Sunday, July 19, 2015

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 19, 2015): What Comes Next in the Sequence?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jul 19, 2015): What Comes Next in the Sequence?:
Q: Write down the following six numbers: 19, 28, 38, 81, 83, 85. What are the next three numbers in the series?
Giving that series medium scores.

Edit: Each word in my clue starts and ends with the same letter.
A: 89, 97, 102 (Eighty-ninE, Ninety-seveN, One hundred twO)

143 comments:

  1. Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any hints that could lead directly to the answer (e.g. via a chain of thought, or an internet search) before the deadline of Thursday at 3pm ET. If you know the answer, click the link and submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

    You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't give the answer away. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the Thursday deadline. Thank you.

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  2. A numerical hint: 11. ---Rob

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  3. The ease of solving this puzzle was most enjoyable.

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    1. He sure did; and that is a really good hint, Blaine. ---Rob

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    3. tst comment before erase was "Blaine solved this puzzle.

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    4. I'll bet David got this one even though he may never have been to St. Louis.

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    5. I did, using Roman numerals and my special Roman numeral calculator (upside down).

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  5. One just needs to think the series through, from end to end.

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  6. The series is not universal. In Germany, it starts 6, 9, 19, ...

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    1. And, not far from there it starts 37, 38, 45, ...

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    2. And in quite a bit of the world, it starts 6, 8, 62, 63, ...

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    3. In line with last week's puzzle: I give a toast to that thought.

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    5. And in Israel, the series starts 3, 6, 27, ...

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    6. In Germany, jan, what about 5 to start?

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    7. The puzzle could be seen as very Continental.

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    8. I think it starts at 56 in Klingon.
      Awaiting peer review.

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    9. Oops, you're right, WW! Back to my Langenscheidt's!

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    10. Upon reviewing the comments here, I humbly bow to ecoarchitect as the first one to make the continent observation. If it were 1967, I would youngly say you were supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

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  7. Many musical hints spring to mind; one is too obvious, so I'll just use Smashing Pumpkins and Tony Bennett.

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  8. I'm reminded of a Robin Williams movie from ... a while back.

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  9. This puzzle is worded in a way I usually find gratuitous and inelegant but this time was actually helpful.

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    1. Great hint Lorenzo. (but only if you have solved it already, otherwise it does not really help !

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    2. Great hint Lorenzo. (but only if you have solved it already, otherwise it does not really help !

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  10. Shouldn't have any problems with this puzzle if you live in Alabama.

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    1. ... or two Canadian provinces.

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    2. Or if you have a certain moniker. . .

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    3. Think again, phredp. Born and raised in Jasper, AL, and I still can't make heads or tails of this number series. Just as well, though. I prefer word puzzles. Got the two on this week's Puzzleria!, but I steered clear of the one about the year 1649.

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    4. DanAxtell,
      I am at this very moment halfway through "Adrift" by Steven Callahan, and I hope you too are not lost at sea. I also hope you are not incontinent. but simply offering a hint. I guess it depends.

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    5. skydiveboy,
      I don't mean to be pugilistic. I'm not a boxer and I'll be brief. I know not of what you speak. I was simply following the "... or" meme. I do wonder how Will has missed the puzzle, "What quality do most of the continents share that none of the rainbow colors share?"

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    6. Just playing with words and appreciating your hint.

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    7. And I'm struggling to match your wordplay--and maybe over my head and at sea. I hope I wasn't leaking too much with my hint. It's perfectly normal as we age, you know.

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    8. No, I don't think you are having an Edward Snowdon moment.

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  11. I solved at noon today without help from mom or dad. I agree with Blaine's grading.

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  12. Along somewhat similar lines, I'll put this one on the table: What three numbers come next? 7, 10, 12, 42 ...

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    1. Tim O., is the next number 44?

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    2. Ok, Paul, that made made me and our puzzle solving crew all smiles. . .

      But, Tim O., "Curses! Foiled again!"

      Too soon for hints, I suppose.

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    3. Because my puzzle shares an element with Will's puzzle, I don't want to say too much before Thursday.

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    4. I think you're still bluffing, WW.
      I'm willing to let the approaching locomotive decide.

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    5. Tim O., we need to know about your sequence, please.

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    6. Tim O., did you perhaps mean a Thursday in, say, October?!

      Tim O Thy answer s'il vous plait.

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  13. The following posts came near the end of last week's thread:

    SuperZee posted on Sun Jul 19, at 05:48:00 AM PDT:

    Appropriate for Sunday, a puzzle of biblical proportions.

