Jeopardy! Season 36 (2019-2020)

[Mystery Author]

Re: FJs:

Mr. Author got McClellan right away because, said he, there's a McClellan saddle. Who knew?

I got The Ten Commandments. My dad, who was in advertising and worked in Manhattan, took me on a "real date." We ate at a restaurant whose menu had no prices and Dad had tickets to The Ten Commandments. They were for the first row. The movie was shot in "Vista Vision."  Did I mention that I was a little kid?

Tale of Two Cities was easy-peasy. My mind supplied the best of times, worst of times.

[Katy M]

9 hours ago, Ailianna said:

I may be wrong, but I think Ariana Grande has performed live within the last decade.  That's the part of the clue that I focused on, since I couldn't see the actual singer very well.  Too far away, too many other things in the frame.

I got it before the video from the word control.

[harrie]

6 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

Re: FJs:

Mr. Author got McClellan right away because, said he, there's a McClellan saddle. Who knew?

I got The Ten Commandments. My dad, who was in advertising and worked in Manhattan, took me on a "real date." We ate at a restaurant whose menu had no prices and Dad had tickets to The Ten Commandments. They were for the first row. The movie was shot in "Vista Vision."  Did I mention that I was a little kid?

Tale of Two Cities was easy-peasy. My mind supplied the best of times, worst of times.

 

I knew! It may be the only thing George McClellan did right. 

[Clanstarling]

 

10 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Instead of lion's mane, I said cat's whiskers. It's a smaller, cuter jellyfish.

Me too!

11 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I blame it on Janet wearing Ariana's fake ponytail. I gave him credit for recognizing that.

That's the first thing I noticed in the video, and took a beat before I realized it was Janet. "Control" meant nothing to me. I would never have guessed Ariana, mostly because she occupies no space in my mind.

7 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

I got The Ten Commandments. My dad, who was in advertising and worked in Manhattan, took me on a "real date." We ate at a restaurant whose menu had no prices and Dad had tickets to The Ten Commandments. They were for the first row. The movie was shot in "Vista Vision."  Did I mention that I was a little kid?

Has your neck recovered? 😉

I should have gotten FJ, for some reason I said Age of Innocence. As soon as Alex mentioned the beginning of the book, I knew it - but that doesn't count.

Edited April 30, 2020 by Clanstarling

[Etta Place]

12 hours ago, vibeology said:

FJ was easy for me because I love that novel but also, how many novels have incredibly famous first lines long enough to contain other stuff and the stuff they quoted?

Yep, when my husband looked to me for a hint, I said "come on, who could have a first line that ends with all of that, including ellipses to show they still left some stuff out?!"

Once he got the author, he went with the first one he could think of, I imagine, and he was right.

[Driad]

I got "A Tale of Two Cities" but it was a guess because I had not read as far as the end of that sentence.  When I had to read Dickens in school, I skipped the long descriptive passages at the beginning and started reading when the story started.

Lion's Mane jellyfish was an instaget from the Sherlock Holmes story.

Edited April 30, 2020 by Driad

[peeayebee]

3 hours ago, UpTooLate said:

And in French class, we learned that Louis XIV built Versailles, Louis XV lived in Versailles, and Louis XVI paid for Versailles. 

This mnemonic looks helpful, too.

9 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

Mr. Author got McClellan right away because, said he, there's a McClellan saddle. Who knew?

Not me. I googled this saddle, but I couldn't find how it was different from previous military saddles.

2 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

 

Me too!

:highfive:

[KLovestoShop]

What is it with some contestants who have to act so stupid during the introductions?  Ms Australian Airlines did it, and the middle guy yesterday did it too----faking like he was throwing a football.  It's Jeopardy, not freaking Price Is Right where you're expected to act like an idiot. 

[saber5055]

11 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

Mr. Author got McClellan right away because, said he, there's a McClellan saddle. Who knew?

I knew. I don't know what the design of a saddle based on his observations of European military (it was his job) has to do with his sitting down more than moving forward, although if one speculates that he'd rather sit on a saddle than ride the horse into battle, then hey, that line of thinking works for me. Good for Mr. Author getting FJ correct!

I've ridden in a McClellan saddle many times. It was the "novelty" saddle when a bunch of us would go trail riding, so I've been around them since I was a wee tyke. But of the five saddles I own now, none is a McClellan, and I have no desire to change that.

