NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 23, 2014): A World of Instruments

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 23, 2014): A World of Instruments:

Q: Name a capital of a country. Change the first letter to name a familiar musical instrument. What is it?

It's not easy to come up with a thumbnail that doesn't give the answer away.

Edit: My hints were to an alternate answer. The photo is from a music store in Yuba City, California. The word "ThUmBnAil" contains "TUBA" in order.

A: Caracas (Venezuela) --> maracas.
Juba (South Sudan) --> tuba

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 16, 2014): Driving to the Supermarket

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 16, 2014): Driving to the Supermarket:

Q: Take the brand name of a popular grocery item, written normally in upper- and lower-case letters. Push two consecutive letters together, without otherwise changing the name in any way. The result will name a make of car. What is it?

I was having trouble with this, then a light bulb turned on.

Edit: GE trademarked the name Mazda for their incandescent light bulbs with tungsten filaments.

A: Mazola --> Mazda

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 9, 2014): It's All Greek to Me

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 9, 2014): It's All Greek to Me:

Q: Take the name of a classical Greek mathematician and re-arrange the letters in his name to spell two numbers. What are they?

A: DIOPHANTUS --> THOUSAND + PI

P.S. We discussed Diophantine Equations 5 years ago.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 2, 2014): The Oscar Goes To...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 2, 2014): The Oscar Goes To...:

Q: Take the first name of a nominee for Best Actor or Best Actress at Sunday's Oscars. You can rearrange these letters into a two-word phrase that describes his or her character in the film for which he or she is nominated. Who is this star, and what is the phrase?

You'll need the following list of nominees.

A: SANDRA (Bullock) --> NASA DR.