Warning: This page contains spoilers for the July 26, 2024, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs today as early as 11:30 AM Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Ancient Animals) for Friday, July 26, 2024 (Season 40, Game 230):
The first fossils of these creatures with an elongated 4th digit were described in 1784 by naturalist Cosimo Collini
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Rachel Bradley, an ESL instructor from Greenbelt, Maryland |
Steve Babish, a marketing content strategist from San Jose, California |
Davey Morrison, an actor & screenwriter from Provo, Utah (2-day total: $29,012) |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
The final game of Season 40 features 2-day champion Davey Morrison against challengers Steve Babish and Rachel Bradley. Today’s winner will return on September 9; the intervening six weeks will feature encore presentations of the 31st Tournament of Champions and the 1st Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament.
Another reminder that there are widespread pre-emptions today if you watch on an NBC station due to the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Olympics. You can either check your local listings, or consult Matt Carberry’s spreadsheet, where he has tracked the schedule changes.
I have an occasional mailbag column where I answer fan & viewer questions regarding the show. If you have a question, feel free to send it to mailbag@thejeopardyfan.com!
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is a pterodactyl?
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 famed flying reptile known as a pterodactyl was first described by Cosimo Colloni based on a fossil that had been unearthed in Bavaria; Colloni was curator of an 18th-century equivalent of a natural history museum at the time. The name pterodactyl, or “winged finger”, comes from the fact that the pterodactyl had a membrane stretching from an elongated fourth finger to the hind limbs that served as a wing.
It does appear, at least to some, that the more general term “pterosaur” isn’t discounted by anything in the clue, but I honestly don’t expect it to be a gameplay issue—though if you said that at home, I’d give myself credit. I do think that Jeopardy should probably be more careful when it comes to dinosaur clues, as I’d expect there to be a significant “special interest” overlap of “Jeopardy fans” and “dinosaur fans” such that there are probably more viewers than normal that would be a subject matter expert on this subject.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, July 26, 2024 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: A Date In History; Idioms & Expressions; A Word From Your Doctor; Also A Fishing Term; A Thing For Feats; We Crack Ourselves Up)
Davey got the Daily Double and used it to propel himself into an early lead. At the first break, Davey led with $2,400 to Rachel’s $600 and Steve’s $400.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Davey 4 correct 1 incorrect
Rachel 3 correct 1 incorrect
Steve 3 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Rachel learned many languages on DuoLingo.
Steve wrote a doctoral dissertation on 70s science fiction film architecture.
Davey is part of a theatre troupe performing Shakespeare as Shakespeare performed it.
While Davey still led after 30, both challengers did very well in this segment and all three players were very close.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Davey 7 correct 2 incorrect
Rachel 9 correct 1 incorrect
Steve 6 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Davey $4,000
Rachel $3,800
Steve $2,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Canals; “I” + 4; Too Much Of Something; Tick Tock; Face Books; Insta-Graham)
Steve got to both Daily Doubles; unfortunately, he went conservative on DD2 and got DD3 incorrect. This gave Rachel an opening, and she ended up just $300 in the lead going into the last Final Jeopardy of the season.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Rachel 16 correct 3 incorrect
Steve 19 correct 2 incorrect
Davey 12 correct 5 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 25 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Rachel $11,800
Steve $11,500
Davey $6,400
Rachel was the only player correct in Final, which makes her both the new Jeopardy! champion and the champion for the summer! She’ll be back September 9 to defend.
Tonight’s results:
Davey $6,400 – $5,401 = $999 (What are giant sloths????)
Steve $11,500 – $1,400 = $10,100 (What are saber-toothed tigers)
Rachel $11,800 + $11,797 = $23,597 (What are pterodactyls?) (1-day total: $23,597)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) A DATE IN HISTORY $600 (clue #3)
Davey 800 +1000 (Steve -600 Rachel -600)
2) TICK TOCK $1600 (clue #6)
Steve 5600 +1500 (Davey 2800 Rachel 3800)
3) TOO MUCH OF SOMETHING $2000 (clue #18, $10800 left on board)
Steve 10300 -2000 (Davey 5600 Rachel 7400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 107
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Davey 4 3 3*
Steve
Rachel
DJ! Round:
Davey 4 5 3
Steve 3 2 3 3 4* 4 4 4 5† 3 5*
Rachel 3 2 4 2
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Rachel 2.75
Steve 3.64
Davey 3.67
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 25 (0.11 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Rachel $11,800 Coryat, 16 correct, 3 incorrect, 28.57% in first on buzzer (16/56), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Steve $13,600 Coryat, 19 correct, 2 incorrect, 28.57% in first on buzzer (16/56), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Davey $6,000 Coryat, 12 correct, 5 incorrect, 28.57% in first on buzzer (16/56), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $31,400
Lach Trash: $11,600 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $10,000
Lead Changes: 8
Times Tied: 1
Player Statistics:
Davey Morrison, career statistics:
51 correct, 15 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 14 rebound opportunities)
34.94% in first on buzzer (58/166)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,800)
2/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,533
Steve Babish, career statistics:
19 correct, 3 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
28.57% in first on buzzer (16/56)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$500)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,600
Rachel Bradley, career statistics:
17 correct, 3 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
28.57% in first on buzzer (16/56)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,800
Rachel Bradley, to win:
2 games: 41.124%
3: 16.912%
4: 6.955%
5: 2.860%
6: 1.176%
Avg. streak: 1.698 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- I’ll be honest: even though there are multiple famous Curie families in science, the optics of Davey not being prompted and Rachel being prompted is not going to play well on social media tonight. Ken probably should have prompted Davey on the Daily Double.
- Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Rachel $11,800 Steve $11,500 Davey $6,400)
Davey: Bet between $3,800 (therefore passing Steve if he bets to cover you and is incorrect) and $5,800 (therefore staying ahead of Rachel if she bets to cover and is incorrect. (Actual bet: $5,401)
Steve: Standard cover bet over Davey is $1,301. (Actual bet: $1,400)
Rachel: Standard cover bet over Steve is $11,201. (Actual bet: $11,797)
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