that something we learned in elementary school (maybe middle school)?   There are a few scientists that I would think everyone should know and to me he's one of them.

I wouldn't assume they didn't know who Copernicus was. My assumption was that they didn't know he was the answer to this particular clue.

 

I think Hess is a regional thing. I'm from the northeast originally and knew it right away. However, I've not seen a Hess station anywhere on the west coast, where I've lived for almost a decade.

[ae2]

One more, "Hess is a regional thing." I had never seen the trucks growing up in the Midwest, or the gas stations, but you can find the trucks at any garage sale in upstate New York. Wikipedia confirms that they are predominantly an East Coast chain of stations, although they recently sold their stations off and they will be rebranded. 

 

If you knew that Copernicus pioneered the heliocentric model of the universe you probably got FJ. I wouldn't fault anyone for saying Galileo or Brahe.

 

Regarding Walter Mondale - he seems to come up a lot on the show for some reason. (J! Archive search for "mondale" returns 65 results for J and DJ, and 5 for FJ.) But I always miss it and say Spiro T. Agnew for some reason. (He comes up a lot too, with 48 and 5 results for "agnew".)

[Mrs. P.]

I was surprised that no one knew Janet Leigh. Granted, the film was released a long time ago, but as another posted noted, the shower scene has become iconic in the film pantheon, so I assumed most people would be aware of it.

[Trey]

I knew Janet Leigh but just couldn't pull it out of my brain.  I suspect that happens to the contestants some times too.

 

I went with Galileo for FJ although I thought the quote sounded backwards to his beliefs.

[Gilmel]

Galileo supported the Copernican model of the solar system. He was just around later than Copernicus so didn't come up with the idea.

[Sharpie66]

I missed yesterday's ep due to pre-emption for the world news stories (I still would like to know why the heck WLS doesn't switch to 6:00 broadcast, like everyone else in the country). And I'm bummed, because it sounds like I would have gotten FJ, because I'm a big ole geek on early astronomers.

 

Ptolemy: standardized the earth-centric model during the Roman empire era.

Copernicus: upended Ptolemy with the sun-centric model.

Tycho Brahe: known for his observations of the heavens (pre-telescope invention) and his fake nose.

Kepler: Used Brahe's notes to create his Laws of planetary motion, and established that the orbits are oval, not circular.

 

(H2 and Science Channel occasionally rerun a two-hour show called "Beyond the Big Bang" that delves into the history of the Big Bang theory, extending all the way back to Ptolemy and before, that I really recommend.)

[ali59]

I guessed Tycho Brahe because I thought Copernicus was too obvious.  And duh, I'm from the Northeast and completely didn't get Hess.

[rereader2]

I started with Copernicus, but then second guessed myself with Galileo, because I didn't know the specific quote referenced in the clue and it could have referred to either. *shrug*

[Driad]

 

What is the range of time Jeopardy is broadcast?  In other words, when should I avoid reading here so I don't get spoiled?  I'm in the eastern time zone and see Jeopardy from 7:30 to 8 PM.  Someone mentioned seeing it at 3:30 IIRC but I don't know what time zone that was.  adTHANKSvance!

[Bastet]

I know it airs as early as noon someplace in the midwest, so if you're concerned about spoilers you should probably avoid the thread from lunch on, until you've seen it.

[Sharpie66]

Chicago shows it at 2:30 Central time.

[dcalley]

It's on in the morning in a couple of markets, so maybe stay away after 10:00 am ET (though there might be one earlier!).

[Tabasco Cat]

In the New York area Jeopardy is on at 7pm and Wheel of Fortune follows at 7:30. In West Palm Beach the slots are reversed, Wheel at 7 and Jeopardy at 7:30. Last night's news special preempted Wheel but Jeopardy was aired on-time.

 

The worst preemption I can remember in New York was 2 years ago. OMG! A YACHT HAS EXPLODED OFF THE COAST OF NEW JERSEY! AMBULANCES ARE STANDING BY AWAITING THE VICTIMS! They were breathless with the special reporting (this was local WABC, not national). Turned out the entire thing was a hoax. http://abcnews.go.com/US/jersey-yacht-explosion-hoax-distress-call-released/story?id=16546583 The yellow journalists at WABC in New York never mentioned the story again. Of course they never followed up on the investigation to find out who perpetrated the hoax. I was livid for days, "What do you mean you pre-empted Jeopardy for a bogus news story?!"

[pandora spocks]

I was livid for days, "What do you mean you pre-empted Jeopardy for a bogus news story?!"

 

 

Tabasco Cat, I understand completely.  When it comes to pre-empting Jeopardy, there had better be an explosion of the sun or something equally dire. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

That motorcycling category had some weird questions -- wasn't always sure what they were looking for.

 

And that Weather category question that was all in Spanish wasn't really fair if you didn't speak any Spanish.

 

And we have another new champ -- congrats Winston. After initially struggling out of the gate, he pulls out the victory.

[YoureSoUrban]

 

While I agree that not everyone knows everything, that we each have areas of strength and weakness, I do believe that there just are some common areas that most people of at least some education (either formal or self taught) and/or experience should know.  I can't think of any off hand, but those are the type of TS questions that are surprising to me.

I agree completely, and there are some answers I do expect someone who's been through Jeopardy's vetting process to know. Regardless I don't think anyone here has been out of line, calling contestants idiots or anything.

 

As for tonight's game, there again seemed to be a lot of TS and guesses. I liked Winston though. I had no clue at FJ but when i heard it thought "UGH, of COURSE!" But just like most FJ's I miss, I'll remember it now!

Edited July 19, 2014 by YoureSoUrban

[CarpeDiem54]

We never got Thursday's game here since it was preempted by the news.

 

I didn't have a clue about FJ.  All I could think of was Camp David but I knew that was around way before 1957.  I like Winston.  He's a cutie.

[ali59]

I gotta ask; what does TS stand for?  Thank you in advance!

[Trey]

I gotta ask; what does TS stand for?  Thank you in advance!

It means Triple Stumper.

 

I got FJ right away, but only because of the 1957 clue.  I had no pre-calls for the category and figured I would be stumped so I was pleased I got it.

[Gilmel]

I guessed Falling Water, which I think is what the one contestant meant by "the waterfall house." I had no idea otherwise.

[gwlisa]

I guessed the Biltmore simply because after the White House I couldn't think of a famous house that might be sold besides the Biltmore. Should have taken the 1957 portion as a bigger clue.

[Tigershark]

The fact that no one got Material Girl made me sad.  That was my favorite song when I was 5 and I got excited everytime it came on the radio.

 

I got FJ tonight.  It wasn't an instaget, but eventually I figured it out.

[dcalley]

The fact that no one got Material Girl made me sad. 

It was weird. That was the category the champ decided to start the game with and then she didn't get it!

[YoureSoUrban]

I thought it was clever that they did two "Madonna Videos" categories. I'm a big fan of the singing Madonna so I did great there but other than La Pieta the other Madonna category threw me.

[Gilmel]

The fact that no one got Material Girl made me sad.

It was weird. That was the category the champ decided to start the game with and then she didn't get it!

 

The only thing I could think was that she wasn't familiar with the film/video version of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," only the song, so wasn't able to make the connection.

[peeayebee]

Whew! Friday's show was repeated tonight (Saturday), so I was able to watch.

 

I didn't get FJ. I knew it would be a head-slapper when I saw the answer. I just drew a complete blank.

 

Funny that there was a question about the Antarctica explorers since Jeff had just talked about working there. I'm glad he was able to buzz in and get it.

 

I was surprised no one came up with Material Girl. I see that as one of her top videos.

 

I was also surprised no one got New Hampshire (for The Hotel NH). 

 

When Alex read the clue for the discoverer of the Mississippi, I thought, "Desoto?" but figured I must be wrong because how would I know that?

 

I like Winston. Also -- and this may sound strange -- he sometimes reminds me of Neil Degrasse Tyson. I was thinking this, and then there was a question about him.

[opus]

Whew! Friday's show was repeated tonight (Saturday), so I was able to watch.

 

I didn't get FJ. I knew it would be a head-slapper when I saw the answer. I just drew a complete blank.

 

Funny that there was a question about the Antarctica explorers since Jeff had just talked about working there. I'm glad he was able to buzz in and get it.

 

I was surprised no one came up with Material Girl. I see that as one of her top videos.

 

I was also surprised no one got New Hampshire (for The Hotel NH). 

 

When Alex read the clue for the discoverer of the Mississippi, I thought, "Desoto?" but figured I must be wrong because how would I know that?

 

I like Winston. Also -- and this may sound strange -- he sometimes reminds me of Neil Degrasse Tyson. I was thinking this, and then there was a question about him.

And I called him Neil Tyson Degrasse!!

[Tabasco Cat]

When Alex read the clue for the discoverer of the Mississippi, I thought, "Desoto?" but figured I must be wrong because how would I know that?

 

Because it was George Costanza's favorite explorer? That's what I answer to every explorer question if I don't know (I did know Scott and Amundsen). Usually it's wrong. Tonight it was right!

 

I guess I'm out for the next 6 weeks. The teen tournament usually doesn't interest me. I'll probably watch it because it's just what we put on at that hour, but unless something truly unusual or outstanding happens this is the start of my Jeopardy offseason.

Edited July 20, 2014 by Tabasco Cat

[Driad]

 

Yes, the teen tournament tends to have easy questions.  So does the teacher tournament; I find that disappointing.

[Sharpie66]

The only 20th century house I could think of outside of FLW ones was San Simeon.

[HelenBaby]

I actually guessed the Playboy Mansion although I really couldn't see why it would be an historical landmark. My SO said Graceland and I disagreed with him. LOL

[Tabasco Cat]

Yes, the teen tournament tends to have easy questions.  So does the teacher tournament; I find that disappointing.

 

The teachers' tournament the last few years has, in my opinion, been an embarrassment. They do feature some incredibly good teachers but the tournament as a whole... let's just say I'm not impressed.

Edited July 21, 2014 by Tabasco Cat

[proserpina65]

Jul 19 2014. 2:01 pm

 

The fact that no one got Material Girl made me sad.

 

I'm a Madonna fan, but I couldn't pull the title of that one out of my head to save my life.  I felt pretty stupid about it.  But at least I got "Take A Bow".

es, the teen tournament tends to have easy questions

 

That or a lot of pop culture stuff that even my nephews are too old to be into.

I came up with Mount Vernon - simply because it was all I could think of, and I had no idea when it had been designated a national landmark.  When I saw the correct answer, I went "D'oh!" because obviously, given the year.

[Happycakez]

Did anyone notice the kid, Josiah, clicking the button so freaking hard? What was with that?

[gwlisa]

Yes, he was really clicking furiously.  It looked at the end like he didn't know he wouldn't come back when he has a negative score.

 

Bummer about Kat. She did so well until FJ.

[CarpeDiem54]

LOL!  Josiah looked like he was trying to kill the buzzer.  And why did he keep going for all of the high $$$ clues when he didn't know how the categories worked?  I think nerves got the better of him.  He looked like he was going to cry at the end.

 

Too bad about Kat, but Cooper was pretty impressive.

 

I was clueless on FJ.  My atheist friend knew the answer, however.

 

As an aside, I sometimes give celebrities nicknames.  I was screaming out "Arby's Hat Guy" for Williams.  I'm sure I'd humiliate myself and scream out "Enema" if I was presented with a clue about a certain white rapper.

[Bastet]

On the one hand, it's a shame for Kat to go out on one clue, but on the other, the clue nearly jumped up and down shouting "protest."   

[Gilmel]

I was rooting for Kat and wished she hadn't bet quite so much in Final Jeopardy since she still has a chance to move on if she's one of the top four earners in the tournament.

[opus]

A $0 bet probably would have clinched advancing. (Maybe. Check back Friday).