Jeopardy First Edition -- Game #14

Hi friends!

After a small break, it's time once again for Jeopardy!, First Edition. The post covers game #14 of the series. As in previous posts, my goal is to share what I've learned about the clues in this game.

Notes are in the order they appear in the original video, which you can find here.

Wikipedia is my primary source for much of this material (so take that with a grain of salt).

Jeopardy! Round

Categories: Countries, School Days, Metallic Names, Sea Stories, The Beatles, Name Game

• School Days ($100): It's unclear what the origin of the "Three R's" is in an education context, but Wikipedia suggests that it was coined in the early 18th century. Of course, modern kids know the Three R's as "Recycle, Reduce, and Reuse"--the Three R's of environmentalism.
• Schools Days ($500): Blackboard Jungle is a 1955 MGM film based on the 1954 book. From Wikipedia: "Blackboard Jungle is a 1955 American social drama film about an English teacher in an interracial inner-city school" of undetermined location. Sidney Portier had a breakout role in this film as one of the high school students. The film is on the United States National Film Registry.
• Sea Stories ($300): Fletcher Christian was the sailor who led the famous Mutiny on the Bounty in 1789. Clark Gable played him in 1935's Mutiny on the Bounty, Marlon Brando played him in 1962's Mutiny on the Bounty, and Mel Gibson played him in 1984's The Bounty.
• Metallic Names ($500): Huddie Ledbetter, known professionally as Lead Belly, is a 1988 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was in prison for a number of years for murder, but was released on good behavior. Though he was a musician before his stint in prison, he was "discovered" while in prison and started major recordings in the 1940s. Wikipedia believes that he was the first person to record the phrase "stay woke" as part of a 1938 recording.
• Sea Stories ($500): Back to Wikipedia for an explanation: "In the book, pirates are presented with a 'black spot' to officially pronounce a verdict of guilt or judgment. It consists of a circular piece of paper or card, with one side blackened while the other side bears a message and is placed in the hand of the accused. It was a source of much fear because it meant the pirate was to be deposed as leader, by force if necessary—or else killed outright."
• Sea Stories ($400): It wasn't clear in the clue, but this is a reference to the Steinbeck novel Cannery Row.
• The Beatles ($300): Ringo Starr was, in fact, the oldest Beatle, born in July 1940. John Lennon was born in October 1940, Paul McCartney was born in 1942, George Harrison in 1943.
• Sea Stories ($200): Shogun was a 5-night miniseries that aired on NBC in September 1980. It's based on a 1975 novel. As I type this, a remake is about to appear on the FX cable channel.
• Countries ($400): So here's the history of the U.S. Virgin Islands, in a nutshell. The Danish West India Company settled on St. Thomas in 1672 and St. John in 1694. They bought St. Croix from France in 1733. Denmark considered selling St. Thomas and St. John to the U.S. in 1867, then again in 1902. The deal finally happened in 1917, as the U.S. was concerned that Germany might take over Denmark (and the islands) in World War I. Denmark got $25 million in gold coin as part of the deal--worth over $670 million in today's money.

Double Jeopardy! Round

Categories: U.S. President, Foreign Phrases, Famous Structures, Flowers, T.V., "Solid, Jackson"

A quick note on "Solid, Jackson"...That is a common slang expression suggesting that something is cool. "Solid, Jackson!"

• T.V. ($600): This Fandom Wiki explains the rules of the 1950s version of Name That Tune. To win the big money, as Glenn did, he (or his playing partner) had to win the main game, name the seven tunes in the Golden Medley, then name five tunes in 30 seconds in the Golden Medley Marathon--five consecutive weeks! Eddie Hodges (later an actor) and John Glenn teamed up for the big money. All of this happened around October 1957--you know, when Sputnik was launched! There appears to be a short video clip of Glenn's appearance on DailyMotion.
• Solid, Jackson ($1000): Do yourself a favor and just read the Wikipedia entry for Mahalia Jackson. Then, go find some of her most famous songs, including the Grammy award winning songs Everytime I Feel the Spirit, Great Songs of Love and Faith, and How I Got Over.
• U.S. Presidents ($600): This one comes from the History Stack Exchange: The incident happened after Jackson left office. "His [second] Vice President and friend, Martin Van Buren was just sworn in as the next president, and Jackson is asked by a reporter if he has any regrets after his 8 years in office. '[That] I didn’t shoot Henry Clay and I didn’t hang John C. Calhoun.'" John Calhoun was his first Vice President. Much of the tension came from John Calhoun's extreme support of states' rights and their ability to nullify federal laws that they didn't agree with. Jackson refused to entertain such an idea that would divide the country.
• U.S. Presidents ($200): From Wikipedia: "The Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, frequently called the "court-packing plan", was a legislative initiative proposed by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court in order to obtain favorable rulings regarding New Deal legislation that the Court had ruled unconstitutional. The central provision of the bill would have granted the president power to appoint an additional justice to the U.S. Supreme Court, up to a maximum of six, for every member of the court over the age of 70 years." Note that the number of Supreme Court Justices in the United States is not defined by U.S. Constitution, as you might think, but by Congress. If this Bill were active today, there would be two justices that exceed the 70 year age limit (Thomas and Alito), with two other justices currently at 69 years old (Sotomayer and Roberts).
• U.S. Presidents ($400): You can find many of his press conferences at the JFK Presidential Library web page. One thing I can't find, however, is a source for the "best matinee in town" quotation. Anyone have a source?
• Famous Structures ($800): Here's the Wikipedia page on man-made things you can see from space, and those you can't.

What other facts and trivia did I miss? Let me know in the comments, and stay tuned for the next game!