[bad things are bad]

Frankly, I didn't think the Ariane Grande answer held a candle to Chaka Khan when it comes to boneheadedness. 

[PaulaO]

Can Alex please not read the FJ! annotations that were banned midway through JJ's appearances?  Stop indulging these people.

[illdoc]

1 hour ago, peeayebee said:

I googled this saddle, but I couldn't find how it was different from previous military saddles

I don't know about all military saddles, but did know (thanks to a visit to a CW reenactment) that the McClellan saddle has the "middle" missing (think of a regular saddle crossed with a toilet seat) so that the horse's back gets air/less pressure on its back (I think).

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, illdoc said:

I don't know about all military saddles, but did know (thanks to a visit to a CW reenactment) that the McClellan saddle has the "middle" missing (think of a regular saddle crossed with a toilet seat) so that the horse's back gets air/less pressure on its back (I think).

All saddles, western, English and cutback, have pads that rest on each side of the horse's spine, with the center raised so the horse's spine isn't touched by the saddle. This is to accommodate horses of all builds, including ones with high withers.

The McClellan saddle is lightweight and uses less leather/canvas so was suited to wartime material scarceness, and the light weight made it easier for the horse to carry it and a rider for long periods of time. It's my thinking that the open center of the seat was so a man's ... physical attachments ... would not be squished as they can be by a full saddle seat.

Some endurance competitors use the McClellan because of its light weight, and, of course, it's a must for Civil War reenactors. For regular riders? It's not a first choice.

Edited April 30, 2020 by saber5055

[harrie]

Nothing to see here. 

Edited April 30, 2020 by harrie

[saber5055]

17 minutes ago, harrie said:

The saddle is incidental. 

No need to school me on that fact. I was giving details about the saddle to posters upthread who had mentioned it. Details about McClellan's lack of motivation are also given upthread.

We often digress into assorted and different topics in this thread, and some of the time a few of us learn something from it. The McClellan saddle is just one such instance, and from reading this thread I now know that McClellan will get you to Boston Logan.

Most posters here enjoy trivia, one reason we watch the show. YMMV.

[harrie]

5 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

No need to school me on that fact. I was giving details about the saddle to posters upthread who had mentioned it. Details about McClellan's lack of motivation are also given upthread.

 

Sorry, don't know how I missed that! 

[Driad]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

from reading this thread I now know that McClellan will get you to Boston Logan.

In less time than the duration of the Peninsular Campaign, if you're lucky.

[M. Darcy]

Kit Carson!!

i was really surprised they all didn’t know Morse Code and the Planets.  I got FJ- all those commercials must have made an impact on my memory. 

[Browncoat]

Kit Carson!  KIT CARSON!!!  KIT CARSON!!!!!!!  It's like Alex knows us.  We got a "Good for you!" also.

Ahem.

Smart wager by the new champ tonight.  I got FJ -- it was the only appropriate question I could think of.  "Where's the beef?" was much earlier.

I also got LSU, Kit Carson (of course!), and Vientiane (which I probably misspelled, but I can pronounce it).

[Katy M]

I got FJ.  At first the only advertising question I could think of was "Gof milk?  LOL.

I got the TS of Thumbelina, Kit Carson, Samuel Morse and The Planets.

I got the entire categories of Oscars (oddly enough) and nicknames.

I had a good night.

[lb60]

Kevin, stand still, you camera hog. You're lucky Jesse didn't shove you back to your spot. 

I guess it really is that cold in the studio, since Jesse appeared to be wearing at least three layers.

Sarah, sleeves up or down. Not one of each. She annoyed me tonight.

Before you ask, yes, I am perfect, have an excellent sense of fashion, and always stand still. ;-)

I only managed to get Thumbelina and FJ.

[catrice2]

Did she qualify for the TOC?   Congrats to the new champ!

[saber5055]

25 minutes ago, lb60 said:

Sarah, sleeves up or down. Not one of each. She annoyed me tonight.

And you are usually so mellow. (Now I have to find the rerun and check out sleeves.)

17 minutes ago, catrice2 said:

Did she qualify for the TOC? 

She needed to win one more to be in for sure. Now she is on the cusp, depending on how many others win five. She might be in, might not be. If that answers your question ... not! Ha.

[Bastet]

I read the archive, since I'm going to be watching Top Chef instead tonight, and I'm bummed Sarah didn't win a fifth game (and thus secure a slot in the ToC).  I'm oddly entertained by her diarrhea of the mouth.

