JAQR - July 23, 2023
An unfinished 19th century epic poem, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Iran's national dish ghormeh sabzi, a famous Finnish track star, and an American explorer of Antarctica
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! between Monday 7/17 and Friday 7/21. 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.
DAILY DOUBLE #1
I'LL "B" THERE
Though the majority of this country's population is Hutu, the Tutsi minority has historically held power there
DAILY DOUBLE #2
AUTHORS' FIRST MAJOR WORKS
Her 1936 effort "We the Living" is a romantic tragedy set against the perils of Soviet-style totalitarianism
FINAL JEOPARDY #1
MAN-MADE OBJECTS
Around since 1998, it's now roughly the length of a football field & travels at about 5 miles per second
FINAL JEOPARDY #2
19th CENTURY BRITISH POEMS
The author of this unfinished epic poem was unsure if he wanted the title character to "end in hell--or in an unhappy marriage"
TRIPLE STUMPER #1
FISH PEOPLE
An "American Masters" documentary on this photographer is subtitled "Prophet of the Avant-Garde"
TRIPLE STUMPER #2
JULIE & JULIA
This French actress has played Céline in a trilogy of films
TRIPLE STUMPER #3
MUSICAL MENAGERIE
In a song mentioning the Hollywood Hills, the Red Hot Chili Peppers sang, "True men don't kill" these wild canids
TRIPLE STUMPER #4
A DEEP DIVE INTO...
World cuisine: These leaves with a European nationality in their name are essential to Iran's national dish, ghormeh sabzi
TRIPLE STUMPER #5
TRACK & FIELD
This Finnish track star won an amazing 9 gold medals across 3 Olympic games in the 1920s
TRIPLE STUMPER #6
EXPLORERS
This American explorer returned to Antarctica in the 1930s & had to be rescued in 1934, suffering from frostbite
DAILY DOUBLE #1
I'LL "B" THERE
Though the majority of this country's population is Hutu, the Tutsi minority has historically held power there
***BURUNDI***
Burundi [buh-ROON-dee] is a relatively small landlocked country in east-central Africa, roughly the size of Massachusetts. It is bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Burundi’s capital is Gitega, which in 2019 replaced Bujumbura [boo-jum-BOO-ruh], which is on Lake Tanganyika. Its highest point is Mount Heha (9,055 feet). A vast majority of the population speaks the Bantu language Kirundi (also known as Rundi). Burundi has the world's lowest GDP per capita (~$250).
Burundi, which was once part of German East Africa, gained independence from Belgium in 1962. Burundi was the site of a civil war (1993-2005) between Hutu rebels and Tutsi militants. Burundi's longest-ruling president (2005-2020) was Pierre Nkurunziza [en-KOO-roon-ZEE-zah], who in 2014 banned jogging, which was allegedly being used as a cover for subversion. Burundi's first medal at the Olympics was won by the runner Vénuste Niyongabo, who won gold in the 5000 meters in Atlanta in 1996. Burundi’s flag, pictured below, has three stars in the middle that represent the Hutu, Twa, and Tutsi people.
DAILY DOUBLE #2
AUTHORS' FIRST MAJOR WORKS
Her 1936 effort "We the Living" is a romantic tragedy set against the perils of Soviet-style totalitarianism
***AYN RAND***
Ayn Rand (1905-1982) was a Russian-born writer known for her novels that promoted individualism. Born Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaum, she moved to the U.S. in 1926. Rand, pictured below, called her philosophy “objectivism” and believed that a person's own happiness was the purpose of their life. Fans of Ayn Rand have included former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and former chair of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan. Southern Gothic writer Flannery O’Connor was less of a fan and said “I hope you don’t have friends who recommend Ayn Rand to you. The fiction of Ayn Rand is as low as you can get. I hope you picked it up off the floor of the subway and threw it in the nearest garbage pail.” Rand’s works, which are often beloved by conservatives and libertarians, include:
Anthem (1938) - dystopian novella in which people live in collectives without freedom and using the word “I” is punishable by death; it inspired Rush's album 2112
The Fountainhead (1943) - visionary architect Howard Roark blows up the Cortlandt Homes public housing project that he designed after it is altered against his wishes by government bureaucrats
Atlas Shrugged (1957) - 1072-page novel in which John Galt leads business leaders, including railroad tycoon Dagny Taggart, in a "strike" that causes the national economy and the collectivist social system to be destroyed; the book ends with Galt raising his hand over the desolate earth and tracing the sign of the dollar; the book was dedicated to both her husband Frank O'Connor (who she met while working as a movie extra) and her lover Nathaniel Branden; it partly inspired the video game Bioshock
FINAL JEOPARDY #1
MAN-MADE OBJECTS
Around since 1998, it's now roughly the length of a football field & travels at about 5 miles per second
***INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION***
The International Space Station (or ISS) is a partnership primarily among the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The first step in assembling the ISS involved docking the U.S.-built Unity module with the Russian-built Zarya module in 1998. Located about 200 miles above Earth, it circles the planet approximately every 90 minutes. Its first residents were Yuri Gidzenko, Sergey Krikalev, and William Shepherd, who arrived in November 2000 and spent around four months there.
