NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 18): Change One Letter in the Last Name

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 18): Change One Letter in the Last Name:

Q: Think of a well-known person on TV who has eight letters in their first name and four letters in their last. The last name consists of: consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant. If you change the vowel in the last name to an 'a,' the result will be a word that is defined by the first name.

Good, we are getting back to challenging puzzles. Saying this person is a well-known person on TV is like saying Tiger Woods is a popular TV personality. Yes, he is on TV, but is he most well-known for being on TV? I had more luck working backwards on the puzzle.

Edit: Some of my clues were explicit (such as thinking of someone associated with TV, but known for something else.) There were a few "less obvious" clues (Tiger is an animal, luck rhymes with puck, back rhymes with pack).

A: WOLFGANG PUCK --> WOLF GANG = PACK

Now read the comments and you'll see the creative hints that were left by others.

Googol to the Googol-th Power

At this point everyone should be familiar with the number "googol" which is 10^¹⁰⁰ (10 to the 100th power). Written down it is a one followed by 100 zeroes.

The question this week is:

Q: How many zeroes are there in googol^^googol
(googol to the "googol-th" power)?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 11): Entrance and Exit

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 11): Entrance and Exit:

Q: Think of a seven-letter word meaning 'entrance.' Switch the second and fourth letters and you'll get another seven-letter word meaning 'exit.' What are the words?

I'm sorry. My PC was having issues so I wasn't able to post a hint this weekend. The puzzle is easy, so I'm sure you'll figure it out.

Edit: My hints were PC (as in Gateway) and weekend (as in getaway)

A: GATEWAY --> GETAWAY

Mothers' Day Puzzle for all our Supermoms

Take the following mathematical equation:

MOM² = AMAZON

Can you replace each letter with a different digit {0 to 9} so that the equation makes sense? The letter will represent that digit everywhere the letter appears.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 4): Make a Lot of Noise

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 3): Make a Lot of Noise:

Q: Rearrange the letters of 'assembly hall' to spell three loud sounds.

I don't have a lot of time for a hint because we are busy! We are planning my son's birthday. With everything my wife has planned it should be grand. But I think we can do without the performer dressed like Tarzan.

Edit: The hints were all the words before the punctuation marks: BuSY (initial letters of the answers, in alphabetical order), Birthday (Bash), Grand (Slam) and Tarzan (Yell).

A: BASH, SLAM and YELL

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 27): A Challenge for Star Gazers

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 27): A Challenge for Star Gazers:

Q: Insert a long E sound after the first letter of 'bond' and phonetically you get 'be-ond.' Insert a long E sound after the first letter of 'renter' and you get 're-enter.' Name something found in outer space. Insert a long E sound after the first letter, and you'll name a resident of a major American city. What are the words?

Are they kidding? With all the things in space, this could be like searching for a needle in a haystack!?!

Edit: Get it? Space... Needle? I know, the puzzle was SO easy, who needed a hint? Let's hope Will Shortz comes up with some more exciting puzzles in the coming weeks.

A: SATELLITE --> SEATTLELITE