JAQR - August 13, 2023
Bands, literary works, bodies of water, American composers, European kings, 2022 news makers, and more...
Thank you for reading another issue of the Jeopardy Answer & Question Recap, or JAQR [“jacker”] for short. This recap includes two clues from each episode of Jeopardy! airing between Monday 8/7 and Thursday 8/10. The recap will include Daily Doubles, Final Jeopardy clues, 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.
P.S. For a recap of Friday’s repeat episode (8/11/23), check out the JAQR from 10/28/22 (back when JAQR only had clues from episodes on Friday).
DAILY DOUBLE #1
REVOLTS
The -ists named for this month failed to topple the czar in 1825 but inspired the name of a 21st century band
DAILY DOUBLE #2
THE SECOND CHAPTER (name the literary work)
Ralph says, "We've been on the mountain top and seen water all around"
FINAL JEOPARDY #1
BODIES OF WATER
The Kattegat & Skagerrak Straits separate these 2 seas
FINAL JEOPARDY #2
CHARITY
A Catholic charity called Caritas Rome is the beneficiary of money collected from here, over the years averaging about $3,500 daily
FINAL JEOPARDY #3
AMERICAN COMPOSERS
He turned to opera with the 1903 work "Guest of Honor", likely inspired by Booker T. Washington's dinner at the White House
TRIPLE STUMPER #1
DESTINATION EUROPE
In the reliquary of this king & saint's basilica in Budapest, you can see what is reportedly his right hand
TRIPLE STUMPER #2
NEWS MAKERS & WRITERS '22
Queen Elizabeth II's last appearance was to appoint this woman as the 15th prime minister of her majesty's reign
TRIPLE STUMPER #3
THE NUMBER IN MUSIC
Noted for neckware, he was in Playaz Circle before teaming with Drake to go platinum with "No Lie"
DAILY DOUBLE #1
REVOLTS
The -ists named for this month failed to topple the czar in 1825 but inspired the name of a 21st century band
***DECEMBER***
The Decemberists are an indie rock band whose lead singer and main songwriter is Colin Meloy [meh-LOY]. The band was formed in Portland, Oregon in 2000 and released their first album, Castaways and Cutouts, in 2002. The band's first album with Capitol Records was 2006's The Crane Wife, which is titled for a Japanese folk tale. Songs on the album include "O Valencia!” (about two star-crossed lovers) and "Shankill Butchers" (named for an Ulster loyalist paramilitary gang who killed many Catholic civilians). Their 2009 album, The Hazards of Love, was a rock opera in which the lovers William and Margaret “marry” each other by drowning themselves in a river. Their next album, The King Is Dead (2011), reached number one on the Billboard charts and includes "Calamity Song," whose music video (seen below) depicts Eschaton (a fictional geopolitical game played on four tennis courts) from David Foster Wallace’s postmodern novel Infinite Jest.
DAILY DOUBLE #2
THE SECOND CHAPTER (name the literary work)
Ralph says, "We've been on the mountain top and seen water all around"
***LORD OF THE FLIES***
English novelist William Golding (seen below) wrote the 1954 novel Lord of the Flies. The novel centers on a group of young schoolboys who survive a plane crash and become stranded on an uninhabited island. The boys use a conch shell to call meetings and establish order when they talk. They soon become paranoid about an imaginary monster called the "beast." The boys split into warring factions and revert to savagery before finally getting rescued. The novel shows Golding’s belief that “man produces evil as a bee produces honey.” Characters in the novel include Ralph (protagonist), Jack (antagonist), Simon (mistaken for the "beast" and accidentally killed), Piggy (wears glasses that are used to build a fire and is described as “very fat”), and Roger (kills Piggy by rolling a boulder onto him). The title of the novel refers to a sow's head that Jack impales on a stake as an offering to the "beast." Jack's stronghold, called Castle Rock, lends its name to a town featured in many Stephen King novels. Other novels by William Golding include The Inheritors (1955) and Pincher Martin (1956).
FINAL JEOPARDY #1
BODIES OF WATER
The Kattegat & Skagerrak Straits separate these 2 seas
***BALTIC SEA & NORTH SEA***
The Kattegat strait separates Denmark (specifically its Jutland peninsula) from Sweden. Its name in Danish means "cat's throat." Swedish cities on the strait include Gothenburg, which is the country’s second most populous city and is home to the headquarters of Volvo.
The Skagerrak strait separates Denmark (specifically its Jutland peninsula) from Norway. It is likely named for the Danish town of Skagen, which is on a peninsula called the Skaw that sticks out into the strait. Norwegian cities on the strait include Oslo (its capital) and Kristiansand (named for King Christian IV).
FINAL JEOPARDY #2
CHARITY
A Catholic charity called Caritas Rome is the beneficiary of money collected from here, over the years averaging about $3,500 daily
***TREVI FOUNTAIN***
Rome, Italy is home to the Trevi Fountain. According to legend, a tourist who uses their right hand to toss a coin (or coins) over their left shoulder into the fountain will return to the “Eternal City.” Approximately €3,000 per day (or €1.5 million per year) is tossed into the fountain. The original tradition involved drinking the fountain's water and then making a wish. Pope Clement XII organized a contest in 1730 to design the fountain. Alessandro Galilei was initially declared the winner, but their was an outcry over the result since he was from Florence, so Nicola Salvi was awarded the commission. The fountain was eventually finished 30 years later by Giuseppe Pannini.