In 2001, Pizza Hut sent a pizza to the ISS. In 2009, NASA held a contest to name a treadmill on the ISS and the winner was COLBERT (Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill), named for Stephen Colbert. In 2016, Scott Kelly (twin brother of Arizona Senator Mark Kelly) wore a gorilla suit on the ISS. Peggy Whitson holds the American record and the female record for most time in space (675 days) thanks to her time on the ISS. January 2031 is the tentative date for when the ISS is scheduled to de-orbit.
FINAL JEOPARDY #2
19th CENTURY BRITISH POEMS
The author of this unfinished epic poem was unsure if he wanted the title character to "end in hell--or in an unhappy marriage"
***DON JUAN***
Don Juan is a a legendary Spanish nobleman famous for his many seductions. One of his first literary appearances came in a 1630 play by Tirso de Molina titled The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest. He was also the subject of Mozart’s 1788 opera Don Giovanni. In the opera, the title character tries to seduce a girl, but she escapes. He then encounters her father, who he kills. Later on, he sees the father's tomb, and mockingly invites him to dinner. The “stone guest” arrives for dinner, and the title character is pulled down to Hell (video below).
Lord Byron wrote the 16,000-line satiric poem Don Juan in ottava rima. The poem inverts the typical story by making Don Juan easily seduced by women instead of being a seducer himself. Don Juan’s name is pronounced in a manner that rhymes with “true one.” The poem was scornfully dedicated to Lord Byron's rival and enemy, Robert Southey. The poem contains the lines “Tis strange,—but true; for truth is always strange; / Stranger than fiction; if it could be told.” The poem was left unfinished after Lord Byron died in 1824 while fighting in the Greek War of Independence.
TRIPLE STUMPER #1
FISH PEOPLE
An "American Masters" documentary on this photographer is subtitled "Prophet of the Avant-Garde"
***MAN RAY***
American artist Man Ray (1890-1976) was a member of the Dada and Surrealist movements. Born Emmanuel Radnitzky, he made camera-less photographs AKA photograms AKA rayographs, which involved placing an object directly onto the surface of a light-sensitive material, and then exposing it to light. His collection of rayographs were published in the 1922 book Les champs délicieux (“The Delightful Fields”). His other works include 1924's Le Violin d'Ingres [luh vee-oh-LAHN DAHN-gruh], pictured below, in which he photographically superimposed f-shaped sound holes onto a photo of the back of a nude female (Kiki de Montparnasse), making the woman's body resemble a violin. In 2022 it set the record for the most expensive photo ever sold at an auction ($12.4 million).
