JAQR - April 16, 2023
Soweto, the Bloody Assizes, prehistoric humans, Cornelia Funke, and more...
Thank you for reading another issue of the Jeopardy Answer & Question Recap, or JAQR [“jacker”] for short. This recap focuses on the recent week (Monday 4/10 - Friday 4/14) of Jeopardy! episodes. It will include some Daily Doubles, Final Jeopardys, and Triple Stumpers. The first half of the recap will include just the clues so you can quiz yourself if you want. The second half will give you some (hopefully) interesting information about the clues and/or some related info.
DAILY DOUBLE #1
RECENT EVENTS
Jeff Bezos' 400-foot yacht had big problems getting out of this Dutch city with a shipping & shipbuilding tradition
DAILY DOUBLE #2
ONE HOT MoMA
His "Number 1A, 1948", which includes some of his handprints, has been on exhibit in the David Geffen Galleries
DAILY DOUBLE #3
FISH OUT OF WATER
They're the southernmost Major League baseball team
DAILY DOUBLE #4
TALES
"Down on its right side toppled the bed of the Roman's chariot" in this oft-filmed novel subtitled "A Tale of the Christ"
FINAL JEOPARDY #1
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNERS
At times they each lived on Vilakazi St. in Soweto, so it claims to be the world's only street home to 2 Nobel Peace Prize winners
FINAL JEOPARDY #2
THE BILL OF RIGHTS
England's "Bloody Assizes" & a 1685 life sentence for perjury were 2 main origins of this amendment to the U.S. Constitution
TRIPLE STUMPER #1
THAT'S ANCIENT HISTORY
Mental Floss summed up the difference: "Neanderthals are more primitive but stronger"; these prehistoric humans "are us"
TRIPLE STUMPER #2
OUR NATION OF IMMIGRATION
Among the few high-profile Beninese-Americans is this Oscar nominee for "In America" & "Blood Diamond"
TRIPLE STUMPER #3
GERMAN LITERATURE
Cornelia Funke sold millions of a trilogy beginning with this book & continuing with "Inkspell" & "Inkdeath"
TRIPLE STUMPER #4
"B"ANDS
After meeting with Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus was "open to whatever" about a reunion of this band
DAILY DOUBLE #1
RECENT EVENTS
Jeff Bezos' 400-foot yacht had big problems getting out of this Dutch city with a shipping & shipbuilding tradition
***ROTTERDAM***
Europe’s largest port is Rotterdam, which is the second most populous city in The Netherlands (behind only Amsterdam). Rotterdam is named for the Rotte River, which is a distributary (river branch that flows away from the main stream) of the Rhine. Rotterdam is on another distributary of the Rhine called the Nieuwe Maas. Rotterdam is one of the cities that comprises a Dutch region known as the Randstad, along with Amsterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht. Rotterdam was likely the birthplace of the humanist Erasmus, who wrote the satirical essay In Praise of Folly. Architects from Rotterdam include Rem Koolhaas and Piet Blom, the latter of whom built Kubuswoningen ("cube houses"), pictured below, in Rotterdam (and nearby Helmond).
Jeff Bezos' $500 million yacht was going to have problems getting out because its 229-foot masts were taller than the 131-foot clearance of the Koningshaven Bridge (nicknamed De Hef, meaning “The Lift”). After plans to dismantle the historic bridge led to outrage (and vows to throw eggs at it), the yacht (without its masts) was towed to a different shipyard to be completed. In other ship-related current-ish events, a container ship named the Ever Given was heading to Rotterdam in March 2021 when it run aground in the Suez Canal. It blocked traffic for six days before finally getting unstuck thanks to several tug boats.
DAILY DOUBLE #2
ONE HOT MoMA
His "Number 1A, 1948", which includes some of his handprints, has been on exhibit in the David Geffen Galleries
***JACKSON POLLOCK***
The artist Jackson Pollock was born in 1912 in Cody, Wyoming, which was founded by William Frederick Cody (aka “Buffalo Bill”). He studied under Thomas Hart Benton and married fellow painter Lee Krasner. Pollock was a leading exponent of Abstract Expressionism (sometimes called “action painting”). Starting in 1947, he created many works using the “drip technique,” which involved pouring painting on to the canvas. He was famously photographed creating his works by Hans Namuth. His works were championed by art critic Clement Greenberg, but others mocked him as "Jack the Dripper." Pollock died in a 1956 car accident. He was the subject of the 2000 movie Pollock, in which he was played by Ed Harris. The cast also included Marcia Gay Harden as Lee Krasner, and Jeffrey Tambor as Clement Greenberg. Pollock’s painting Number 17A, pictured below, was purchased by a hedge fund manager in 2015 for $200 million.
