Sunday, October 05, 2014

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 5, 2014): Morning Routine

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 5, 2014): Morning Routine:
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?
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.

Edit: The leftover letters are R+ODENT.
A: PEPSodent + rICOLA --> PEPSI COLA

68 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.

    ReplyDelete
  2. 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.

    Chuck

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  3. As 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.

    Hope Blaine doesn't ding this one, but who am I to say?

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  4. Is there a Swiss connection somewhere?

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. I think there's a swish connection here, if you don't mind me horning in.

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  5. My 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)?

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  6. Earlier, at the end of last week's blog I posted right after the new puzzle came online:

    skydiveboy 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can hear the music to the commercial for this medication.

      Delete
    2. I can still hear the music from the toothpaste commercial. It's a wonder it is still around

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    3. Who can hear the music from the beverage commercial?

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    4. I am hearing silence this morning as I read this:

      I might have gone with HewPack and LettArd.

      How about you?

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    5. Not only do I hear quite clearly the music from the toothpaste commercial, but a former Governor's nickname comes to mind.

      Delete
    6. Hmmmm, toothpaste is bringing out the female voice. Two stories about girls and toothpaste:

      My 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?

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    7. 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.

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    8. My 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.

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    9. WW, I love the "McGiver" Gum story!

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    10. Amusing stories, ladies. I was talkin' 'bout my (Pepsi) generation ...

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    11. Ruth, who's the former Governor?

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  7. Will should have entitled his on-air challenge "pretty lepidoptera cons" or a spoiled coparent with cropped toenails.

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  8. You don't suppose Will inends to close the loop with the puzzle two weeks ago:

    Write 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.

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    Replies
    1. MrScience, that was a long way to go for that inended quiescent twist. Solvable in Snipper's "zero time." Not.

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  9. Replies
    1. I hear ya, jan. Been every newly-made answer, really. (So syntax me)

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    2. Pretty lame? I thought the beverage was hyphenated.

      Delete
  10. Take 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TommyBoy,

      Thanks 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

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  11. My my, ladies, aren't you kind? Perhaps we'll meet again, somewhere else. I shall try to be more succinct.

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  12. Denizens of Blainesville:

    I 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

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  13. Lego - that just doesn't add up.

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  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. Take 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David,
      I need a subtle hint, please.
      LegoThirstingForAnswers

      Delete
    2. David,
      Great 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

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  16. Replies
    1. Fitting, because Geoffrey actually was "The UnCola Holder" in his memorable TV commercials.

      Lego-dnL

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  17. 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. More than one Roman farmer lost a lot of silver in Britain which has been dug up recently.

      Delete
  18. On these easy weeks we seem to spend more time coming up with additional puzzles than solving the original.

    So 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ecoarchitect,
      Nice 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

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    2. nice twist, though I've never seen that establishment.

      I'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.

      Delete
  19. I know it's late to be copying my post on last week's thread, but better late than never.

    I 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!

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  20. While Blaine does not recommend consuming the result obtained from his manipulation of the letters, the OTC medication can be very pleasant tasting.

    ReplyDelete
  21. PEPSODENT & RICOLA > PEPSI-COLA

    My 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.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Pepsodent + Ricola= PepsiCola

    My 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.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Pepsodent, Pepsi Cola

    Last 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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bucky Beaver (see below) was a Disney creation.

      Delete
  24. PEPSODENT

    RICOLA 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.

    ReplyDelete
  25. PEPSODENT + RICOLA -> PEPSI-COLA (and RODENT)

    > 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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 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.

      I typically do both the Merl Reagle and NYT Sunday puzzles, so I will try to note connections between those and the NPR puzzle.

      Delete
    2. PEPSODENT + RICOLA - RODENT = PEPSI-COLA

      Beta 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)

      Delete
  26. Clues - "my AIM" (for fun); solve in "zero time, as in Pepsi Zero. Wasn't there a recent puzzle with Colgate in it?

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  27. This 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

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  28. The key to my 'wrap-up' of last week's puzzle was this week's answer rot13'd, i.e. Crcfv-Pbyn.
    I 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!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Roman farmer lost silver.
    Agricola - AG = Ricola

    ReplyDelete
  30. At the end of last week's blog I said that my buddy Brad thInks that this beverage is just for bullies.
    Pepsi Cola was known as Brad's drink.
    it was advertised as being bully.

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  31. You'll wonder where the yellow went
    when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent

    ReplyDelete
  32. 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?

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  33. If you take one of the countries, change another letter and rearrange (again) you get a highly localized phenomena.

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  34. Also, big clue right as to this week's Sunday edition host!

    ReplyDelete

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.