Man Ray also created several ready-mades (AKA found objects), including:
The Gift - a flat-iron with a row of tacks glued to the bottom; created with the help of French composer Erik Satie
Object to Be Destroyed - a metronome with a photograph of an eye fixed to the pendulum; it was fittingly destroyed by anti-Dada rioters in 1957
The Enigma of Isidore Ducasse - a sewing machine wrapped in a blanket and tied with string
TRIPLE STUMPER #2
JULIE & JULIA
This French actress has played Céline in a trilogy of films
***JULIE DELPY***
French-born actress Julie Delpy (1969-) played Céline (pictured below) in the Before trilogy, which co-stars Ethan Hawke as Jesse and was directed by Richard Linklater. The trilogy begins with Before Sunrise (1995), in which Céline and Jesse meet on a train, roam around Vienna, and talk about love and life. The trilogy also includes Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013). Delpy has also co-starred in:
Three Colours: White (1994) - the middle film in the Three Colours trilogy by Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski [kuh-SHISH-toff keesh-LOFF-skee]
An American Werewolf in Paris (1997) - sequel to An American Werewolf in London
2 Days in Paris (2007) - in addition to composing its music, she narrated, wrote, directed, produced, and edited the movie
TRIPLE STUMPER #3
MUSICAL MENAGERIE
In a song mentioning the Hollywood Hills, the Red Hot Chili Peppers sang, "True men don't kill" these wild canids
***COYOTES***
The band Red Hot Chili Peppers (or RHCP) is currently composed of lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis [KEE-dis], bassist Flea (whose real name is Michael Balzary), guitarist John Frusciante, and drummer Chad Smith (who resembles Will Ferrell). Early on, the band was named Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem, and its members would perform wearing only a tube sock over their genitals. They performed with Bruno Mars in 2014 during halftime of Super Bowl XLVIII, in which the Seahawks beat the Broncos 43-8. The group’s appearance on Carpool Karoake can be seen below. Their albums include:
Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) - includes “Under the Bridge” (named for where former drug addict Anthony Kiedis would shoot speedballs with gangsters) and “Give It Away,” both of which were parodied in "Weird Al" Yankovic's song "Bedrock Anthem"
Californication (1999) - includes “Other Side” and “Scar Tissue”; the band sued Showtime over the title of the 2007-2014 TV show Californication starring David Duchovny
Stadium Arcadium (2006) - the band’s first ever number one album, it includes "Snow ((Hey Oh))" and "Dani California" (which opens “Getting born in the state of Mississippi / Papa was a copper, and her mama was a hippy / In Alabama she would swing a hammer / Price you got to pay when you break the panorama”)
TRIPLE STUMPER #4
A DEEP DIVE INTO...
World cuisine: These leaves with a European nationality in their name are essential to Iran's national dish, ghormeh sabzi
***FENUGREEK****
Fenugreek is a "pleasantly bitter" herb that smells like maple syrup and tastes sort of like burnt sugar. It’s a member of the pea family (also known as the legume or bean family). Its name is derived from the Latin term "fenum Graecum," meaning "Greek hay." Its seeds can be dried, roasted, and ground to make spices or relishes, such as curry or chutney. Fenugreek is used in Iran's national dish, ghormeh sabzi, pictured below. “Ghormeh” means “stew,” and “sabzi” means “vegetable”.
TRIPLE STUMPER #5
TRACK & FIELD
This Finnish track star won an amazing 9 gold medals across 3 Olympic games in the 1920s
***PAAVO NURMI***
Paavo Nurmi (1897-1973) was a Finnish athlete who specialized in long-distance running. He is one of many nicknamed the “Flying Finn,” but he is probably the most famous. Nurmi won a total of nine gold medals at the Summer Olympics in 1920 (Antwerp), 1924 (Paris), and 1928 (Amsterdam) in events such as the 10,000 meters and both the individual and team cross country. He held the world record for fastest mile run (4:10.4) from 1923-1931. Helsinki contains a nude statue of Nurmi, who often ran with a stopwatch so that he could keep an even pace. He appeared on Finland’s currency, the markka (or markkaa), pictured below, before the country switched to the euro.
TRIPLE STUMPER #6
EXPLORERS
This American explorer returned to Antarctica in the 1930s & had to be rescued in 1934, suffering from frostbite
***RICHARD BYRD***
Richard E. Byrd was an American naval officer (rear admiral) who explored the poles using planes. In 1926, he served as navigator and Floyd Bennett served as pilot when the pair became, possibly, the first to fly over the North Pole (they may have been 150 miles short of their target). In 1929, Byrd served as navigator on the first flight over the South Pole. The pilot was the Norwegian man Bernt Balchen, who flew in a plane named for Floyd Bennett. Byrd established a base on the continent called Little America. Byrd had to be rescued on his second expedition in 1934, and discovered Thurston Island on his third expedition in 1940. Byrd made five Antarctic expeditions in total. An unclaimed region of western Antarctica near the Ross Ice Shelf is named Marie Byrd Land in honor of his wife. Byrd’s brother was the racist Virginian politician Harry F. Byrd, who oversaw the "massive resistance" campaign by closing public schools instead of integrating them.