His major works include:
The She-Wolf (1943) - featured in his first solo exhibition (at Peggy Guggenheim’s Art of This Century gallery), it was his first work to enter a museum collection (MoMA = Museum of Modern Art in New York City)
Full Fathom Five (1947) - early drip printing that includes an assortment of objects (cigarette butts, nails, thumbtacks, etc.) embedded in the surface; its title comes from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, in which Ariel describes a death by shipwreck: “Full fathom five thy father lies / Of his bones are coral made / Those are pearls that were his eyes”
Lavender Mist (1950) - mural-sized canvas that was painted in his barn-turned-studio, features his handprints in the upper corners, and notably lacks the title color
Blue Poles (1952) - controversially purchased by the National Gallery of Australia for $1.3 million in 1973 (now probably worth around $500 million)
DAILY DOUBLE #3
FISH OUT OF WATER
They're the southernmost Major League baseball team
***MIAMI MARLINS***
The Miami Marlins, formerly called the Florida Marlins, are an NL East team that plays home games in LoanDepot Park. The team was founded in 1993, the same year as the Colorado Rockies. The Marlins had a losing record its first four seasons, but then won the World Series in 1997, thanks to players such as pitcher Liván Hernández (World Series MVP) and outfielder Gary Sheffield. They beat the Cleveland Indians (now known as the Guardians) in Game 7 when Édgar Rentería hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning. The following season, the Marlins finished 54-108 (worst ever for a defending World Series champ) after trading away many of their star players due to owner Wayne Huizenga [hi-ZING-ah] alleging that the team was losing money.
After four more losing seasons, the team won the World Series again in 2003, thanks to pitchers Josh Beckett (World Series MVP) and rookie Dontrelle Willis, pictured below in the midst of his high leg kick delivery. The Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS (Game 6 featured the infamous Steve Bartman incident) and beat the Yankees in the World Series. The team has only made the playoffs one time since. Former Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was CEO and part owner of the team from 2017-2022. The team's current general manager is Kim Ng, who is the first woman to serve in that position for any of the Big Four (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL) teams. Current players on the Marlins include pitcher Sandy Alcántara, who won the NL Cy Young Award last season, and infielder Luis Arráez [ah-RYE-ez], who hit for the cycle a few days ago. The Marlins are the only MLB team without any retired numbers for their own former players.
DAILY DOUBLE #4
TALES
"Down on its right side toppled the bed of the Roman's chariot" in this oft-filmed novel subtitled "A Tale of the Christ"
***BEN-HUR***
Indiana-born Lew Wallace, who was a Union general in the Civil War, wrote the 1880 historical novel Ben-Hur. The title Jewish prince, Judah Ben-Hur, is wrongly accused by his childhood friend-turned-enemy Messala of attempting to kill the Roman leader of Judaea. Ben-Hur is sent away to be a slave on a Roman warship (pictured below), while his mother and sister are imprisoned and become lepers. Ben-Hur later returns and wins a chariot race against Messala. He is reunited with his family, who are cured of leprosy by Jesus on the day of his Crucifixion. The book Ben-Hur topped Uncle Tom’s Cabin to become #1 on the U.S. all-time bestseller’s list, but was later surpassed by Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. The book Ben-Hur has been adapted into feature-length movies in 1925, 1959, and 2016. William Wyler directed the 1959 movie, which starred Charlton Heston and won a record-setting 11 Oscars. The only other movies to win that many are Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
FINAL JEOPARDY #1
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNERS
At times they each lived on Vilakazi St. in Soweto, so it claims to be the world's only street home to 2 Nobel Peace Prize winners
***NELSON MANDELA & DESMOND TUTU***
Vilakazi Street is in Soweto, whose name is an acronym for South-Western Township. Soweto was established by South Africa's white government in the 1930s as a place for Blacks to reside. It is a township of South Africa’s most populous city, Johannesburg. An uprising occurred in Soweto in 1976 (during the era of apartheid) after the government insisted that the language Afrikaans (the "language of the oppressor" according to Desmond Tutu) be used in Soweto's high schools. The police responded to the demonstrations by killing hundreds of people, many of whom were children. Sam Nzima took a famous photo during the uprising, pictured below, that shows a teenager (Mbuyisa Makhubo) carrying a mortally wounded twelve-year-old (Hector Pieterson).
FINAL JEOPARDY #2
THE BILL OF RIGHTS
England's "Bloody Assizes" & a 1685 life sentence for perjury were 2 main origins of this amendment to the U.S. Constitution
***EIGHTH AMENDMENT***
The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” It is nearly identical to part of English Bill of Rights of 1689. The Bloody Assizes [ah-SIZES] were the 1685 trials involving participants in the Monmouth Rebellion, which was an attempt to depose English king James II. George Jeffreys (nicknamed the “Hanging Judge”), pictured below, and a few other judges sentenced 320 people to be hanged, 800 to be sent to Barbados, and hundreds more to be flogged and/or imprisoned. The “1685 life sentence for perjury” clue refers to Anglican clergyman Titus Oates, who made up the Popish Plot (Roman Catholics were planning to have King Charles II assassinated so that his Roman Catholic brother, the future James II, could be brought to the throne). Dozens of people were executed in the ensuing panic.
