JAQR - August 6, 2023
Wyoming buttes, famous pets, Sondheim musicals, French literature, 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 7/31 and Thursday 8/3. 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 (8/4/23), check out the JAQR from 10/21/22 (back when JAQR only had clues from episodes on Friday).
DAILY DOUBLE #1
WHAT A BUTTE!
Grizzly Bear Lodge is another name for this butte that rises 1,267 feet above Wyoming
DAILY DOUBLE #2
HISTORICAL WEAR
In 1921 he ditched Western suits for a shawl & a loincloth called a dhoti
FINAL JEOPARDY #1
FAMOUS ANIMALS
In September 1964 the New York Times announced the passing of this pet, a gift, "used as symbol of honesty in 1952"
FINAL JEOPARDY #2
INTERNATIONAL BORDERS
2 of the 3 countries that share land borders with Russia & China
TRIPLE STUMPER #1
ACTORS GET THEIR ROLES MIXED UP
Being half of a legendary Wild West outlaw duo gave me the courage to take the ice for the Charlestown Chiefs
TRIPLE STUMPER #2
BROADWAY
A 2021 revival changed the gender of bachelor Bobby, baby in this Sondheim show
TRIPLE STUMPER #3
FRENCH LITERATURE
His last novel, "Quatre-vingt-treize", is set during 1793 amidst the French Revolution
TRIPLE STUMPER #4
FAITH, HOPE & CHARITY
This 19th century philosopher wrote in "Fear & Trembling" of a knight of faith who takes a mighty leap
DAILY DOUBLE #1
WHAT A BUTTE!
Grizzly Bear Lodge is another name for this butte that rises 1,267 feet above Wyoming
***DEVILS TOWER***
The butte Devils Tower is part of the Black Hills and is located in northeast Wyoming. The remnant of a volcanic intrusion, it was the first national monument in the U.S. (established by Teddy Roosevelt in 1906, thanks to the Antiquities Act). Its summit is 5,112 feet above sea level, but the structure itself is 867 feet tall when measured from its base (or 1,267 feet when measured from the nearby Belle Fourche River Valley). A popular method of climbing it is the Durrance Route. According to the traditional beliefs of some Native Americans, the marks on the side of the structure were made by bear claws. Devils Tower was featured prominently in the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
DAILY DOUBLE #2
HISTORICAL WEAR
In 1921 he ditched Western suits for a shawl & a loincloth called a dhoti
***MOHANDAS GANDHI***
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) was a social activist who led India’s nationalist movement against British rule. Often known as the Mahatma ("great soul"), he achieved progress using a type of non-violent protest called Satyagraha (which is also the title of the Philip Glass opera about Gandhi). He married a woman named Kasturba and studied law in England. He practiced law for nearly 20 years in South Africa (where non-Europeans were treated poorly) and returned to India in 1915. After the British imposed a tax on salt that mostly affected the poor, Gandhi led the 240-mile Salt March in 1930, which ultimately resulted in more than 60,000 people being imprisoned. In 1932, he undertook a fast to protest against the segregation of the Dalits (the lowest level of India's caste system, formerly known as the untouchables).
India finally gained independence in 1947, but Gandhi was assassinated the following year in New Delhi by Nathuram Godse [GOD-say]. He was a Hindu fanatic and former member of the right-wing organization RSS who believed Gandhi favored the political demands of Muslims during the partition of India. Ben Kingsley played Gandhi in a 1982 movie directed by Richard Attenborough. Mohandas Gandhi is unrelated to the Indian prime ministers Indira and Rajiv Gandhi.
FINAL JEOPARDY #1
FAMOUS ANIMALS
In September 1964 the New York Times announced the passing of this pet, a gift, "used as symbol of honesty in 1952"
***CHECKERS***
Before he was POTUS, Richard Nixon was Dwight Eisenhower's running mate in the 1952 presidential election. During the campaign, the media reported that "Tricky Dick" had a secret $18,000 "slush fund” provided by southern California businessmen. In an attempt to clear himself, he gave a speech in September 1952 in which he denied that any of the money was used improperly. He did admit though that he received, from a man named Lou Carrol in Texas, a black and white cocker spaniel (named Checkers by his daughter). The speech was a success, and helped Eisenhower and Nixon trounce Adlai Stevenson II and John Sparkman in the general election. Coincidentally, the Checkers speech was given exactly eight years after FDR gave the Fala speech.
FINAL JEOPARDY #2
INTERNATIONAL BORDERS
2 of the 3 countries that share land borders with Russia & China
***KAZAKHSTAN, MONGOLIA, NORTH KOREA***
Random geographic factoids about those countries relating to Russia or China:
Kazakhstan is home to the shrinking Lake Balkhash, which is fed primarily by the Ili River (which originates in China’s Xinjiang province). The lake’s western part contains fresh water, while its eastern part contains salt water.
Mongolia’s capital is Ulaanbaatar, which means “Red Hero” and refers to Damdin Sükhbaatar, who helped defeat the Chinese in the 1920s. The city is served by Chinggis Khaan International Airport (named for Genghis Khan). The Tuul River flows through the city, which is the coldest world capital by average temperature (roughly 30 degrees Fahrenheit), partly due to it being at a high altitude and very far inland.
