Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by rockyboy34 »

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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Woppy T »

talkingaway wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 9:14 pm I'm okay in history, but really not too good in presidential trivia, so I was nervous. Add in geography, and you'd think I was sunk for FJ!. Nope! I vaguely remember W's library opening and there's no way it wouldn't be in Texas. Daddy HW was probably in Texas too. Add in LBJ, and I had a very good feeling about it.

I would have had no idea how many presidents had libraries. Could have been 30, could have been 10. I know JFK has one, but couldn't really say anything about any of the others. But it was nice of them to toss in the 15 in there - basically asking "What state is associated with 3 of the last 15 Presidents?"

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floridagator wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 8:43 pm I sald Underground Railway. Judges?
IMO: Oooh...sorry. That's the kind of answer I give all the time and get frustrated with...I know it, but can't spit out quite the correct word. AFAIK, that's not a common variation, and the Underground Railroad is a definite thing. It would be a bit like saying Madison Square Greenhouse (if greehouse were an exact synonym for garden, which it isn't...can't think of a good one now.)
Not really an apples to apples comparison. MSG is an actual building with its name emblazoned on it. The Underground Railroad was neither actually underground nor actually a railroad. That being said, I would neg “railway” unless someone produced examples of its having been known by that name.
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by opusthepenguin »

mas3cf wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 10:18 pm
opusthepenguin wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 9:48 pm A couple for the judges:

COOL NEWS $400: M.I.T. researchers used a solar still, evaporation & condensation in this process to make ocean water drinkable

They accepted "desalinization". I said "distillation". Does the process described stop short of full-on distillation or is that response ok?
See my comment above. Distillation is a better response than desalinization, IMO. Speaking as a Ph.D. chemist who has personally done hundreds of distillations in my lifetime....
I must've skimmed right past that! Is there a desalinization process that doesn't involve distillation?
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Volante »

mas3cf wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 12:31 pm 4. What state are 3 of the last 15 presidents from?
More accurately: what state is most associated with 3 of the last 15 presidents? 'From' would send you down the wrong track.
(Obama, for example, is from Hawaii, but is most associated with, and his presidential center (not a Library, which is its own rant...) will be in, Illinois)
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by mas3cf »

opusthepenguin wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 10:36 pm
mas3cf wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 10:18 pm
opusthepenguin wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 9:48 pm A couple for the judges:

COOL NEWS $400: M.I.T. researchers used a solar still, evaporation & condensation in this process to make ocean water drinkable

They accepted "desalinization". I said "distillation". Does the process described stop short of full-on distillation or is that response ok?
See my comment above. Distillation is a better response than desalinization, IMO. Speaking as a Ph.D. chemist who has personally done hundreds of distillations in my lifetime....
I must've skimmed right past that! Is there a desalinization process that doesn't involve distillation?
Lots of them. Reverse osmosis is possibly the most common...
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Rackme32 »

I seem to remember noticing a very slight pause by Alex when the response "Desalinization" was given... Maybe Alex was getting a judge-approval signal and they were actually originally *looking* for the response to be "Distillation".

On FJ!, I correctly guessed Texas. 3 of 5 for the week... and the two I missed were facepalms for me once I saw the correct response... Shoulda been able to check the Box Of Glory. :(
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by opusthepenguin »

Rackme32 wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 10:56 pm I seem to remember noticing a very slight pause by Alex when the response "Desalinization" was given... Maybe Alex was getting a judge-approval signal and they were actually originally *looking* for the response to be "Distillation".
I noticed that too and wondered whether that was the reason.
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by opusthepenguin »

mas3cf wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 8:15 pm On COOL NEWS $400, what they described was distillation. I would have BMSed desalination. But what do I know, I only have a Ph.D. in chemistry. :lol:
Thinking more about this, I'm inclined to say desalinization (or desalination) is the better response. The clue asks for "this process to make ocean water drinkable". It cites as an example, some MIT researchers using a distillation method to accomplish that goal. But as you note there are non-distillation methods "to make ocean water drinkable". The process is still "desalinization", regardless of the method used.
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Lefty »

opusthepenguin wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 11:06 pm
Rackme32 wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 10:56 pm I seem to remember noticing a very slight pause by Alex when the response "Desalinization" was given... Maybe Alex was getting a judge-approval signal and they were actually originally *looking* for the response to be "Distillation".
I noticed that too and wondered whether that was the reason.
It may also be that "desalination" was on the card. It seems to be the far more common form. Maybe Allison was thinking of destalinization.
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by reddpen »

mas3cf wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 8:16 pm
Bamaman wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 7:50 pm
I think the get rate for this one will be the lowest in the weekly poll.
My vote is yesterday's for that honor...
Any chance of spoilerizing this? I made the mistake of reading the board just after watching today's game, and got spoiled on an FJ from an episode I hadn't yet found online. Probably moot by now, but it can't hurt to ask. Thanks in advance.
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by davey »

Woppy T wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 10:29 pm
talkingaway wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 9:14 pm I'm okay in history, but really not too good in presidential trivia, so I was nervous. Add in geography, and you'd think I was sunk for FJ!. Nope! I vaguely remember W's library opening and there's no way it wouldn't be in Texas. Daddy HW was probably in Texas too. Add in LBJ, and I had a very good feeling about it.