U.S. Supreme Court cases involving the Eighth Amendment include:
Trop v. Dulles (1958) - involved an Army private who escaped from a military stockade (and returned the next day) and had his citizenship revoked; the Supreme Court ruled that the Eighth Amendment must draw its meaning from the “evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society”
Furman v. Georgia (1972) - the Supreme Court found that the death penalty is unconstitutional when applied in an arbitrary and/or discriminatory manner, and that it disproportionately harmed minorities and the poor; it invalidated capital punishment until states could fix those issues
United States v. Bajakajian (1998) - centered on Hosep Bajakajian, who didn’t declare that he was leaving the U.S. with $357,144, which the U.S. seized; the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the forfeiture violated the Excessive Fines Clause
Miller v. Alabama (2012) - the Supreme Court ruled that sentencing a 14-year-old child to life without the possibility of parole constituted cruel and unusual punishment
Timbs v. Indiana (2019) - centered on Tyson Timbs, who sold $225 worth of drugs to undercover officers, and had his Land Rover SUV (purchased for $42,000 with money from an insurance policy) seized at the time of his arrest (civil forfeiture); the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Excessive Fines Clause applies to the states too
TRIPLE STUMPER #1
THAT'S ANCIENT HISTORY
Mental Floss summed up the difference: "Neanderthals are more primitive but stronger"; these prehistoric humans "are us"
***CRO-MAGNONS***
Cro-Magnons were early European modern humans (or EEMHs). They were named for the rock shelter Cro-Magnon [kroh-MAN-yuhn] in southwestern France where many of their skeletons were found in 1868. Cro-Magnons existed from approximately 45,000 years ago to 10,000 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic period. They gradually absorbed into modern humans. Cro-Magnons sometimes interbred with Neanderthals, who were named for a region of Germany where their remains were found. Many depictions of animals created by Cro-Magnons are found at Lascaux [las-koh], which is a network of caves. The orphaned girl Ayla (played by Daryl Hannah, pictured below, in the 1986 movie adaptation) is a Cro-Magnon who is raised by Neanderthals in the book The Clan of the Cave Bear, which is the first book in the series Earth’s Children by Jean Auel [owl].
TRIPLE STUMPER #2
OUR NATION OF IMMIGRATION
Among the few high-profile Beninese-Americans is this Oscar nominee for "In America" & "Blood Diamond"
***DJIMON HOUNSOU***
The actor Djimon Hounsou [JEE-mahn hahn-SOO] was born in 1964 in Cotonou [koh-toh-NOO], which is the most populous city in the African country of Benin (formerly called Dahomey). He was the first Black actor born in Africa to receive an Oscar nomination (for In America). His film roles include:
Amistad (1997) - Joseph Cinque, the leader of a slave ship mutiny
Gladiator (2000) - Numidian tribesman Juba, who convinces Maximus (played by Russell Crowe) to bring down Commodus (played by Joaquin Phoenix)
In America (2002) - HIV-positive artist Mateo, who pays for the Sullivan family’s hospital bills
Blood Diamond (2006) - Solomon Vandy, pictured below, who finds a large pink diamond during the Sierra Leone Civil War
TRIPLE STUMPER #3
GERMAN LITERATURE
Cornelia Funke sold millions of a trilogy beginning with this book & continuing with "Inkspell" & "Inkdeath"
***INKHEART***
Cornelia Funke’s 2003 YA fantasy novel Inkheart concerns a father named Mo Folchart who accidentally learns that he is a Silvertongue, meaning that he can bring characters and things out of books by reading aloud. However, when this happens, someone from the real world (e.g. his wife) is sent into the book. Mo’s daughter Meggie later learns that she has the same power. The book was adapted into a 2008 movie, pictured below, starring Brendan Fraser as Mo and Eliza Hope Bennett as Meggie.
TRIPLE STUMPER #4
"B"ANDS
After meeting with Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus was "open to whatever" about a reunion of this band
***BLINK-182***
The Southern California pop-punk band Blink-182 is composed of Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, and drummer Travis Barker, the last of whom is currently married to Kourtney Kardashian. Barker replaced original member Scott Raynor in 1998 due to his heavy alcohol use. Alkaline Trio guitarist Matt Skiba replaced DeLonge from 2015-2022. Blink-182’s album Enema of the State (whose cover, pictured below, features AVN Hall of Famer Janine Lindemulder as a nurse) includes the 1999 songs "All the Small Things” and "What's My Age Again?" (whose music video depicts the band streaking through Los Angeles).