Like everyone else, LOL at the Kit Carson clue; had a pTVer been in this game, that would not have been a TS.

The Morse TS surprised me, as did rupture a bit.

I missed two in Children's Lit, a weak category for me, but got everything else in the first round.  I came close in DJ, too, but I was just as stumped as the contestants by The Planets (I didn't have the audio clue they did, but I still wouldn't have known it) and I could not drag lysergic out of my brain.  I didn't get FJ, though; it crossed my mind, but I didn't think it had been around that long.  Time flies!

[saber5055]

I got Thumbelina and LSU. Side note about the Tulane wrong answer: When two friends and I went to Mardi Gras, we slept in our Jeep in the Tulane parking lot. My nephew went to LSU. I was surprised Trebek did not put a "genre" accent on Baton Rouge. I always Cajun-ize it when I say it.

None of today's players hang out here, obviously, since none of them knew The Official Mascot of This Thread, Kit Carson! But the writers do (I suspect), so thanks for the shout out. And hang your heads in shame anyone who posts here who did not get that TS. Kit Carson ROCKS!

Big HOORAY to Jesse for betting it all on that DD. And a big WTH to Sarah for betting $300 on her DD. She deserved to go home just based on that. Instead of go big or go home, she went small and went home anyway.

I felt badly for Jesse mispronouncing Vientiane. Geesh, I can barely spell it, who has ever heard it spoken (rhetorical question).

On FJ, I wondered why Jesse bet what he did instead of one dollar more. If Kevin had bet nothing, they would have tied as winner. I wouldn't care to co-win this show if I were playing.

My first thought for FJ was "Where's the beef," then noticed it was a financial institution and the phrase is still being used. So I ended up with the correct answer. I was happy to see Advertising as the category, having worked many years for an ad agency. (Hardee's, anyone?)

[Grundoon59]

I knew I had to stop by to see the Kit Carson comments but I was sadder about the Thumbelina TS. 

All evening I have been hearing Thumbelina from Danny Kaye's Hans Christian Anderson soundtrack in my head.  I am now off to Thumbelina dance and Thumbelina sing (luckily no one can see or has to hear me).  See you all later!

[chessiegal]

I got FJ only because I couldn't think of anything else, but didn't think it was right because I didn't think it was that old.

Nitpick on the fuzzy logic question - do the writers not know the Scrabble game only has 1 z? My husband pointed out you can use a blank tile, but blank tiles get no points. Yeah, double triple point letters or word placement, but without that, it gives you 20 points. Decent, but not a big deal. 

[DrScottie]

50 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Like everyone else, LOL at the Kit Carson clue; had a pTVer been in this game, that would not have been a TS.

The Morse TS surprised me, as did rupture a bit.

Of course, Carson is well known around these parts. 

Interestingly, Morse code was a question on Celebrity Millionaire tonight. 

As for FJ, I was thinking of any bank or credit card company with a question as a slogan. Then, Samuel L. Jackson and Jennifer Garner popped in my head and made me think of Capital One. I just wasn't sure they've been using it for 20 years, but I couldn't think of any other company so went with that.

Could someone have just answered: "What's in your wallet?" as opposed to "What is What's in your wallet? as their response. The slogan begins with an interrogative pronoun. 

[HissyFit]

Am I the only person who didn't know Fred and Wilma originally were called "The Flagstones"?  After screaming "No! It's Flintstones!" at the TV, I looked it up and discovered another bit of trivia I'd not known before.  But it was only a working title, so I don't feel too bad for screaming and scaring the cat.  Oh, and the name for neighbor Barney in the working title was Kit Carson.

[dcalley]

1 minute ago, DrScottie said:

Could someone have just answered: "What's in your wallet?" as opposed to "What is What's in your wallet? as their response. The slogan begins with an interrogative pronoun. 

Theoretically, yes. But I believe the contestants are instructed to write down the beginning of their question (and are thus told if it will be a who or a what) when they write down their wager, and everyone today wrote "What is," so the shortcut wouldn't work. Does that make sense?

[Bastet]

6 minutes ago, HissyFit said:

Am I the only person who didn't know Fred and Wilma originally were called "The Flagstones"? 

Nope, I didn't know that either.  I rarely watched The Flinstones, so it's not a surprise I wouldn't know trivia about it, but that was a new tidbit for me -- I was reading the archive, so didn't see the picture part of the clue, but something starting with F, commonly used for outdoor paving, and similar to Flinstone lead me right to flagstone, but if you'd asked me "what was Fred and Wilma's original last name?" I'd have said, "I have no idea, and didn't know they ever had a different one."

