Amuse-bouche: Down With Capitalism!

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Today’s Wonderful Word: “jeopardy.”

Definition: peril or danger, hazard or risk of or exposure to loss, harm, death, or injury.

Etymology: From 1200–1250, Middle English j(e)uparti, joupardi(e), j(e)upardi(e). From Anglo-French, Old French: literally, “divided game or play,” hence, “uncertain chance,” “problem” (in chess or love), equivalent to j(e)u: “play,” “game” + “parti,” past participle of “partir” to divide.

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Jeopardy! is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given general knowledge clues in the form of answers and they must identify the person, place, thing, or idea that the clue describes, phrasing each response in the form of a question.

Out of curiosity, I recorded the maximum possible score in one game of Jeopardy! It would require a contestant to buzz in before the other two contestants and provide the correct response to every clue. There’s also a significant amount of luck required to get the maximum score. The Daily Doubles would have to be hidden on the top row each round, and the contestant would have to locate them after clearing all other clues from the board. It goes without saying that the contestant would have to wager all their money with each of the three Daily Doubles (making them “true” Daily Doubles) and provide the correct responses.

First round (AKA The Jeopardy Round): $17,800 is available if a $200 space is the Daily Double. The contestant’s first true Daily Double would yield $35,600 at the end of Round 1.

Second round (AKA Double Jeopardy): $35,200 is available if two $400 spaces are the Daily Doubles. The contestant’s total score would be $70,800 before the Daily Doubles. The contestant’s second true Daily Double would yield $141,600. The third and final true Daily Double would yield $283,200 at the end of the Double Jeopardy round.

Final Jeopardy!: If the contestant wagers everything and provides the correct response for Final Jeopardy!, their grand total would come out to $566,400.

If you’d like to know more about Jeopardy!, or if you’re interested in attending a live Jeopardy! recording in the studio in Los Angeles, visit the official website here to get tickets.

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Answer to Saturday’s riddle:

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A+