    To which I replied on Sun Jul 19, at 06:24:00 AM PDT:

    Are you recalling perhaps 3 particular verses in Isaiah, or perhaps 2 particular verses in Revelation?

    To which SuperZee replied on Sun Jul 19, at 06:46:00 AM PDT:

    I had a different verse in mind - but we're on the same path. Afraid if I say any more it may be too much, will provide citation on Thursday.

    And in a separate post I made on Sun Jul 19, at 06:07:00 AM PDT:

    After that next third one, the following eight numbers are somewhat similar to it!

    To which ecoarchitect replied on Sun Jul 19, at 07:10:00 AM PDT:

    and the 18 numbers after that, too.

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  15. NOT A CLUE - I am reminded of a mathematics professor at City College of New York who wanted to teach us a lesson in humility. He gave us the series 4, 14, 34 and asked for the next number. The class was evenly divided between people who said 64 (looking at increments of 10, 20, 30) and those who said 74 (increments of 10, 20, 40). When we were all argued out, he told us we were all wrong - the answer was 42 - and the series was based on the stops on the D-Train as it headed uptown. 4th Street, 14th Street, 34th Street and 42nd Street.

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  16. Last week I said I was about to throw in the towel. This week I am about to throw in the napkin.

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  17. Anybody making any progress with Tim O.'s puzzle? No "aha moment" seems to be appearing on the horizon. Cheating attempts have proved fruitless, although cathartic.

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    1. Paul, it's possible I may have had an "ah" moment. Still waiting to confirm the "ha" though. See above under Tim O.'s puzzle.

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  18. No clue about Tim O's puzzle, but the Will Shortz one, that I discerned. --Margaret G.

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  19. Replies
    1. Jim, we thought you were more wholesome than that!

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  20. Bilbo's age works, albeit too high by some elevenses.

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    1. I just re-read the puzzle. It asks for the next *3* numbers, not merely the next one. Bilbo's age would be the whimsical fourth. Are there no other Tolkien nerds here?

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    2. Myself, I read non-fiction almost exclusively. If you insist on reading fiction I would suggest The Congressional Record.

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    3. Bilbo's age does work, but I'm not sure this is a legitimate hint, since it is certainly searchable, and establishes an upper limit on the correct answer.

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    4. SDB: Unfortunately the Congressional Record is not fiction.

      I'd say it's more sadomasochistic fantasy. Or perhaps sadmachismo fantasy.

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    5. I referred to the Congressional Record as fiction because the members are allowed to edit it to their advantage afterwards.

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    6. Fair enough. It's sad actually, according to the National Archives the origins of that were because transcription was pretty poor 200 years ago, and they were only allowed to edit for style, not substance. And adding things was to expedite the process, rather than reading an entire document on the floor.

      Funny how something with reasonable intent can get so abused. Perhaps not so funny.

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    7. It really is sad. I began life so trusting and look at me now. It has not been a pleasant experience learning how things really are in the world, but I still want to believe in humanity. There is so much more I want to say on this subject, but I fear by the time I finish typing all my thoughts I may no longer have fingerprints and I need them in order to renew my concealed weapons permit every five years.

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    8. http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/04/24/from-not-factual-to-non-existent-kyls-remark-stricken-from-congressional-record/ is a great example.

      I wish I could amend everything I say with a statement that it was “not intended to be a factual statement."

      By the way, this was not intended to be a factual statement.

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    9. But don't we have to make some allowances for Republicans? It is not a choice; they are born that way. 3%, 90%, they are just numbers.

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    10. Not just Republicans, they're just more obvious/ stupid about it. This month's Harper's had an interesting line in its Findings Section: "The powerful are desensitized to injustices affecting others but hypersensitive to injustices affecting themselves."

      That just about Trumps it!

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    11. I was reminded of this exchange from a show I used to watch (search/scroll down to Mr. Blankley's comment on the disadvantages and advantages of wealth).
      BTW, I always thought Eleanor Clift deserved a medal just for showing up every week, and if she's still doing it (haven't had TV for a while), I'm all in favor of canonization.
      And I mean no disrespect to the always witty and entertaining Tony Blankley (PBUH).

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    12. I will have to check the Harper's piece out. In the meantime you will love the following two YouTube videos I saw earlier today.


      https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=youtube+blond+idiots&ei=UTF-
      https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=youtube+blond+idiots&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-004

      AND THIS ONE:


      https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=youtube+blond+idiots&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-004



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    13. There was no "piece" in Harper's, the Findings section at the back is a series of oddities that may be connected, or not, by the readers. Preceding and following sentences:

      Brown thornbills attacked by pied currawongs mimic the cries of Accipiter hawks. The powerful are desensitized to injustices affecting others but hypersensitive to injustices affecting themselves. Intermittent declines in the use of prosocial language by members of Congress between 1996 and 2014 were linked to decreases in approval ratings.

