I don't suggest consuming what is formed from the leftover letters of the second word, followed by the leftover letters of the first word.Q: Take the first four letters of a brand of toothpaste plus the last five letters of an over-the-counter medicine, and together, in order, the result will name a popular beverage. What is it?
Edit: The leftover letters are R+ODENT.
A: PEPSodent + rICOLA --> PEPSI COLA
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.
ReplyDeleteYou 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.
I thought this was a fairly easy puzzle primarily because there is a relatively small number of toothpastes to consider. I personally have never heard of the over-the-counter medicine but a little research did the trick. So I had to solve the puzzle out of sequence: toothpaste, beverage, medicine. The toothpaste advertising calls to mind an old Disney movie.
ReplyDeleteChuck
More than one Disney connection.
DeleteAs an old time pharmacist the OTC item came easy, the toothpaste has been around a long time & I remember drinking the beverage out of a bottle as a kid.
ReplyDeleteHope Blaine doesn't ding this one, but who am I to say?
Beta vulgaris L.
ReplyDeleteIs there a Swiss connection somewhere?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI think there's a swish connection here, if you don't mind me horning in.
DeleteMy aim was to solve this in zero time, and I was successful. Didn't we have a puzzle of recent vintage that was connected to a toothpaste brand (though it wasn't its intent)?
ReplyDeleteEarlier, at the end of last week's blog I posted right after the new puzzle came online:
ReplyDeleteskydiveboy Sun Oct 05, 05:13:00 AM PDT
I think I have the answer already.
and
skydiveboy Sun Oct 05, 05:54:00 AM PDT
I don't think I have ever heard of the OTC medication, but this puzzle is close to being a classic.
I can hear the music to the commercial for this medication.
DeleteI can still hear the music from the toothpaste commercial. It's a wonder it is still around
DeleteWho can hear the music from the beverage commercial?
DeleteI am hearing silence this morning as I read this:
DeleteI might have gone with HewPack and LettArd.
How about you?
Not only do I hear quite clearly the music from the toothpaste commercial, but a former Governor's nickname comes to mind.
DeleteHmmmm, toothpaste is bringing out the female voice. Two stories about girls and toothpaste:
DeleteMy best friend in kindergarten and I asked our teacher if toothpaste was used to stick teeth together like school paste stuck paper together. Mrs. Memery (!) thought it was a great question. [She had her pet parrot always on her shoulder and was pretty cool.]
At Girl Scout Camp we were not allowed to chew gum. So we made our own chewable strips by smearing toothpaste on paper, letting it dry, and cutting it into strips. We then chewed the strips with great defiance! (The fluoride we likely ingested didn't do much harm).
Got any good toothpaste stories of your own?
Only a very clear memory of waking up in the middle of my tonsillectomy at age 4 and noticing the very strong smell of toothpaste (which was the ether they used to knock me out). j WW, you beat me - with ether story.
DeleteMy only toothpaste story is that I did not use toothpaste for first 3 years of my life. toothpowder came out of a canister with holes at the top which we used to shake the powder into your hand and make a paste with water. I was smitten by a commercial and begged my mom to try "geem" She finally gave in and it took all the enamel off my teeth. It was a couple of years before we tried another brand of tubed paste (same brand as the powder.
DeleteWW, I love the "McGiver" Gum story!
DeleteAmusing stories, ladies. I was talkin' 'bout my (Pepsi) generation ...
DeleteRuth, who's the former Governor?
DeleteAnd, fade to black. . .
DeleteWill should have entitled his on-air challenge "pretty lepidoptera cons" or a spoiled coparent with cropped toenails.
ReplyDeleteYou don't suppose Will inends to close the loop with the puzzle two weeks ago:
ReplyDeleteWrite the answer to this week's challege. Then remove an O from the answer and place it in the second position, removing the letter currently there. Now close the gap from the space left by the O just removed. Finally, replace the last letter of the word with the next consonant alphabetically (if it is a consonant), or the next vowel (should it be a vowel).
The result will surprise no one here, since we were raised on this stuff. But if you're from Murn, Arkansas or Beelerville Ohio, or if you count your toes for a living, you'll discover that you've changed your popular beverage into an equaly popular summertime treat.
MrScience, that was a long way to go for that inended quiescent twist. Solvable in Snipper's "zero time." Not.
DeleteOops, he did it again!