Edited May 1, 2020 by Bastet

[saber5055]

15 minutes ago, DrScottie said:

Could someone have just answered: "What's in your wallet?" as opposed to "What is What's in your wallet? as their response. The slogan begins with an interrogative pronoun. 

There was a discussion about that today on TheJeopardyFan.com. The majority decided that, while just writing the answer would be correct, few would have taken the chance and not written the "What is." Plus contestants are allowed to write "What" or "Who" before the clue is revealed. So there's that, too.

(Echoing @dcalley!)

12 minutes ago, HissyFit said:

Am I the only person who didn't know Fred and Wilma originally were called "The Flagstones"? 

That was yet another learning moment for me. I watched The Flintstones every week as a kid, and this was news to me.

I recently watched the very first Flintstones episode (it's on one of my antenna channels) and I didn't catch that tidbit, if it was even said or revealed. Seeing the first ep all these years later made me realize, man, we were desperate for entertainment back then.

Edited May 1, 2020 by saber5055

[catrice2]

I think the Flintstones were brilliant and like so many things back then way ahead of its time and good wholesome entertainment.  I still laugh every Sunday morning....I actually thought the Flintstone's was modeled on the Honeymooners

[peeayebee]

3 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I also got LSU, Kit Carson (of course!), and Vientiane (which I probably misspelled, but I can pronounce it).

I didn't think Jesse pronounced it as badly as Alex said he did. Anyway, I've sometimes wondered if you could simply spell out your answer if you weren't sure how it was pronounced.

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

And hang your heads in shame anyone who posts here who did not get that TS. Kit Carson ROCKS!

I am hanging my head. However, I did get excited when Alex said Kit Carson.

27 minutes ago, HissyFit said:

Am I the only person who didn't know Fred and Wilma originally were called "The Flagstones"?  

Somewhere recently I read that Flintstones wasn't their original name. 

Anyway, I got Thumbelina, Morse, and The Planets.

I also got FJ. At first I was picturing John Houseman doing commercials for some investment company, I think, and his tagline was, "We EARN it." Not a question, and probably much earlier. I was also picturing Orson Welles doing those wine commercials. "We will sell no wine before its time." Again, not a question. Not even a financial institution. I don't know why these two old pitchmen popped into my head.

[DrScottie]

24 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

There was a discussion about that today on TheJeopardyFan.com. The majority decided that, while just writing the answer would be correct, few would have taken the chance and not written the "What is." Plus contestants are allowed to write "What" or "Who" before the clue is revealed. So there's that, too.

28 minutes ago, dcalley said:

Theoretically, yes. But I believe the contestants are instructed to write down the beginning of their question (and are thus told if it will be a who or a what) when they write down their wager, and everyone today wrote "What is," so the shortcut wouldn't work. Does that make sense?

To be fair, I wouldn't have risked it either, but it was more of a thought question and I wanted to see if anyone had some insights about it.. Thank you both for your responses.

 

[Cotypubby]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

And a big WTH to Sarah for betting $300 on her DD. She deserved to go home just based on that. Instead of go big or go home, she went small and went home anyway.

No, that was the correct bet. If she got it right, she would be in first place, and if she missed it she would still be in 2nd and no worse off than before. 
 

For FJ, I was sure it was “Are you in good hands?” 🤦🏻

[theatremouse]

On 4/29/2020 at 7:30 PM, Bastet said:

I wonder if Sarah is just prone to nervous chatter or if she never knows when to stop talking (or not start to begin with).

I think she knew she shouldn't but couldn't seem to help herself since she kept chastizing herself for doing it...while continuing to do it.

[Bastet]

13 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

I think she knew she shouldn't but couldn't seem to help herself since she kept chastizing herself for doing it...while continuing to do it.

Yes, clearly (which I think is why it oddly entertained me), I just wonder if she generally goes through life having these Angela Chase moments where she blurts and babbles then finds herself wishing for the button to push to force herself to stop talking*, or if it's something that only happens under unfamiliar or otherwise nerve-wracking circumstances.

*My So-Called Life reference

[Etta Place]

11 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I didn't think Jesse pronounced it as badly as Alex said he did. Anyway, I've sometimes wondered if you could simply spell out your answer if you weren't sure how it was pronounced.

