Today’s Final Jeopardy – Thursday, December 5, 2024

Current Champion

Nikolas Polsinelli, career statistics:
44 correct, 6 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
35.96% in first on buzzer (41/114)
4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,600)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,500

To win:
3 games: 64.111%
4: 41.102%
5: 26.351%
6: 16.894%
7: 10.831%
Avg. streak: 3.786 games.
(Click Here for Methodology)

Upcoming Encore Presentations

September 26-27: S42 E174 (May 7, 2026)
October 3-4: S42 E175 (May 8, 2026)
October 10-11: S42 E176 (May 11, 2026)
(Source: Bell Fibe TV program guide)

All Time Winnings

All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Regular Play Only:

1. Ken Jennings $2,520,700
2. James Holzhauer $2,462,216
3. Matt Amodio $1,518,601
4. Amy Schneider $1,382,800
5. Jamie Ding $882,605
6. Cris Pannullo $748,286
7. Mattea Roach $560,983
8. Jason Zuffranieri $532,496
9. Scott Riccardi $455,000
10. David Madden $430,400
11. Julia Collins $428,100
12. Matt Jackson $411,612
13. Austin Rogers $411,000
14. Ray Lalonde $386,400
15. Harrison Whitaker $373,999
16. Adriana Harmeyer $349,600
17. Caleb Groen $346,968
18. Adam Remsen $306,415
19. Ryan Long $299,400
20. Arthur Chu $297,200

All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Including Tournaments (and Consolation Prizes):

1. Brad Rutter $4,968,436
2. Ken Jennings $4,372,700
3. James Holzhauer $3,614,216
4. Matt Amodio $1,964,601
5. Amy Schneider $1,864,800
6. Yogesh Raut $1,598,403
7. Victoria Groce $1,023,801
8. Mattea Roach $897,983
9. Jamie Ding $885,605
10. David Madden $785,733
11. Cris Pannullo $754,286
12. Roger Craig $706,200
13. Andrew He $684,365
14. Larissa Kelly $671,930
15. Matt Jackson $623,612
16. Jason Zuffranieri $549,496
17. Paolo Pasco $548,717
18. Scott Riccardi $533,000
19. Jerome Vered $499,102
20. Julia Collins $495,767
21. Austin Rogers $493,000
22. Juveria Zaheer $491,000
23. Ben Ingram $449,201
24. Adriana Harmeyer $446,600
25. Buzzy Cohen $441,603

Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Brand Names) for Thursday, December 5, 2024 (Season 41, Game 64):

They’ve been described as having the unique scent of “slightly earthy soap with pungent, leather-like clay undertones”

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Lisa DiLeo, a business support analyst from Garwood, New Jersey

Dave Bond, a retired grant manager from West Henrietta, New York

Stevie Ruiz, an assistant front office manager from Montauk, New York (2-day total: $35,987)

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

Stevie Ruiz is your 2-day champion after a runaway victory yesterday; today, he’s playing for a very likely spot in the Tournament of Champions as Dave Bond and Lisa DiLeo try to stop him. If Stevie does make it into the 32^nd ToC, his stats so far do say that he would be very competitive in this field.

I also have some more thoughts on Pop Culture Jeopardy, whose first three episodes were released yesterday—the critics seem to hate it, but the fans definitely seem to like it. Honestly, though: I get the general sense that many of these critics want to return to 1994, and anything that is more creative than a board of HISTORY, SHAKESPEARE, U.S. STATE CAPITALS, THE OSCARS, BIOLOGY, & FILE UNDER “W” is somehow viewed as an affront to both God and Alex Trebek.

Correct response: What is Crayola (crayons)?

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.)

This is essentially a current events Final Jeopardy, with this having made minor news earlier in the summer. On July 2 2024, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a trademark to Crayola crayons, in large part due to the unique scent of those crayons. They were described in the documents as having the scent described in today’s Final Jeopardy clue.

This sort of Final Jeopardy clue is also nothing new: “current events” disguised as other categories has been a part of Final Jeopardy for nearly the entire history of the show. Especially as it relates to an offbeat news item surrounding an iconic brand, this is 100% a valid Final Jeopardy. (Of course, “current events” is often a subject derided by the “rote memorization” crowd, as they’re too busy studying old facts in order to remember to learn new ones.)

In order to redesign our merchandise area to serve you better in 2026, all merchandise sales have been temporarily taken offline. Look for a return in late 2026! All previous orders will still be supported.

Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, December 5, 2024 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Eponyms; The Middle Ages; 4-Word Phrases; On The Movie Map; Play Things; Also In The Toolbox)

An interesting first 15 clues saw Dave get out to a good start, but Stevie held the lead after Dave gave a pair of incorrect responses. After 15 clues, Stevie had $2,000 to Dave’s $1,400 and Lisa’s -$800.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Stevie 6 correct 1 incorrect
Dave 6 correct 2 incorrect
Lisa 1 correct 1 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Lisa had an unfortunate golf cart incident.
Dave proposed while in a bunny suit.
Stevie got to be a +1 for a billionaire’s wedding.

Dave got to the Daily Double, bet everything, and fell back to zero. However, he picked up more correct responses and rebounded to take the lead after 30 clues.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Dave 11 correct 3 incorrect
Lisa 6 correct 2 incorrect
Stevie 8 correct 2 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Dave $2,600
Lisa $2,000
Stevie $2,000

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: The Monterey Bay Aquarium; Sociology; Entertainment Hyphenates; Nonfiction; Geographic Name Changes; Crossword Clues “O”)

The turning point in this one came on the last Daily Double; Dave picked up $7,000 on it and was able to turn this one into a runaway.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Dave 25 correct 3 incorrect
Stevie 17 correct 3 incorrect
Lisa 10 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 15 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Dave $25,200
Stevie $12,000
Lisa $2,400

Final Jeopardy today was a Triple Stumper; Dave is your new champion by virtue of his runaway victory. He’ll be back tomorrow to defend.

Tonight’s results:

Lisa $2,400 – $400 = $2,000 (What are ?)
Stevie $12,000 – $4,799 = $7,201 (What are Play-Doh?)
Dave $25,200 – $200 = $25,000 (What are Birkenstocks?) (1-day total: $25,000)

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) PLAY THINGS $800 (clue #20)
Dave 2400 -2400 (Stevie 2000 Lisa -200)
2) ENTERTAINMENT HYPHENATES $1600 (clue #2)
Lisa 3200 -1200 (Stevie 2000 Dave 2600)
3) GEOGRAPHIC NAME CHANGES $1600 (clue #17, $14800 left on board)
Dave 7800 +7000 (Stevie 8400 Lisa 4400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -48

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Stevie 3 1 3 4 5 3 1 2
Dave 2 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4*
Lisa 2 3

DJ! Round:
Stevie 3 5† 2† 5 1† 2 3 5
Dave 4 1 2 4*
Lisa 4* 3 2 3 4

† – selection in same category as Daily Double

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Dave 2.71
Stevie 3.00
Lisa 3.00

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 15 (0.23 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Dave $22,200 Coryat, 25 correct, 3 incorrect, 42.11% in first on buzzer (24/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Stevie $12,000 Coryat, 17 correct, 3 incorrect, 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Lisa $3,600 Coryat, 10 correct, 4 incorrect, 19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $37,800
Lach Trash: $5,800 (on 6 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $10,400
Lead Changes: 10
Times Tied: 1

Player Statistics:

Stevie Ruiz, career statistics:

62 correct, 8 incorrect
4/6 on rebound attempts (on 14 rebound opportunities)
35.12% in first on buzzer (59/168)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
1/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,800

Dave Bond, career statistics:

25 correct, 4 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
42.11% in first on buzzer (24/57)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,600)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $22,200

Lisa DiLeo, career statistics:

10 correct, 5 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$1,200)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $3,600

Dave Bond, to win:

2 games: 60.243%
3: 36.292%
4: 21.864%
5: 13.171%
6: 7.935%
Avg. streak: 2.515 games.

Andy’s Thoughts:

• You would have thought that it would have been possible to close the door on the 32nd Tournament of Champions and begin the postseason predictions after today. But, as we learned earlier this week, that is somehow not going to be the case. What appears to be a deliberate case of “changing the rules in order to keep the media in the dark” only makes the show look bad. We want to help you in hyping and promoting things because the postseason excites us, but we can’t do that when we’re kept in the dark like this. I have kept the preceding statement up for sake of posterity; however, Matt Carberry has pointed out to me that some of us—myself included—may have erred in interpreting the timing of remarks made by the show. I would like to apologize to the show if the show was potentially hit by circumstances outside its control with the postseason lineup.

• Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.

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