I would have had no idea how many presidents had libraries. Could have been 30, could have been 10. I know JFK has one, but couldn't really say anything about any of the others. But it was nice of them to toss in the 15 in there - basically asking "What state is associated with 3 of the last 15 Presidents?"

Obligatory foreshadowing clue: Vaccine.

Got "War and Peace" from "Natasha and Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812". When a musical serves you free perogies before the show, you know it's going to be good.

I went down the nanobot hole for nanoparticles, but I clammed. And nanites are nanobots, so nanu nanu.

floridagator wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 8:43 pm I sald Underground Railway. Judges?
IMO: Oooh...sorry. That's the kind of answer I give all the time and get frustrated with...I know it, but can't spit out quite the correct word. AFAIK, that's not a common variation, and the Underground Railroad is a definite thing. It would be a bit like saying Madison Square Greenhouse (if greehouse were an exact synonym for garden, which it isn't...can't think of a good one now.)
Not really an apples to apples comparison. MSG is an actual building with its name emblazoned on it. The Underground Railroad was neither actually underground nor actually a railroad. That being said, I would neg “railway” unless someone produced examples of its having been known by that name.
If you google "underground railway" the first result is Merriam-Webster acknowledging it, so there's that...and over 50,000 hits for "underground railway" slavery. It's acceptable.

I confidently said CA for FJ, assuming that Hoover has a library at Stanford, maybe part of the Hoover Institution. But his library is in IA...Even if I'd thought of TX, I might have guessed GWB's wasn't open yet... :roll:
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by twelvefootboy »

opusthepenguin wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 9:48 pm
Felt stupid once reminded that there were TWO Bushes with a Texas connection.
"Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."

I was misled by the category - isn't there likely a museum for every president? I went with California for the Reagan and Nixon libraries plus whoever that third guy was (Hoover or Wilson?) with the Stanford connection.

IMHO, desalination was the desired response, and the hesitation was about the extra sylylable added when she said desalinization. "What is distillation" as a response seems tautological. Like the old trick of repeating the question when the teacher calls on you in class. Substitute "distillation" in the clue for "evaporation and condensation", and it is unchanged. But, in the end, I think they would rule in favor of just "distillation", but maybe by a correction.

So, is Jong Ho a first name? Twelvefootgirl noticed the compound name, and now I am wondering about the rules of engagement. I presume the show will not use unrelated nicknames, but I don't recall that players are ever referred to by initials only, and presumably there have been players that only go by initials in public. I know that compound names are OK, like Joe Bob or Mary Ann. Nobody need explain, I'll be mulling over this in subsequent shows.
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by jeff6286 »

davey wrote: Sat May 30, 2020 12:37 am I confidently said CA for FJ, assuming that Hoover has a library at Stanford, maybe part of the Hoover Institution. But his library is in IA...Even if I'd thought of TX, I might have guessed GWB's wasn't open yet... :roll:
Yeah I didn't realize it at the time as I went straight to Texas, but CA is a pretty nasty neg. Hoover seems to be the only one of the last 14 Presidents who has the library in their state of birth rather than the state they are most associated with. Eisenhower in Missouri not Texas, Ford in Michigan not Nebraska, Reagan in California, not Illinois, both Bushes in Texas, and Obama in Illinois not Hawaii. You have my sympathies!
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by mas3cf »

opusthepenguin wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 11:12 pm
mas3cf wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 8:15 pm On COOL NEWS $400, what they described was distillation. I would have BMSed desalination. But what do I know, I only have a Ph.D. in chemistry. :lol:
Thinking more about this, I'm inclined to say desalinization (or desalination) is the better response. The clue asks for "this process to make ocean water drinkable". It cites as an example, some MIT researchers using a distillation method to accomplish that goal. But as you note there are non-distillation methods "to make ocean water drinkable". The process is still "desalinization", regardless of the method used.
I think it depends on how you read the clue. I read it like this:

"M.I.T. researchers used a solar still, evaporation & condensation in this process" to make ocean water drinkable

i.e., they described the process of distillation and put an explanation for why they did it. However, if you read it this way:

M.I.T. researchers used a solar still, evaporation & condensation in "this process to make ocean water drinkable"

i.e., they're asking which process makes ocean water drinkable, it would be desalination, and distillation would be one method of desalination (which happens to be the method described in the first part of the clue).