      Unfortunately I don't think they give citations for further research. But I suppose one can Google.

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    14. Thanks. I already found it. It is a very true statement. I frequently lose sleep over the problems the Coke (sic) Brothers are suffering.

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    15. I lose sleep thinking about brown thornbills that do lousy Accipiter hawk imitations.

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    16. So many worries; so little time.

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    17. Sorry. I just checked and the two YouTube links are not working as I expected. They were intended to get you to the one of the blond in the car with her husband where he asks her, if they are driving at 80 MPH, how long would it take for them to go eighty miles? The other one is the game show where the blond is asked to name the European country where Budapest is the capital. Both of these are priceless.

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    18. I just saw the one where Kellie Pickler is asked about Budapest, and the humor goes beyond her lack of knowledge about that specific question into the realm of sublime and profound stupidity in how she deals with the whole issue.

      Worth pointing out Sarah Palin is not blonde, not sure about Dan Quayle or Donald Trump.

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    19. Try 80 MPH question stumps wife.

      or this link might work:

      https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=AwrTcd7nFrBV158AmBEnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByNWU4cGh1BGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--?p=youtube+blond+idiots+80+mph&back=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Dyoutube%2Bblond%2Bidiots%2B80%2Bmph%26hsimp%3Dyhs-004%26hspart%3Dmozilla%26ei%3DUTF-8&fr=%26fr%3Dyhs-mozilla-004&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DWN.sCMXjHIq4lGCuq9qFIIftw%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DG8DNGh126oM&tit=80+MPH+Question+Stumps+Wife+%5BCC%5D+Closed+Captioning&l=4%3A35&vid=fe0892ecfc363a6315561a19b16f68cf&sigr=11b589721&sigb=13762sjrh&sigt=11iev9l8g&sigi=11vgbc2vo&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-004

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    20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8DNGh126oM is easier than your lengthy links. Hard to imagine that marriage lasting.

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    21. Oh, I have no doubts at all about the marriage lasting. No way could this guy put up with her for very long no matter how great the sex. I am only wondering if they ever made it to Boise. Does she get points for thinking outside the box?

      I watched it again and then was presented with other videos of blonds who could not answer the same question by their husbands who had also seen the video. One was a guy filming his wife making him a sandwich as he asked her the question. She asked him why he was asking her such a difficult question when she was making a sandwich. After all she had to ask him if he wanted mayo. Also there was one of a blond asking another blond.

      Did we ever find out if France is a country?

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    22. Yeah, because knowingly and purposefully making fun of your wife's intellect to over a million complete strangers is a really cool thing to do.

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    23. I agree. He should have only shared this with people they both know.

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    24. Apparently it was intended only for their family, the ever-vigilant news media covered this important story back in 2012:
      http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/03/utah-husband-posts-video-of-wife-stumped-by-mph-math-is-he-in-the-dog-house/

      WW: take comfort in knowing that it isn't just a blond thing, or a woman thing:
      http://www.rightthisminute.com/video/guys-are-stumped-difficult-80-mph-question

      I know nothing about "Right This Minute", but broadcasting a bunch of people looking at computer screens doesn't sound like a means for stimulating education and thinking.

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    25. ecoarchitect, thanks for the backstory.

      Not too much comfort in anyone's ignorance, though. I was always floored at "I can't do math" statements from well-educated parents whose kids would come to our before-school math club at my daughter's elementary school. I'd counter with "Well, I can't 'do' reading" which drew strange looks. . .and made people think about what they were saying.

      This week's puzzle is a good example for doing both. ;-) And for not posting youtube videos about it. . .

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    26. WW: I may have to steal your "Well, I can't 'do' reading" and claim it as my own! It's what we architects do....

      I was always disturbed by the segments where Jay Leno asks simple questions to people on the street to garner cheap laughs. I was also always disturbed by Jay Leno.

      And yes, the video illustrates how people's willingness to make their private lives public can come back to haunt them.

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    27. What I want to know is how long it will take for those two idiots to get up off their butts on the porch.

      Unfortunately what many will take away from these revealing videos is that it is about Blond women, or Black men or any other demographic. WRONG! This is about our lack of quality education in this country and not teaching kids how to reason.

      I have a problem with the Jay Leno, Jay Walking thing too, in that it is highly edited, and we don't actually see the full reality of what is happening, but that is not to say it is not also revealing as to the ignorance of the general public.

      Yesterday I also watched a later video of this husband and wife being interviewed on some TV program regarding this fiasco. I thought it was somewhat further evidence of how stupid she really is. She said nothing at all to indicate she is not that stupid, only it was said by the husband that they were both tired. Lame excuse in my opinion.

      Also yesterday I watched a couple more of these Jay Walking type of videos that were filmed by a couple of teenagers. Some of the questions were not fair, such as what is the number of our current president. Most of us do not find the number relevant.

      Do your own experiment. Next time you are at the supermarket meat, cheese, or deli counter where they have a digital scale, ask for a fifth of a pound of something and see what you get. You can always upgrade your order after you have the answer to the experiment. Do this a few times and you will be amazed.

      Canada seems to be having the same problem. I believe I have posted here before that I have met numerous Canadians who are visiting here and don't know who their Prime Minister is. I am not making this up.

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  22. Whew - that exercise depleted!

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  23. As they say on Marketplace, "First, let's do the numbers."

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    1. Thanks for the clarification. I always thought it was, "Right after we SKEW the numbers."

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  24. We didn't, perhaps, overdo the hinting this week, did we?

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    1. The first and last letters of the spelled-out numbers are the same so the next numbers in the series are 89, 97, 102 .

      "The ease of solving this puzzle was most enjoyable." hinted with the bookending double E in both ease and enjoyable.

      Double H in "Huzzah!"

      Double B in "BYOB."

      "I'll bet David got this one even though he may never have been to St. Louis." Double D in David, Double S in St. Louis.

      Double E in "Exactamente.'

      Double P in phredp's moniker.

      And so on. . .

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  25. They are the numbers whose English names end in the same letter that they start.

    NINETEEN
    T
    WENTYEIGHT
    T
    HIRTYEIGHT
    E
    IGHTYONE
    E
    IGHTYTHREE
    E
    IGHTYFIVE

    E
    IGHTYNINE
    N
    INETYSEVEN
    O
    NEHUNDREDTWO

    89, 97, 102

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  26. 89, 97, 102 a.k.a. EIGHTYNINE, NINETYSEVEN, ONE HUNDRED TWO

    What each of these numbers has in common is the first and last letter of each number matches, which is why my hint: “Last week I said I was about to throw in the towel. This week I am about to throw in the napkin.” includes the word, NapkiN.

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  27. 89, 97, 102. The English names of the numbers all begin and end with the same letter.

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  28. Yep, what SDB and Jan and EAWAF and WW said. Hence my comment containing words with the same characteristic. I couldn't help but wonder who thought this puzzle up in the first place. Not my favorite.

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  29. I wrote “A numerical hint: 11.” This is “ONE ONE,” and that is an anagram of the solution-defining letters in Eighty-ninE, Ninety-seveN, and One hundred and twO. Obscure, but true. ---Rob

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  30. Within the posts that I copied from last week's thread to this, are these excerpts from me:

    Are you recalling perhaps 3 particular verses in Isaiah, or perhaps 2 particular verses in Revelation?

    Isaiah 41:4 RSV

    Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am He.

    Isaiah 44:6 RSV

    Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

    Isaiah 48:12 RSV

    Hearken to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am He, I am the first, and I am the last.

    Revelation 1:17 RSV

    When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last,

    Revelation 22:13 RSV

    I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

    ...And this also:

    After that next third one, the following eight numbers are somewhat similar to it!

    ONEHUNDREDTWENTYTWO
    O
    NEHUNDREDTHIRTYTW O
    O
    NEHUNDREDFORTYTWO
    O
    NEHUNDREDFIFTYTWO
    O
    NEHUNDREDSIXTYTWO
    O
    NEHUNDREDSEVENTYTWO
    O
    NEHUNDREDEIGHTYTWO
    O
    NEHUNDREDNINETYTWO

    ...And the following ninth number is:

    TWOHUNDREDEIGHT

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    1. Rob,
      Your hint was obscure, but excellent.
      My “primdolane” hint was obscure, but… well, really obscure. (All other hints give above by Blainesvillians were excellent too.)

      Primdolane is an anagram of palindrome, with all the letters out of place except for the first and final letters, p and e.
      All answers this week is a palindrome if you consider only its first and final letters.

      LegoLamdrome

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    2. Lego, I thought that was where you were headed with "Primdolane" though I made a few forays down the Prim Rose Lane first.

      As to all answers being palindromic if you consider only the first and last letters. . . well, you may have a pal in dromedaries but those intervening letters are kind of a big hump to get past.

      Word Camel-Water Woman

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    3. At the time, I couldn't figure out what an actor of Henry Fonda's stature was doing in a TV show like The Smith Family; still can't. But I remember the theme song, which is the only good sense I could make out of "primdolane".

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    6. Paul,
      Great slice of the ‘70s. Here is a slice of the ‘50s in which Hank’s TV wife “Mrs. Smith” (Harriet Blairiet) sits alongside her real-life hubby, Hall-of-Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith.

      Word Woman,
      Yes, but NinEty-sEveN, THirty-eigHT and, especially, EigHTy-THreE are more nearly palindromic. We’d have more luck with our old friends, the Roman numerals. 19, the first number in Will’s series, is XIX.

      LegoSevenevesNinenin

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    7. And, Lego, as per David's clue a while back this week, XIX works on the upside-down Roman alarm clock, too. ;-)

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  31. Actually, I am surprised that no one (including me) quoted this verse from the Bible: Matthew 20:16- So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

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  32. And of course all the continents (including this one if you ditch the North) begin and end with the same letter. I included Smashing Pumpkins and Tony Bennett, thinking Abba was a bit too obvious. Plus everyone would have had "Dancing Queen" running through their heads - oops.

    Later I realized that Sid ViciouS of the Sex PistolS would have been better.

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  33. No wonder Alabama was mentioned! This thing turned out to be a word puzzle after all! I should have thought of something like that. I looked up the series on the web, but it didn't give me any kind of answer like that. Oh well. I got the Puzzleria! answers. Can't win 'em all.

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    1. Are you (related to) the Patrick Berry who has puzzles in the Sunday New York Times?

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    2. No, I believe he is Patrick D. Berry from Athens, GA. I am Patrick J. Berry from Jasper, AL. Will mentioned him when I won. I've seen the other PB's work in the NYT and Games. My mom and I especially love doing his "Rows Garden" puzzles. I also once had a book of crosswords written by four different Patricks, Berry being one of them. I like his work. I actually wish I could get my cryptic crosswords published, just like the other PB's work.

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    3. As far as I know, neither of us are related. Sure would help me a lot if we were, though.

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  34. Each of Will's numbers, written out, starts and ends with the same letter. The next three are 89, 97 and 102. When I posted to last week's thread, that this was a puzzle, “...of biblical proportions,” I was thinking of the phrase, “...the first shall be last.” Being, a follower of, “the older monotheistic religion.” I wasn't quite sure where the phrase would be found so I Googled it and found it in Matthew 19:30 (But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first) and in Matthew 20:16 (So the last shall be first, and the first last).

    Enya_and_Weird_Al fan, caught my meaning and asked if I was referring to verses in Isaiah or Revelation. I hadn't been, but the question made me do some more reading. The phrase also appears in Mark 10:31 and Luke 13:30.

    Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

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  35. My clue - I solved at noon today without help from mom or dad. I agree with Blaine's grading - had 4 words. Noon. Mom. Dad. Grading.

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  36. Tim O, Can you provide the answer to your puzzle?

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  37. Just a heads-up that Sunday's segment will have a shout-out to Blaine's Puzzle blog and all the punsters who post here! At least I think so, I was so giddy and excited, that I'm not even sure how many of the answers I got. But I'm pretty sure that there was plenty of time left for the listeners to figure them out!

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    1. Congrats, KenRobert3! Looking forward to your riposte with Will tomorrow.

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    2. Congratulations! I guess you've probably already heard next week's challenge then. The rest of us will have to wait a few more hours.

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  38. Next week's challenge from listener Daniel Grossman: Name something in three syllables that an auto mechanic might have. Move the second and third syllables to the front. The result, with some respacing, will name a group of auto mechanics. What is it?

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    1. Too easy. Back to brunch.

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    2. That's kinda early for brunch.

      If a group of cats is a clowder, is a group of auto mechanics a clutch?

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  39. Hey! The player on the radio this morning mentioned Blaine's as as source of inspiration. ---Rob

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  40. Nice work, Ken! I can't imagine next week's puzzle presents much of a challenge for you.

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  41. Well, time enough for zeke and Mamaw to choose our attire, change, and fill up our vans with kids for Sunday school. Have a beautiful weekend, y'all.

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  42. Got it while still in bed. Think NASCAR...

    Chuck

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  43. North American Sport Centered Around Rednecks?

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  44. If your auto mechanic doesn't have one of these, I suggest you get a new auto mechanic.

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  45. I don't know why I keep thinking of a crankshaft when the answer has to be a BROKE PISTON.

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For NPR puzzle posts, don't post the answer or any hints that could lead to the answer before the deadline (usually Thursday at 3pm ET). If you know the answer, submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't assist with solving. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the deadline. Thank you.