ReplyDeleteI hear ya, jan. Been every newly-made answer, really. (So syntax me)
DeletePretty lame? I thought the beverage was hyphenated.
DeleteTake the first four letters of a different brand of toothpaste and the first four letters of an over-the-counter supplement. In order they spell another popular beverage which is owned by the first beverage company.
ReplyDeleteTommyBoy,
DeleteThanks for the puzzle. I had to exercise every bit of the meager muscle between my ears to come up with the answer. I think I may have water on my brain.
LegoDilutedGrayMatter
My my, ladies, aren't you kind? Perhaps we'll meet again, somewhere else. I shall try to be more succinct.
ReplyDeleteI smell a rat.
ReplyDeleteDenizens of Blainesville:
ReplyDeleteI realize most of you are brain-deep in the throes of grappling with this pesky toothpasty poser. But if you do somehow manage to figure it out, why not head over to Puzzleria! and grapple with puzzles at least as tough.
This week’s first Puzzleria! puzzle has a family theme, the second is about jogging and the military, and the third is a more challenging puzzle about college football. We will put you through your enigmatic paces. No lyin’.
TomR,
I spell “A Rat In The House May Eat The Ice Cream.”
LegoTruthPaced
Lego - that just doesn't add up.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTake a type of beverage backwards and add a brand of toothpaste to the end. Change one letter and get another beverage brand, related to this week's puzzler answer.
ReplyDeleteDavid,
DeleteI need a subtle hint, please.
LegoThirstingForAnswers
Whiner.
DeleteDavid,
DeleteGreat puzzle! I finally solved it this morning after sleeping on your clever subtle hint. I never would have solved it without the hint. Is it okay with you if I reprint your puzzle in the preamble of tomorrow’s new Puzzleria!?
Your answr puts me in mind of “Orange being the new blackberry.” And about a field that is the only Major League park to feature an artificial surface and all-dirt base paths, with new AstroTurf installed prior to the 2011 season.
LegoSunkist
Geoffrey "The UnCola" Holder died today at 84.
ReplyDeleteFitting, because Geoffrey actually was "The UnCola Holder" in his memorable TV commercials.
DeleteLego-dnL
The OTC product originated in the Continent (but not country) of my birth, the specific country was however the birth place of an archer of note and cattle who's horns don't work and are so equipped with other warning systems.
ReplyDeleteMore than one Roman farmer lost a lot of silver in Britain which has been dug up recently.
DeleteOn these easy weeks we seem to spend more time coming up with additional puzzles than solving the original.
ReplyDeleteSo here's mine: take the first four letters of a toothpaste brand, add (in reverse order) what that popular drink will do to your teeth, and you get a prescription drug.
ecoarchitect,
DeleteNice puzzle.
...Now rearrange the letters of the drug to name a place where one might purchase a brand-name soft drink that is 109 years old.
LegoThirstingHowellTheThird
nice twist, though I've never seen that establishment.
DeleteI'm not even sure they sell that product around here. Perhaps at gas (in many forms) stations, I haven't been to one in years.
I know it's late to be copying my post on last week's thread, but better late than never.
ReplyDeleteI posted on Sun Oct 05, at 05:40:00 AM PDT on last week's thread:
Take the unused part of the over-the-counter medicine, add the unused part of the brand of toothpaste, and with no rearranging needed, you get the name of a family of animals.
....And my post got 8 replies....
Bob Kerfuffle replied on Sun Oct 05, at 05:52:00 AM PDT:
Great observation! And confirms my answer -- must be a very simple challenge if I got it so fast.
And Paul replied on Sun Oct 05 at, 06:19:00 AM PDT:
I agree, excellent observation, E&WAf.
And jan on Sun Oct 05, at 06:36:00 AM PDT:
And an appropriate family of animals it is.
And blogger on Sun Oct 05, at 07:58:00 AM PDT:
The relationship between animals and toothpaste has never been closer...
And legolambda replied on Sun Oct 05 at, 08:15:00 AM PDT:
Enya_and_Weird_Al_fan,
I second... no third... wait... fourth, okay, I guess fifth what everyone above me has said. Great observation! You should have your own puzzle blog. (The ending syllables of the toothpaste and family of animals are related etymologically.)
LegoImpressed
And jan on Sun Oct 05, at 10:53:00 AM PDT:
Actually, it's an order of animals, not a family. Remember, King Philip came over for great sex.
And Word Woman on Sun Oct 05, at 11:17:00 AM PDT:
I heard it was the spaghetti. . .
And finally jan on Sun Oct 05, at 11:36:00 AM PDT:
Now that's kinky!
While Blaine does not recommend consuming the result obtained from his manipulation of the letters, the OTC medication can be very pleasant tasting.
ReplyDeletePEPSODENT & RICOLA > PEPSI-COLA
ReplyDeleteMy Hint:
“I don't think I have ever heard of the OTC medication, but this puzzle is close to being a classic.”
Also close to being Coca-Cola which became Classic Coke. Whatever that is supposed to mean.
Another really poor puzzle again this week.
Pepsodent + Ricola= PepsiCola
ReplyDeleteMy hints: Pepsodent an old time toothpaste brand & I remember drinking bottles of cold PepsiCola while delivering the now defunct Philadelphia Bulletin back in the 50s, Also, being a pharmacist/attorney, etc. Ricola quickly came to mind. Easy puzzle.
Pepsodent, Pepsi Cola
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “The toothpaste advertising calls to mind an old Disney movie.” Old Yeller. You’ll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.
Chuck
Bucky Beaver (see below) was a Disney creation.
DeletePEPSODENT
ReplyDeleteRICOLA Cough Drops.
PEPSI-COLA
Unused letters: RODENT
My clues:
LEPIDOPTERA CONS
SPOILED COPARENT
CROPPED TOENAILS
All anagram to PEPSODENT + RICOLA!
MrScience: PEPSI-COLA>>>POPSICLE.
T.Boy: AQUAFRESH & FINASTERIDE yields AQUAFINA.
David: PORT, IPANA>>>TROPICANA.
Ecoarchitect: CREST, ROT>>>CRESTOR.
PEPSODENT + RICOLA -> PEPSI-COLA (and RODENT)
ReplyDelete> Sorry if I stepped on your toes there.
Anagrams to Pepsodent.
> And an appropriate family of animals it is.
Bucky Beaver shilled for Ipana.
> Rogbiv
Do you wonder where the yellow went?
> Oops, he did it again!
In the Sunday New York Times crossword (67-D), Will used "Old 'Gotta have it' sloganeer" to clue PEPSI. In the unlikely event that I ever get The Call, this is what I'm going to ask him about.
I noticed the NPR/NYT connection also. This does seen to happen a couple times a year. I wonder if at that frequency it is a coincidence.
DeleteI typically do both the Merl Reagle and NYT Sunday puzzles, so I will try to note connections between those and the NPR puzzle.
PEPSODENT + RICOLA - RODENT = PEPSI-COLA
DeleteBeta vulgaris L. is the genera and species for beet sugar used in the original Pepsi-Cola formula (and in the throwback (throw-up? ;-)) version).
MrScience: PEPSI-COLA >>> POPSICLE (quiescently frozen)
Clues - "my AIM" (for fun); solve in "zero time, as in Pepsi Zero. Wasn't there a recent puzzle with Colgate in it?
ReplyDeleteThis was a really easy puzzle. My clues were designed to lead to William Tell (Famed Swiss Archer) and the fact that Cattle and Goats in Switzerland are equipped with bells. Ricola is a Swiss Product
ReplyDeleteThe key to my 'wrap-up' of last week's puzzle was this week's answer rot13'd, i.e. Crcfv-Pbyn.
ReplyDeleteI used v1.0, which corresponds to the way I learned it from Blaine nearly four years ago [click on ciphers under LABELS in the column at right].
Gloriosky!
Roman farmer lost silver.
ReplyDeleteAgricola - AG = Ricola
At the end of last week's blog I said that my buddy Brad thInks that this beverage is just for bullies.
ReplyDeletePepsi Cola was known as Brad's drink.
it was advertised as being bully.
You'll wonder where the yellow went
ReplyDeletewhen you brush your teeth with Pepsodent
Next week's challenge: Name a certain country. Change one letter in its name to a new letter and rearrange the result to name another country's capital. Then change one letter in that and rearrange the result to name another country. What geographical names are these?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteIf you take one of the countries, change another letter and rearrange (again) you get a highly localized phenomena.
ReplyDelete6156
ReplyDeleteIsil or Isis?
ReplyDeleteAlso, big clue right as to this week's Sunday edition host!
ReplyDelete