North Korea is separated from China (specifically its northeast region of Manchuria) by the Yalu River (called Amnok by Koreans). The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge spans the river. China entered the Korean War after UN forces neared the river.
TRIPLE STUMPER #1
ACTORS GET THEIR ROLES MIXED UP
Being half of a legendary Wild West outlaw duo gave me the courage to take the ice for the Charlestown Chiefs
***PAUL NEWMAN***
Paul Newman (1925-2008) was an American actor who portrayed many anti-heroes, such as the pool shark “Fast” Eddie Felson in The Hustler (1961), the title character (who has a "barbed wire soul") in the western Hud (1963), the first title outlaw in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), and a con man in The Sting. Newman's first successful movie was 1956's Somebody Up There Likes Me, which was based on the life story of boxer Rocky Graziano. Newman was married to the actress Joanne Woodward for 50 years (pictured together below). He co-starred with her in ten movies, including 1958’s The Long, Hot Summer (which was adapted from various William Faulkner works).
Newman starred as the aging hockey player/coach Reggie Dunlop in the 1977 movie Slap Shot, in which a struggling minor league hockey team gains success after adopting a violent style of play. In 1979, he was part of a trio of drivers who finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1982, he launched a line of food products called Newman’s Own, whose profits go to charity. His last major movie role was 2002's Road to Perdition, in which he played a mob boss based on John Patrick Looney.
Newman won the Oscar for Best Actor one time for 1986’s The Color of Money, which was the sequel to The Hustler. He was nominated seven other times for Best Actor, including for:
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) - he played "Brick" Pollitt in an adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play
Cool Hand Luke (1967) - he played the wisecracking Lucas "Luke" Jackson, who drunkenly destroys some parking meters and is sent to a chain gang camp as punishment; his character stands up to the sadistic jailers and is told by the warden “what we've got here is failure to communicate”
The Verdict (1982) - he played Frank Galvin, a down-on-his-luck alcoholic lawyer who accepts a medical malpractice case
TRIPLE STUMPER #2
BROADWAY
A 2021 revival changed the gender of bachelor Bobby, baby in this Sondheim show
***COMPANY***
Stephen Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics to the 1970 musical Company. Its book was written by George Furth and was based on 11 one-act plays he had written. The musical, which concerns dating, love, marriage, and divorce, was updated by Sondheim and Furth in the 1990s. The musical was originally directed by Harold Prince, but recent revivals directed by Marianne Elliott switches the gender of most of the characters (e.g. Bobby —> Bobbie).
The main character is the bachelor Bobby. His ten closest friends, who happen to be five married and engaged couples, throw him a surprise party for his 35th birthday, but he doesn’t wish for anything when he’s blowing out the candles. The first song of the musical is titled “Company,” in which Bobby sings “Phone rings, Door chimes, In comes Company! / No strings, Good times, Just chums, Company!” Next comes a series of vignettes involving Bobby spending time with the couples and his three girlfriends. At the end of the first act, Bobby sings "I'm ready! I'm ready now!" in the song “Marry Me a Little.” Other famous songs from the musical include the patter song "Getting Married Today” and “The Ladies Who Lunch.”
The original cast album for the musical had a marathon recording session and was spoofed in the Documentary Now! episode "Original Cast Album: Co-Op." The New York Philharmonic put on a gala concert production of the musical in 2011 that starred Neil Patrick Harris (as Bobby), Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Christina Hendricks, Patti LuPone, and many others. The full performance can be seen below:
TRIPLE STUMPER #3
FRENCH LITERATURE
His last novel, "Quatre-vingt-treize", is set during 1793 amidst the French Revolution
***VICTOR HUGO***
Victor-Marie Hugo (1802-1885) was a French author who was part of the Romantic movement. His 1831 novel Notre-Dame de Paris (better known in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame) is set in 1482 during the reign of Louis XI. His 1832 play Le Roi s’amuse ("The King’s Fool") was the basis of Verdi's opera Rigoletto. After Napoleon III seized power, Hugo lived in exile on the island of Guernsey, where he finished his 1862 novel Les Misérables. It centers on the ex-convict Jean Valjean, who after being imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread (and trying to escape prison multiple times), is stalked by Inspector Javert (who was based on the private detective François Vidocq). Other characters in the novel include Fantine, who sells her hair and some teeth to support her daughter, Cosette (later adopted by Jean Valjean). Victor Hugo is one of the three main prophets in the Vietnamese syncretic religion Cao Dai (the other two are Sun Yat-sen and Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm).
TRIPLE STUMPER #4
FAITH, HOPE & CHARITY
This 19th century philosopher wrote in "Fear & Trembling" of a knight of faith who takes a mighty leap
***SØREN KIERKEGAARD***
Søren Kierkegaard [KEER-kuh-gard] (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher who introduced the word "angst" and is sometimes called the “father of existentialism.” His first published work was 1843’s Either/Or, which was written under the pseudonym Victor Eremita. The work discusses the distinction between the aesthetic and ethical life. Another work from 1843 was Fear and Trembling, which was published under the pseudonym Johannes de Silentio. It discusses Abraham’s would-be sacrifice of his son Isaac and the teleological suspension of the ethical. On an episode of The Good Place, the character Chidi mentions a Kierkegaard rap musical, which the actor William Jackson Harper performs a bit of below: