LearnedLeague 94 Match Day 20 Recap, by wardr
Today's recap comes from rowan, who will also be on the inaugural Jeopardy Second Chance Tourney next month!
Hello!
My name is rowan ward, wardr on LearnedLeague. Thank you so much, Ben, for doing the Learned Lessons newsletter, and letting me write this recap! It’s my second time doing this, as I did a guest post for a match day last season as well. Hopefully reading this will be helpful; reading about other players’ logic has helped me both learn more trivia and think more logically through Thorsten’s questions.
For my league rundle, I’m in the murderers’ row known as A Bayou, lurking midrundle. I was in 14th going into MD20, and any season when I am not fighting a relegation battle is a good one. I am also in a private rundle with a group of friends; most of us are recent Jeopardy! contestants. (I was on the show last year, one of the many left in Matt Amodio’s wake, and will also appear on the upcoming Second Chance competition airing in October.)
Let’s see how Monday’s set treated me.
Match Day 20
1. It’s widely held that modern art was introduced to America in 1913 at an exhibition formally and straightforwardly named the International Exhibition of Modern Art. This show is informally (and probably better) known by a name that refers to the type of building where it was held, in New York City. Per that informal name, what type of building was that?
Pre-answer thoughts: Art has long been one of my worst subjects, but since getting the call to tape Jeopardy! in spring 2021, it’s one I have put a lot of work into improving since it is one with a limited enough game show canon that I wasn’t intimidated by diving right in and flash carding those facts. And, something that has come up in my attempts to learn that canon was the Armory Show. It took me a while to drill it into my head — my brain kept calling it the Arsenal Show for a while — but I’ve gotten it straight. It’s the Armory Show, because it took place in an armory.
Correct answer: armory
How much of LL got it right? 25%
Points assigned to league opponent: 3 — This is not an easy art question on its own, and art is my opponent’s worst topic, to boot.
Was league opponent correct? no
Points assigned to me in league: 3
Was I correct? yes.
Current score in league: 3(1)-0(0)
Points assigned to private rundle opponent: 3 — Art is toward the bottom of her statistics list, and I expect this question to play tough in general.
Was private rundle opponent correct? no.
Points assigned to me in private: 3
Current score in private: 3(1)-0(0)
Post-answer thoughts: As expected, this played as the toughest question of the day, and both of my opponents missed it. This shows the power of getting a hard question right in something that’s traditionally one of your worst topics, something that has been happening quite a bit for me with art stuff. Relatedly…this is the first — but not the last — of today’s questions about which I have flash cards. It always feels good when it seems like Thorsten is creeping on my Anki decks. Things I have flash carded do not often show up as often as in this set, but I’ll take it when it happens: both because it’s nice to get things right and because it’s a nice reminder that my trivia studying pays off.
2. What airline, a current Oneworld alliance member and flag carrier of Hong Kong, uses in its name an ancient name for China? (Note: the name of the airline is required.)
Pre-answer thoughts: I have some flash cards on flag carriers but I am terrible at keeping straight whether Cathay Pacific is the flag carrier of Hong Kong or Taiwan. But, I do have *another* card on Cathay being an outdated term for China, and all this needs is the name of the airline. I’ve known since I was a child that Cathay Pacific is the name of an airline, and I know it’s some country’s flag carrier, so this has to be it.
Correct answer: Cathay Pacific
How much of LL got it right? 37%
Points assigned to league opponent: 1 — Geography and business are two of his better topics, so he probably knows this one, though there is one later that he is even more likely to know.
Was league opponent correct? yes.
Points assigned to me in league: 2
Was I correct? yes.
Current score in league: 5(2)-1(1)
Points assigned to private rundle opponent: 0 — There were a few I considered zeroing on here, but her best category is business and her geography get rate is better than mine. So, this seemed as good a place as any to put it.
Was private rundle opponent correct? yes.
Points assigned to me in private: 2
Current score in private: 5(2)-0(1)
Post-answer thoughts: It turns out Taiwan’s flag carrier is just called China Airlines; hopefully knowing that bit of trivia will help anchor it in my head that Cathay Pacific is Hong Kong. Though, I also did a bit more research on the “Cathay” bit and I’m not sure I’d call a term that dates back only about 1,000 years “ancient”. Even so, “airline with an old name for China in it” was enough to make this an insta-get based on the pieces I knew.
3. The 1939 Frank Capra film that received 11 Oscar nominations and was the breakout performance for star James Stewart, as country bumpkin Jefferson Smith, was set primarily in what city?
Pre-answer thoughts: I am terrible at film. It’s my worst topic, the only one in which I have a sub-.400 lifetime percentage. It’s a herculean effort for me to stay awake through a movie that does not star Beavis and/or Butt-Head. But, if there’s one year you have to learn a little about in film for trivia purposes, it’s 1939. It’s the year of movies like Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, Wuthering Heights, The Hunchback of Notre Dame…and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I’ve got a flash card on James Stewart being the star. I remember reading that Frank Capra directed it. I think it’s about some really earnest guy serving in the Senate. So, unless the title of the film is some kind of colossal misdirect and I’m completely mistaken about what it’s about, this has to be Washington, DC.
Correct answer: Washington, DC
How much of LL got it right? 68%
Points assigned to league opponent: 0 — He is 63-for-65 lifetime in film. If I know it, he almost certainly does.
Was league opponent correct? yes.
Points assigned to me in league: 1
Was I correct? yes.
Current score in league: 6(3)-1(2)
Points assigned to private rundle opponent: 1 — I considered zeroing this one, too, since her film percentage is quite good and I don’t expect a film question I know to play super hard. I may have goofed by zeroing Cathay Pacific instead of this, but I have a strong feeling she’ll get both.
Was private rundle opponent correct? yes.
Points assigned to me in private: 1
Current score in private: 6(3)-1(2)
Post-answer thoughts: This may have been in my worst category, but both of my opponents correctly defended this as a relatively easy movie question. Part of me thought I might see a 2 here from at least one opponent given my bad movie get rate, but also, an old movie about a Mr. Smith going somewhere? It’s guessable with baseline by-osmosis knowledge of classic films.
4. Give the last names of all of the women who have served as prime minister of the United Kingdom.
Pre-answer thoughts: We had to know there was a question on the way about the recent shifts in the British government, either the replacement of Boris Johnson or the accession of King Charles III. And, here it is. I play in OQL UK so I try to keep tabs on at least basic political things, so I knew Liz Truss (previously the foreign secretary under Johnson) had beaten former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in the vote to lead the Conservative Party, and thus become prime minister. I knew Margaret Thatcher had been prime minister when I was a kid, the first ever woman to hold the office, and that Theresa May had held the office a few years ago. I thought through the other prime ministers to make sure there weren’t any I was missing, and was satisfied that it was just the three.
Correct answer: Thatcher, May, Truss
How much of LL got it right? 57%
Points assigned to league opponent: 1 — This is both a world history and a current events question, and my opponent is very good in both categories. The trickier part is remembering that the new prime minister is named Liz Truss, but with an .828 current events get rate, I trust he will.
Was league opponent correct? yes.
Points assigned to me in league: 2
Was I correct? yes.
Current score in league: 8(4)-2(3)
Points assigned to private rundle opponent: 2 — Current events and world history are both among her five worst topics. I still think armory is a deeper cut, and her art percentage is approximately equal to her current events percentage, meaning that is the 3 and this gets the 2.
Was private rundle opponent correct? yes.
Points assigned to me in private: 1
Current score in private: 7(4)-3(3)
Post-answer thoughts: I actually expected the get rate to be a bit lower between having to name all three and one of them being such fresh current events. I certainly would have struggled with this before I started to make a concerted effort to improve at current events. Hats off to over half of LLamas for having all of the moving parts here.
5. “Holy warriors” is a translation of what term used for Muslim guerrilla fighters who resisted Soviet occupation after the invasion of Afghanistan in late 1979?
Pre-answer thoughts: Oh no. Ohhhhhhhh no. I’ve had this in my head as “Muhajideen” forever. But something in the back of my head is screaming that this is incorrect, and that the syllables are in the wrong order. So, I played around with the word a bit. Mujahideen? Muhijadeen? Mujihadeen? Well, it says it means “holy warriors” and if I put the syllables in that order, the word “jihad” is in there. And, jihad has a connotation of war for holy purposes, of fighting for the faith. None of the permutations sounds more or less right in my head than any other, so I had to default to my rule of choosing the one that would make me most angry to see if it was right, if I put something else. Given the presence of the word “jihad”, Mujihadeen was the one I had to go with.
Correct answer: Mujahideen
How much of LL got it right? 63%
Points assigned to league opponent: 2 — My opponent’s world history score was solid, slightly over the middle of his list of categories, but other things seemed even more in his wheelhouse.
Was league opponent correct? yes.
Points assigned to me in league: 0
Was I correct? yes.
Current score in league: 8(5)-4(4)
Points assigned to private rundle opponent: 2 — World history was her second-worst topic, percentage-wise. Even though her art score was slightly better, though, this got a two instead of a three as armory seemed like a deeper cut than mujahideen, especially with the holy warrior clue.
Was private rundle opponent correct? yes.
Points assigned to me in private: 0
Current score in private: 7(5)-5(4)
Post-answer thoughts: I was not sure whether what I wrote would be close enough, as I transposed a pair of the vowels. I breathed a sigh of relief to see that it was close enough.
6. Songs by Frankie Avalon (1959), Carly Simon (1982), Bronski Beat (1984), Annie Lennox (1992), Jadakiss (2004), and Jason Aldean (2005) all have the same one-word title, which is what?
Pre-answer thoughts: So many ways in, and nothing jumped right out at me. There was an Annie Lennox song I spent from Sunday night before bed all the way until mid-afternoon trying to grab…until realising it was Here Comes the Rain Again, which is not a one-word title. Swing and a miss. Nothing else was landing, so I had to pick a fairly generic word, cross my fingers, and hope for the best. Angel sounds like a perfectly cromulent song title, yes? Sure.
Correct answer: Why
How much of LL got it right? 27%
Points assigned to league opponent: 2 — Pop music is not one of his better categories. It had a few ways in, making it seem easier than the YEKIOYD (you-either-know-it-or-you-don’t) armory one, but other seemed more gettable.
Was league opponent correct? yes.
Points assigned to me in league: 1
Was I correct? no.
Current score in league: 8(5)-6(5)
Points assigned to private rundle opponent: 1 — Pop music is her third best category. These still seem like deeper cuts than Cathay Pacific and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, but someone as relatively good at pop music should likely get this.
Was private rundle opponent correct? yes.
Points assigned to me in private: 2
Current score in private: 7(5)-6(5)
Post-answer thoughts: I listened to all the songs after submitting, and the only one that sounded even vaguely familiar was the Jadakiss one, because Todd in the Shadows was laying into it once or twice. (If you enjoy snarky music criticism, I highly recommend Todd in the Shadows, because he is hilarious.) However, I wasn’t ever pulling the title of that song.
League Match Result: Defeated HawleyJ2, 8(5)-6(5).
Current Standings in Rundle A Bayou: 9-8-3 (13th of 26)
Private Rundle Match Result: Defeated WilcoxA, 7(5)-6(5).
Current Standings in Private Rundle: 15-4-1 (3rd of 28)
Overall thoughts: I’ve heard a lot of people say that defense in Rundle A boils down to putting the 3 in the right place and putting the 0 in the right place. It makes sense: people get five right so often that putting the 0 right avoids giving up a Dolly (a 9(5)), and putting the 3 right means you have a good shot to win if you both get five correct. Both of my matches boiled down to that: studying trivia got me the day’s Really Hard Art Question, and that made the difference by getting me the three-pointer in both matches.