Beware of Librarians

Anytime the occupations of the contestants that were going to face off against champion Amy Schneider on 'Jeopardy' were introduced and someone was a librarian, I'd say to myself, "maybe they're the one."

It took 82 contestants, and I don't know how many librarians, but Amy has finally been defeated, after 40 wins and $1,382,800. Nice work if you can get it.

Lately, Amy has been in a bit of a slump when it came to getting the Final Jeopardy clue right. She had been knocking them out of the park, but in the last week and a half or so she'd been vulnerable. Not that it mattered. Her opponents had no chance of catching her, no matter who got what right.

But the key to beating Amy lay in being in a position that you had more than half her day's total, and you bet the right amount (usually all-in) that would exceed her total, get the clue right, and have her falter.

And that's exactly the perfect storm that knocked Amy off the perch in last night's telecast. The librarian, Rhone Talsma from Chicago made a not quite all-in-bet, but one that would leave him ahead of Amy's game total, in the hope to be right when answering the clue of...

Countries of the World 

The only nation in the world whose name in English ends in an H, it's also one of the 10 most populous.

and have Amy falter on her answer. 

I can usually get the right answer to the day's Final Jeopardy clue about 80% of the time, but I was thoroughly out to sea on yesterday's final clue.

The answer? Bangladesh. The contestant in the middle, Janice Hawthorne Timm, had no clue, and Amy had none either. Game, set, match to the librarian. Always beware  of the librarian.

Amy's final winnings total of $1,382,800 is certainly a near-life altering amount, even when you consider there are taxes to be paid. In today's NYT there is a story of an interview held with  Amy.  There is another story about the streak and Wednesday's game, the final one for Amy. 

Amy is as saddened by the defeat as she is relieved. There was a constant commuting from her home in Oakland to Los Angeles to fulfill the taping schedule. She had to accept a demotion at work because she wasn't there often enough in her usual capacity. And her personal life was disrupted.

The fellow who beat Matt Amodio, Jonathan Fisher, went on to win 11 games. Rhone Talsma has big shoes to jump into.

To me, the show is most interesting when there is a streak that builds, usually if a contestant wins enough games that they go into the next week of telecasts.

Today's Final Jeopardy clue is:

18th-Century Names

In 1793 he left Dublin for the United States saying, "I expect to make a fortune" off George Washington, & he did.

Who thinks up this stuff? I have no freaking idea. Probably not a dentist. Ask the librarian.

http://www.onofframp.blogspot.com