Note: This page contains spoilers for the August 16, 2023, 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 November 2, 2022.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Phrases in American History) for Wednesday, August 16, 2023 (Season 39, Game 38):
Andrew Johnson vetoed a bill that gave reparations to formerly enslaved people, hence this phrase for an unfulfilled promise
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Margaret Shelton, a homemaker from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Tyler Rhode, a director at a start-up from New York, New York |
Brian Chang, an attorney from Chicago, Illinois |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
We’re two quarterfinals into the 30th Tournament of Champions. Two super-champions have already been defeated. (One of them I would call an upset—Maureen O’Neil defeating Ryan Long—however, I do still believe that Andrew He is, overall, a better player than Jonathan Fisher.) I’ve received feedback over the last few days regarding my predictions and how people feel I have underrated their favorite player. To this, I say: yes, your favorite player is smart and very good at Jeopardy—but so is everybody else in this field.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is “40 acres and a mule”?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2023 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
In 1865, as the Civil War was winding to a close, General Sherman emerged from a meeting between Union leaders and a group of Black ministers in Savannah, GA, with Special Field Order 15. That order stated that “each family shall have a plot of not more than forty acres of tillable ground.” That later got the signature phrase “40 acres and a mule”. And then, shortly following the end of the Civil War, Lincoln was assassinated, replaced with the notoriously racist Andrew Johnson. Johnson then proceeded to renege on this, with the land being taken away from the formerly enslaved Americans.
Famed film director Spike Lee named his production company “40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks” after the event.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, August 16, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Historic Names; Team Of The MLB Hall Of Famers; You Left Me; 5, 5; Baroque; The Law)
Brian struggled with incorrect responses early on, and wasn’t helped by missing the Daily Double. Meanwhile, Tyler and Margaret started quite a battle and were tied at the end of 30 clues!
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Margaret 6 correct 0 incorrect
Tyler 5 correct 0 incorrect
Brian 2 correct 3 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Margaret grew up in Mississippi and wants to reiterate that her “y’all is authentic”.
Tyler is going to use his winnings on his upcoming wedding.
Brian started a wind ensemble with his winnings.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Margaret 8 correct 1 incorrect
Tyler 10 correct 1 incorrect
Brian 5 correct 4 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Margaret $5,400
Tyler $5,400
Brian -$1,000
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: National Geographic 100 Cities, 5,000 Ideas; Health & Medicine; Simon Says; Child Actors; Novel Nurses; Anagrams Of Each Other)
Brian really liked the anagram category and went straight there—picking up the Daily Double and another pair of correct responses! Meanwhile, the hunt commenced for the last one, and it was finally found by Tyler, who pulled himself back into a tie for the lead with Margaret with an incorrect response! Tyler and Margaret played evenly over the final six clues, which meant a tie going into clue #61!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Tyler 19 correct 2 incorrect
Margaret 20 correct 4 incorrect
Brian 11 correct 6 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 8 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Tyler $17,400
Margaret $17,400
Brian $4,200
Tyler and Margaret both got Final Jeopardy! correct. It came down to the wagering today; unfortunately for Margaret, she did not go all in and Tyler did, which means that Tyler Rhode is your latest semifinalist!
Tonight’s results:
Brian $4,200 – $0 = $4,200 (What is ??)
Margaret $17,400 + $7,000 = $24,400 (What is “forty acres and a mule”?)
Tyler $17,400 + $17,400 = $34,800 (What is forty acres and a mule?) (Semi-Finalist)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) BAROQUE $800 (clue #13)
Brian 0 -1000 (Tyler 3400 Margaret 3400)
2) ANAGRAMS OF EACH OTHER $2000 (clue #1)
Brian -1000 +2000 (Tyler 5400 Margaret 5400)
3) NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 100 CITIES, 5,000 IDEAS $800 (clue #24, $3200 left on board)
Tyler 12600 +4000 (Brian 3000 Margaret 16600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 32
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Brian 5 4 5 4*
Tyler 3 5 4 3 3
Margaret 1 5 4 3
DJ! Round:
Brian 5* 4† 3† 5 4 5
Tyler 3 4 3 4 2† 3 3 2*
Margaret 4 3 5 2 1 5 4 2 1 5
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Tyler 3.23
Margaret 3.21
Brian 4.40
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 8 (0.21 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Tyler $14,200 Coryat, 19 correct, 2 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 4/4 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
Margaret $17,400 Coryat, 20 correct, 4 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Brian $5,200 Coryat, 11 correct, 6 incorrect, 24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $36,800
Lach Trash: $7,800 (on 9 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $9,400
Player Statistics:
Brian Chang, career statistics:
195 correct, 28 incorrect
5/7 on rebound attempts (on 35 rebound opportunities)
38.24% in first on buzzer (195/510)
9/12 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $15,500)
5/9 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,511
Tyler Rhode, career statistics:
151 correct, 15 incorrect
11/12 on rebound attempts (on 26 rebound opportunities)
36.18% in first on buzzer (144/398)
3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $11,000)
5/7 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,543
Margaret Shelton, career statistics:
121 correct, 18 incorrect
14/14 on rebound attempts (on 36 rebound opportunities)
34.44% in first on buzzer (114/331)
4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $12,100)
4/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,500
Remaining players’ Tournament of Champions win chances (after 100,000 simulations):
Amy Schneider: 18.562%
Matt Amodio: 28.736%
Mattea Roach: 10.813%
Maureen O’Neil: 0.701%
Andrew He: 14.555%
Tyler Rhode: 3.974%
Courtney Shah: 0.355%
Rowan Ward: 4.722%
John Focht: 2.618%
Eric Ahasic: 6.663%
Jaskaran Singh: 1.715%
Jackie Kelly: 2.909%
Zach Newkirk: 1.002%
Jessica Stephens: 0.471%
Sam Buttrey: 2.204%
Andy’s Thoughts:
- I was disappointed not to have this game settled with a tiebreaker.
- Please remember to be kind to contestants. Just because you would have played the game a certain way doesn’t give you the right to insist that a contestant on TV play the game the same way.
- With regards to the HEALTH & MEDICINE $1600 clue, after a cursory Google, I am led to conclude that there is nothing that disqualifies Margaret’s response in the clue. Unless you are a subject matter expert, with credentials, further discussion on that clue is out-of-bounds in the comments.
- Today’s box score: August 16, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Tyler $17,400 Margaret $17,400 Brian $4,200)
Brian: As long as you don’t go all in, you’re good. (Actual bet: $0)
Tyler: Bet on yourself. Go all in. (Actual bet: $17,400)
Margaret: Bet on yourself. Go all in. (Actual bet: $7,000)
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