Note: This page contains spoilers for the August 2, 2024, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please also note that today’s game is an encore presentation of the game that originally aired on March 5, 2024.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Chemical Elements) for Friday, August 2, 2024 (Season 40, Game 127):
Isolated in 1945 during uranium fission research, it was named for an ancient deity to suggest humans gaining a new power
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Emmett Stanton, a freelance writer from Baltimore, Maryland |
Justin Bolsen, a public policy economics student at Brown University from Canton, Georgia |
Ben Chan, a philosophy professor from Green Bay, Wisconsin |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
The opening week of Season 40’s encore presentations ends with quarterfinal #8 of the 31st Tournament of Champions, between Ben Chan, Justin Bolsen, and Emmett Stanton. Ben came into this game as a big favorite by virtue of his having won his first nine games by runaway, and he certainly did not disappoint in his performance in this one. Another thing that many of us back in March were very much paying attention to was “when would Ben cross the 300-correct-response mark”, as he had gone on record in 2023 noting that making it into “The 300 Club” was an important statistical milestone for him.
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(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is promethium?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2024 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
The element now known as promethium was first produced at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, its isolation was discovered when analyzing elements found in a nuclear reactor after irradiating uranium fuel. While it is incredibly rare in nature, it gained use as a safer alternative to radium in luminous paints.
The element was named after Prometheus, who in Greek mythology stole fire from the gods to give to humanity.
Interestingly, I said back in March that “this should be a straightforward Final Jeopardy to anyone familiar with the periodic table and the names of the elements”, as I didn’t struggle with this Final. However, I was corrected very quickly by many of my commenters, who felt that “thorium” was a very plausible response—and their concerns, as you’ll see, were certainly borne out.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, August 2, 2024 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: 5 For The History Books; Names In Fashion; TV In The Aughties; Getting Together; The Animal Kingdom; Words In Colonel Jessup’s Big Speech)
Ben, thanks to getting a True Daily Double correct, held a lead after 15 clues (and got 6 correct responses away from 300).
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Ben 6 correct 1 incorrect
Emmett 4 correct 0 incorrect
Justin 3 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Emmett took a train trip from Baltimore to Seattle where he met up with Martha Bath.
Justin had a huge watch party when he won.
Ben upgraded to glass lunch containers with his winnings.
The second half of the opening round saw Ben extend his lead with another 8 correct responses (bringing his career total up to 302).
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Ben 14 correct 1 incorrect
Emmett 7 correct 1 incorrect
Justin 4 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Ben $11,400
Emmett $3,200
Justin $1,600
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Jazz’ Great Day In Harlem; Poets & Poetry; Have Faith; People Named Alex; Mountains; “O-U-R” Something)
Ben got to the first Daily Double and picked up $4,000. Meanwhile, Emmett’s attempt on the last one to get back into contention ended poorly; unfortunately, he ended up in the red. Ben was in control of this one start-to-finish, though, as he cruised to a runaway over Justin.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Ben 28 correct 1 incorrect
Justin 12 correct 2 incorrect
Emmett 9 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Ben $29,800
Justin $10,000
Emmett -$2,000
As was predicted pre-game back in March, both players went for thorium. Ben’s runaway puts him into the semifinals!
Tonight’s results:
Emmett -$2,000 (By rule, did not participate in Final Jeopardy)
Justin $10,000 – $42 = $9,958 (What is thorium good luck ji godfather-Ben Chan)
Ben $29,800 – $0 = $29,800 (What is thorium? promethium??) (Semi-Finalist)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) THE ANIMAL KINGDOM $600 (clue #8)
Ben 3600 +3600 (Justin 0 Emmett 1400)
2) MOUNTAINS $1200 (clue #5)
Ben 15800 +4000 (Justin 3600 Emmett 3200)
3) HAVE FAITH $1600 (clue #10, $20000 left on board)
Emmett 4400 -4400 (Ben 21400 Justin 3600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 25
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Ben 4 5 3 4 5 3*
Justin
Emmett 4 4
DJ! Round:
Ben 4 3 3* 4 3
Justin 5 4
Emmett 5 5 4*
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Ben 3.73
Justin 4.50
Emmett 4.40
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 0 (0.00 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Ben $24,000 Coryat, 28 correct, 1 incorrect, 43.86% in first on buzzer (25/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Justin $10,000 Coryat, 12 correct, 2 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Emmett $2,400 Coryat, 9 correct, 4 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $36,400
Lach Trash: $11,200 (on 10 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,400
Lead Changes: 1
Times Tied: 1
Player Statistics:
Ben Chan, career statistics:
316 correct, 28 incorrect
12/16 on rebound attempts (on 44 rebound opportunities)
46.40% in first on buzzer (290/625)
20/27 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $37,405)
8/11 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $23,182
Justin Bolsen, career statistics:
135 correct, 20 incorrect
7/10 on rebound attempts (on 31 rebound opportunities)
32.58% in first on buzzer (130/399)
7/9 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,701)
3/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,343
Emmett Stanton, career statistics:
82 correct, 14 incorrect
6/6 on rebound attempts (on 23 rebound opportunities)
27.72% in first on buzzer (79/285)
4/7 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $6,600)
3/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,320
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.
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