JAQR - January 26, 2025
18th century satires, Middle Eastern kingdoms, Short Stories, World Geography, Composers, British sitcoms, New Hampshire-born authors, "Foolish Beat," and more...
Thank you for reading another issue of the Jeopardy Answer & Question Recap, or JAQR [“jacker”] for short. This recap includes at least one clue from each Jeopardy! episode between Monday 1/20 and Friday 1/24. The recap includes Daily Doubles, Final Jeopardy clues, and Triple Stumpers. There’s also questions about material from last week and a Bonus Clue about a topic previously covered. The first half of the recap includes just the clues so you can quiz yourself if you want. The second half gives you some (hopefully) interesting information about the clues and/or some related info.
DAILY DOUBLE #1
18th CENTURY WRITING
Pangloss & Cunegonde are characters in this satire that mocked optimism by portraying a world of folly & danger
DAILY DOUBLE #2
"B" ON THE SEA
The name of this small Middle Eastern kingdom means "the 2 seas" in Arabic
DAILY DOUBLE #3
LITERALLY LITERATURE
This 1880s short story ends with "never a cobra dared show its head inside the walls"
FINAL JEOPARDY #1
WORLD GEOGRAPHY
In the Orenburg Oblast, a bridge over this 1,500-mile river has monuments labeled "Asia" & "Europe
FINAL JEOPARDY #2
COMPOSERS
"Troll Hill" is the name of his country home, the grounds of which include a concert hall & a lakeside cabin where he worked
TRIPLE STUMPER #1
BRITISH SITCOMS
Captain Peacock kept the retail staff on their toes on "Are You Being Served?", a show set at Grace Brothers, one of these businesses
TRIPLE STUMPER #2
AUTHORS
This author who has set several of his novels in New Hampshire was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1942
TRIPLE STUMPER #3
SCHOOL OF MUSIC
She was about to graduate when "Foolish Beat" hit No. 1, making her the youngest artist to write, produce & perform a No. 1 hit
LAST WEEK RECAP #1
What English-born surrealist painted Self-Portrait (Inn of the Dawn Horse) before she moved to Mexico in 1942?
LAST WEEK RECAP #2
What Guadeloupe-born author wrote the 1986 novel I, Tituba: Black Witch of Salem?
BONUS CLUE #1
REMEMBERING MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
At King's funeral, this gospel singer & close friend sang the hymn "Precious Lord, Take My Hand"
DAILY DOUBLE #1
18th CENTURY WRITING
Pangloss & Cunegonde are characters in this satire that mocked optimism by portraying a world of folly & danger
***CANDIDE***
The 1759 novella Candide, ou l'Optimisme (whose subtitle has been translated as "All for the Best" or "The Optimist" or "Optimism") was written by French author François-Marie Arouet (1694-1778), better known as Voltaire. The novella contains 30 short chapters, each of which has a descriptive title (e.g. Chapter 1 is “How Candide was brought up in a Magnificent Castle, and how he was expelled thence”). The young title character is tutored by Pangloss, whose name is Greek for "all tongues." Pangloss is a disciple of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz who believes this is the “best of all possible worlds.”
Candide suffers a series of misfortunes after getting kicked out (literally) of the castle for kissing Cunegonde, the daughter of the Baron of Thunder-ten-Tronckh. Candide’s misfortunes include being forcibly enlisted into the Bulgarian army, a tempest, a shipwreck, an earthquake (inspired by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake that killed around 50,000 people), and getting tortured by the Inquisition. His travels take him to Portugal, Spain, Paraguay, El Dorado, France, and Constantinople.
Candide nearly goes to England, but refuses to set foot on its shore after learning that the English believe it is good “from time to time, to kill one Admiral to encourage the others." That is a reference to John Byng, who in 1756 failed to relieve a naval base at Minorca from a French siege due to having an inadequate force and was later executed by firing squad. In the end of the novella, the main characters retire to a small farm and they discover that the secret to happiness is to “cultivate our garden.” The novella was adapted into a 1956 operetta with music by Leonard Bernstein. Dorothy Parker and Lillian Hellman contributed some lyrics to the operetta, whose songs include "Glitter and Be Gay."
For more about Leibniz, check out Triple Stumper #1 from this past recap: https://jaqr.substack.com/p/jaqr-august-20-2023
DAILY DOUBLE #2
"B" ON THE SEA
The name of this small Middle Eastern kingdom means "the 2 seas" in Arabic
***BAHRAIN***
The island country of Bahrain is located in the Persian Gulf. Its capital and most populous city is Manama. King Hamad is the current monarch of Bahrain, which has been ruled by the Khalifa family since the 18th century. Bahrain is the third-smallest country in Asia, ahead of only Singapore and The Maldives. Bahrain is linked to Saudi Arabia by the King Fahd Causeway, which is 15 miles long. Bahrain International Airport (BAH) is located on Muharraq Island, which is Bahrain's second-largest island, behind only Bahrain Island. The country also controls the Hawar Islands, which are pretty close to Qatar.
Bahrain is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Qal’at al-Bahrain (ancient harbor and capital of the Dilmun ancient civilization), the Dilmun Burial Mounds, and the Bahrain Pearling Trail. The country is home to the world's largest underwater theme park, Dive Bahrain, which contains a sunken Boeing 747 jet. Bahrain uses a currency called the dinar, which is also the name of the currency used by Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Tunisia. Despite having “rain” in its name, the country only gets about three inches of rain a year. In 2020, Bahrain (and the UAE) normalized relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords. The United States Fifth Fleet is headquartered in Bahrain.
A movie directed by Jafar Panahi titled Offside centers on a group of girls who attempt to watch a 2006 World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain. The 2021-2024 Formula One World Championship began with the Bahrain Grand Prix. Romain Grosjean suffered a horrific crash at the 2020 iteration. Anti-government protests led the cancellation of the 2011 iteration. The racing event is held at the Bahrain International Circuit, which was photographed by Andreas Gursky and manipulated to resemble an Abstract Expressionist canvas.
DAILY DOUBLE #3
LITERALLY LITERATURE
This 1880s short story ends with "never a cobra dared show its head inside the walls"