The problem was that he clearly said Viet-iane. Interesting question about spelling ... I hadn’t thought about that. 

[Trey]

I was really hoping one of the contestants would ring in and say just "Carson" for the answer.  Wonder if they would have got a bms or an okay on that, since the judging seems to change with the wind.

I got FJ pretty quickly, although not an instaget. 

 

[peeayebee]

14 minutes ago, Etta Place said:

The problem was that he clearly said Viet-iane. 

What's the correct pronunciation?

[MrAtoz]

Charlie Parker's nicknames were either "Yardbird" or "Bird."  But not "Birdman."

That is all.

[Clanstarling]

15 hours ago, M. Darcy said:

Kit Carson!!

i was really surprised they all didn’t know Morse Code and the Planets.  I got FJ- all those commercials must have made an impact on my memory. 

I got Thumbelina and Morse, but didn't get the Planets - I was too busy snarking about how frivolous the music was making me feel. Well, TBH, I had time to snark because I didn't know the answer.

12 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Nitpick on the fuzzy logic question - do the writers not know the Scrabble game only has 1 z? My husband pointed out you can use a blank tile, but blank tiles get no points. Yeah, double triple point letters or word placement, but without that, it gives you 20 points. Decent, but not a big deal. 

Well it did say "fine" score, not "spectacular." So maybe they meant fine like you do when you're ticked off at someone and they ask you how you are and you say "fine!" LOL. Of course, being a fairly poor scrabble player myself, I would think of that as a pretty good score for a word.

12 hours ago, HissyFit said:

Am I the only person who didn't know Fred and Wilma originally were called "The Flagstones"?  After screaming "No! It's Flintstones!" at the TV, I looked it up and discovered another bit of trivia I'd not known before.  But it was only a working title, so I don't feel too bad for screaming and scaring the cat.  Oh, and the name for neighbor Barney in the working title was Kit Carson.

I did not know they had a different name - I immediately said flagstone without listening to the clue, and almost changed my mind when it finally registered.

I laughed at Kit Carson, then had to explain my reaction to my husband. He's pretty used to "it's going to be big on the forum tonight," though I'm not sure he cares. It's probably like listening to Sarah for him. Since he liked her (as did I), that's not a bad thing.

Edited May 1, 2020 by Clanstarling

[SyracuseMug]

11 hours ago, DrScottie said:

To be fair, I wouldn't have risked it either, but it was more of a thought question and I wanted to see if anyone had some insights about it.. Thank you both for your responses.

 

The “what’s” in “What’s in your wallet?” is part of the answer, not part of the required question. If a contestant wrote only that phrase, it would render their answer as “in your wallet,” which would obviously be wrong.

[saber5055]

38 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

I'm not sure he cares. It's probably like listening to Sarah for him.

Which translates to him hearing "blah blah blah Ginger"?

[ABay]

I might or might not have startled my cat by shouting "KIT Carson!!!"

It's OK. She's come down off the ceiling now.

[saber5055]

59 minutes ago, MrAtoz said:

Charlie Parker's nicknames were either "Yardbird" or "Bird."  But not "Birdman."

What was up with the show letting that get by? Was everyone thinking Burt Lancaster played Charlie Parker? That was so wrong.

Side note: We got to see Stroud's cell on a tour of Alcatraz some years ago.

[bad things are bad]

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

12 hours ago, theatremouse said:

I think she knew she shouldn't but couldn't seem to help herself since she kept chastizing herself for doing it...while continuing to do it.

 

well, Alex kind of encouraged her too...

[DrSpaceman73]

All I could think of for FJ was "What can Brown do for you?" which obviously is wrong because its not a financial services company

Just kind of glad the champ lost. 

14 hours ago, Bastet said:

The Morse TS surprised me, as did rupture a bit.

What was the question again on rupture?  Did they say it was a synonym for a hernia?  I have never heard the two used as synonyms. 

I didn't know that about the Flintstones. 

I got Morse Code and The Planets

Also there were two telegraph references in the same round (AT+T question too).  Seemed kind of odd. 

Tough ruling on that pronunciation one.  I had no idea, I would have given it to him for effort

 

[saber5055]

14 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Tough ruling on that pronunciation one.  I had no idea, I would have given it to him for effort

No kidding, since they let the wrong answer of "Charlie Birdman Parker" go through, and thought there are two Z tiles in Scrabble. (And "20" is NOT a "fine" score in Scrabble.)