Reading it the top way, distillation is right and desalination is a BMS. Reading it the bottom way, either is right. So I'd still say distillation is the better answer, although I have no objection to desalin(iz)ation being accepted.

Just the latest of a long line of examples of confusingly worded Jeopardy! science clues...
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by alamble »

jeff6286 wrote: Sat May 30, 2020 3:32 am
davey wrote: Sat May 30, 2020 12:37 am I confidently said CA for FJ, assuming that Hoover has a library at Stanford, maybe part of the Hoover Institution. But his library is in IA...Even if I'd thought of TX, I might have guessed GWB's wasn't open yet... :roll:
Yeah I didn't realize it at the time as I went straight to Texas, but CA is a pretty nasty neg. Hoover seems to be the only one of the last 14 Presidents who has the library in their state of birth rather than the state they are most associated with. Eisenhower in Missouri not Texas, Ford in Michigan not Nebraska, Reagan in California, not Illinois, both Bushes in Texas, and Obama in Illinois not Hawaii. You have my sympathies!
Eisenhower’s library is in Abilene, Kansas, on the site of his childhood home. Truman’s library is in Missouri.
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by John Boy »

mas3cf wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 12:31 pm FJ had a couple tempting wrong answers. My thought process:

1. How am I supposed to know whether it's Ohio or Virginia?
2. Wait, there are only 15 presidential libraries?
3. Oh, only the most recent presidents have them!
4. What state are 3 of the last 15 presidents from?
Beautiful deductive process. If there are only 15, we eliminate the George Washington Library and a great many others. And that brings us to more modern presidents. Of course in my case it helps that I used to go to SMU, where one of the Bush Libraries is located. But still, Bush, Bush, LBJ shouldn't be too hard to figure after you go through your steps 2 and 3.
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by John Boy »

Charming wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 8:27 pm I am stunned that final Jeopardy was a triple stumper. I think all the FJ's were rather easy this week.

What had me stumped was the wagering in FJ this week. Even if you know you might not win the game, don't you want to wager everything to have as high a point total as possible to make it to the next round?
To me this presents a wagering conundrum. If you go into FJ with, say $10K or $12K and you know you're not likely to win the game, yes, you may need to win more in FJ to increase the chance of advancing. However, since they don't know what the cutoff is, they can't know if they might advance with $5K or so. (Unlikely, but it's been known to happen) So the more you wager, the more you risk losing. I've always figured if I had $12K in that situation I'd be likely to bet $3-4K, unless the category is right in my sweet spot or a complete stinker. I don't know any way to quantify the risk, or to tell anyone else how best to wager, since I don't know for myself.
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by heppm01 »

Another distillation here, and when I detected Alex's pause I thought it was the expected response.

California for FJ!, although I could not come up with a possible third president. It didn't occur to me that presidential libraries are a fairly recent thing.
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Volante »

alamble wrote: Sat May 30, 2020 8:32 am
jeff6286 wrote: Sat May 30, 2020 3:32 am
davey wrote: Sat May 30, 2020 12:37 am I confidently said CA for FJ, assuming that Hoover has a library at Stanford, maybe part of the Hoover Institution. But his library is in IA...Even if I'd thought of TX, I might have guessed GWB's wasn't open yet... :roll:
Yeah I didn't realize it at the time as I went straight to Texas, but CA is a pretty nasty neg. Hoover seems to be the only one of the last 14 Presidents who has the library in their state of birth rather than the state they are most associated with. Eisenhower in Missouri not Texas, Ford in Michigan not Nebraska, Reagan in California, not Illinois, both Bushes in Texas, and Obama in Illinois not Hawaii. You have my sympathies!
Eisenhower’s library is in Abilene, Kansas, on the site of his childhood home. Truman’s library is in Missouri.
And Nixon's library is on the site of his birth (and grave).
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Re: Friday, May 29, 2020 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by AFRET CMS »

econgator wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 7:34 pm
MarkBarrett wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 11:36 am It later hit me that someone could get the right state with faulty reasoning since another prez was born in the state while 2 of the 3 were born elsewhere.
Yep. I knew LBJ and W (even though he's CT) were a definite, but wasn't sure about either HW (from MA) or Eisenhower (who was born in TX). Figured one of the two had to be right, so I stayed with the correct response.
Similar thoughts, though I didn't know Ike was a native Texan (knew his library is in Kansas, though he's also associated with his retirement farm in Gettysburg). I dithered a bit considering that H.W. Bush was a New Englander. Born in MA and strongly associated with Kennebunkport ME, then remembered his political career was Texas-based, and that he was originally elected to Congress from there. With W and LBJ in the mix, Texas had about an 80% confidence level. CA was the other 20% due to Reagan and Nixon.
Last edited by AFRET CMS on Sat May 30, 2020 12:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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