The 85-foot-high fountain is named for Rome’s district of Trevi, which was likely named for being at the convergence of three roads. The building behind the fountain is the Palazzo Poli. The fountain includes Pietro Bracci’s statue of Oceanus, who stands atop a shell chariot pulled by sea horses (one unruly and one calm). The fountain names one of the movements of Ottorino Respighi's 1916 tone poem Fountains of Rome (along with the Valle Giulia, Triton, and Villa Medici fountains). It is also the subject of the 1955 song Three Coins in the Fountain, which was first recorded by Frank Sinatra. The characters Marcello and Sylvia (played by Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg) wade into the fountain in Federico Fellini's 1960 film La Dolce Vita. Graziano Cecchini, who is known for his "vandalism" art, poured red dye into the fountain in 2007.
FINAL JEOPARDY #3
AMERICAN COMPOSERS
He turned to opera with the 1903 work "Guest of Honor", likely inspired by Booker T. Washington's dinner at the White House
***SCOTT JOPLIN***
Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist nicknamed the "King of Ragtime." That style of music was popular in the early 20th century and was a forerunner of jazz. Ragtime music typically had a bouncy syncopated melody. Ragtime compositions (or “rags”) by Scott Joplin include "The Maple Leaf Rag" (heard below, and possibly named for a club in Sedalia, Missouri) and "The Entertainer," the latter of which was adapted for the 1973 movie The Sting. That movie was scored by Marvin Hamlisch, who is one of only two people (Richard Rodgers is the other) to have a "PEGOT" (Pulitzer + EGOT).
Scott Joplin also composed the 1911 opera Treemonisha, in which the educated title woman is saved by Remus from being thrown into a wasp's nest by some conjurers who are mad she didn’t let others buy their “bag of luck.” Joplin was obsessed with the opera’s success, but it only had one partial performance during his lifetime. As a result, he suffered a nervous breakdown, was institutionalized in 1916, and died a year later. The first complete performance of Treemonisha occurred in 1972 in Atlanta. It was directed by the choreographer Katherine Dunham.
TRIPLE STUMPER #1
DESTINATION EUROPE
In the reliquary of this king & saint's basilica in Budapest, you can see what is reportedly his right hand
***SAINT STEPHEN***
Saint Stephen (~975-1038), also known as Stephen I, was a member of the Árpád dynasty and was the first king of Hungary. He was the son of the Magyar chieftain Géza, who preceded him as Grand Prince of the Hungarians. After defeating his pagan brother Koppány, Stephen was anointed king on Christmas Day in 1000 CE (or maybe New Year’s Day in 1001). According to tradition, he received his crown from Pope Sylvester II. The cross on the crown is tilted at an angle and was worn by over 50 Hungarian kings. Stephen was a devout Christian who made the building of churches mandatory. His wife was Gisela of Bavaria, who was the sister of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II. Stephen was canonized by Pope Gregory VII in 1083. A cleric named Mercurius stole Stephen’s right hand (called the Holy Dexter), but it was re-discovered shortly thereafter. Saint Stephen is found on the obverse (AKA front) of Hungary’s tízezer (10,000) forint banknote, seen below.
TRIPLE STUMPER #2
NEWS MAKERS & WRITERS '22
Queen Elizabeth II's last appearance was to appoint this woman as the 15th prime minister of her majesty's reign
***LIZ TRUSS***
Liz Truss (1975-) was British Prime Minister for about seven weeks (the shortest tenure in British history) in the autumn of 2022. As a child, she attended political demonstrations and chanted “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, out, out, out," an ironic reference to her future role model PM Margaret Thatcher. At a 1994 press conference, she supported a motion that called for abolishing the British monarchy. Before entering politics, she worked as an accountant for Shell. After twice failing to win a seat to Parliament, she was given a mentor, Mark Field, with whom she had an affair. She overcame the so-called “Turnip Taliban” (rural Tory activists who were upset her affair had not been disclosed earlier) to finally win a seat in Parliament in 2010.
She became PM in September 2022 after Boris Johnson resigned, in part, due to the "Partygate" scandal. Queen Elizabeth II died a couple days after she became PM. Her economic plan included an unfunded 45 billion pound tax cut that led to the value of the pound plummeting. Amid the turmoil, an op-ed in The Economist compared her premiership to the shelf-life of a lettuce. The tabloid The Daily Star then began a livestream of a lettuce. Truss resigned before the lettuce wilted. She was succeeded as PM in October 2022 by Rishi Sunak.
TRIPLE STUMPER #3
THE NUMBER IN MUSIC
Noted for neckware, he was in Playaz Circle before teaming with Drake to go platinum with "No Lie"
***2 CHAINZ***
2 Chainz is the stage name of Tauheed K. Epps (1977-). He was born and raised in College Park, which is southwest of Atlanta, Georgia. 2 Chainz (then known as Tity Boi) and Dolla Boy comprised the hip hop duo Playaz Circle, whose 2007 hit “Duffle Bag Boy” featured Lil Wayne. The first solo album released by 2 Chainz was 2012’s Based on a T.R.U. Story. Hits from that album included "No Lie" (featuring Drake) and "Birthday Song" (heard below and featuring Kanye West), the latter of which repeats the lines “All I want for my birthday is a big booty ho” and “When I die, bury me inside the Gucci store.” He hosts the Vice TV show Most Expensivest, on which he explores the extravagant ways the 1% blow their load. He lost to Rick Ross on the web series Verzuz (created and hosted by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz).