Thursday, April 29, 2010

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 25, 2010): Name Two Birds...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 25, 2010): Name Two Birds...:
Q: Name a famous person whose first name is seven letters long and ends with the name of a bird, and whose last name is also seven letters but starts with the name of a bird. Hint: One of these birds is the general name for the bird, and the other is a specific type of bird. Who is it?
Finally a nicely constructed puzzle with enough clues to confirm your answer, but not too many that they give it away. Are the bird names long or short? Is this person part of history? Or part of the present time? Not wanting to ruin the puzzle, I'm steping out of giving a clue this week and leave it to you to ponder.

Edit: If you read the last word of each question you get short/history/time --> A Brief History of Time. Also, I deliberately misspelled step(p)ing because that's what is left after removing the birds from his name.
A: stepHEN HAWKing

42 comments:

  1. Here's my standard reminder... don't post the answer or any outright spoilers 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. Thank you.

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  2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  3. I'm new here. When we do post, should our comments be straightforward? I don't want to annoy the wizards on this board with awkward nonsense.

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  5. Along the same lines as today's puzzle:

    "Think of a famous person with seven letters in her/his first and last names. Both the first and last names end with a type of bird that may be considered to be "opposites" of each other, so to say. Who is the person?"

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  6. you dont have to be a sly fox to get this one.

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  7. Got it! How does one’s brain go straight to an answer like that? And so quickly, too...

    Chuck

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  8. I wholeheartedly agree that this was a finely constructed puzzle. Analytical, logical and sound with no doubt on the intended solution.

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  9. I just researched the internet and the solution was evident.

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  10. Music connection this week is Soundgarden.

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  11. Something Sergeant Preston said?

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  12. Bloodcurdlingly good puzzle!

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  13. Ken, three out of four is excellent!

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  14. Put the name of a well-known alien in this person's field of study and you get a different field of study.

    Can anyone figure this one out without giving away the answer to this week's puzzle?

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  15. Great musical connection, phredp! Rundgren, too.

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  16. Dave, we'll have to ask Thomas Overbury what he thinks.

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  17. Ken--when wll you be answering your Science fiction question from last week?

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  18. Dave, one of the fields of study is definitely hands-on!

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  19. I finally figured this one out but still can't see what half of the hinters above are driving at. (No hints in this post, just observing.)

    By the way, I emailed our friend Will Shortz a suggested follow-up to last week's GUYANA/GHANA. I thought it was perfect for the radio but he replied that he thought he'd heard it before. (I thought I'd invented it, but there aren't that many ways to reshuffle world capitals so I surely didn't.) Since Will isn't using it on the radio, I'll post it here:

    Name a world capital in two syllables. Change the fourth letter to the next letter of the alphabet and rearrange the letters to spell a different world capital.

    If you get it, please don't post the answer yet, in order that others can play. Thanks.

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  20. Ken and William - I too noticed what I think you are referring to. I'll bet this is how the author of this week's puzzle got the idea.

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  21. Cookieface - The answer to SCIENCE FICTION?
    The answer to SCIENCE FICTION?
    The piece of literature is Peer Gynt by Ibsen and the scientific concept is Energy. (The orchestral work is the Peer Gynt Suites by Grieg.)

    Note to Jan: I hope the removal of your post last week does not keep you from participating in this blog. You are a very good puzzle player, and I appreciate your playing my puzzle. I guess there are rules of engagement around here, some unwritten and only learned from experience. So come back!

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  22. Came to me with a bang. Answer submitted.

    - Other Ben

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  23. The subject of this week's puzzle is a big wheel. ALSo sat in a chair that used to be occupied by one who stood on the shoulders of giants.

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  24. It is not at all theory but quite observable in real time: there are, today, more veterinarians practicing the care and nurturance of these two birds who are women than there are the same of their healers who are men.

    My particular giantess scientess and Dr Sklodowski's mentee, Dr Franklin, however, is the one who some guy named Franny who along with his good - ol' - boy cronie, Jimmy, thereafter, ... claimed ... and, Thus Partook of, ALL of the true and not - at - all - so - hypothetical / not - at - all - so - imaginary Treasures and Prizes, finally admitted to the World, ... had actually been The Person who, FIRST, discovered "the data we actually used."

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  25. Totally in the dark. Geez I'm so dense.

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  26. I am just egging for a clue here. But, I don't want to fight. Peace ! Love! I'm a dove!

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  27. Hey everyone,

    I wrote a story about contributing puzzles to Will's radio segment. Check it out here.

    (Blaine, could you delete the post above this one? That link is bad. Thanks.)

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  28. All: The singular solution corresponds to -11 -19 18 -5 1 9 -7.

    Blaine: How do I send you a private message?

    Me: toyzzle@gmail.com

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  29. Mario, you go it!

    Ken, I don't get your Thomas Overbury reference.

    Ken and William, I got your bloodcurdlingly and three fourths clues. Nice.

    Lorenzo, I'll bet you're correct. The current puzzle probably came to the submitter after solving that earlier puzzle.

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  30. Dave,
    The second field of study is the study of (blank). There is a famous quote, attributed to Thomas Overbury, about the superficiality of (blank). At least I didn't give the answer away.

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  31. Dave, Ah, but not so subtle as Blaine's two out of four!

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  32. RoRo
    I don't have enough Mother wit to know which came first. Maybe I'll go down to the corner where the males are selling their wares and I'll be given the answer by knighttime.

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  33. Kind of giving it away there, aren't you, RoRo?

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  34. I'm sorry but I get so excited when I get it that I get so poetical. I was really excited 2 months ago when I met Avery Brooks.

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  35. I woke up Tuesday morning, puzzle still not solved, and awakened from a weird dream about The Colbert Report. Immediately, I looked to see if any birds names started with "Colb". Couldn't find anything. I tuned into The Colbert Report and found a most amazing clue on the April 27th show. Coincidence or cosmic connection????

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  36. not at all theory = theoretical physicist

    observable = laws of physics opposite those of theoretical ones

    real time / today = the puzzle’s subject lives / is of the present day

    more women than men = poultry – and raptor – healers

    Dr Marie Sklodowska (Curie) and Dr Rosalind Franklin = physicists, among their other identifiers

    [Franny = Francis Crick & Jimmy = James Watson who, together, stole Dr Franklin’s deoxyribonucleic acid helices’ discovery and its data and never, in any way, acknowledged, let alone, credited or awarded her]

    T P = where capitalized xthree = Theoretical Physicist

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  37. hope all the answers to all the puzzles will get answered sooner rather than later--be interesting to see the responses.

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  38. Blaine, your clues were ingenious. I didn't figure them out, even after I got the answer to this week's puzzle. Thanks for the explanations.

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  39. Oh, and there was a loose connection with the word "ponder" --> "think" --> "theory" --> "theoretical physicist"

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  40. I still liked my clue too - though maybe people didn't realize I "knew" the answer.

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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.