To your pancake, add butter, syrup or whipped cream, as you like it.Q: The word PANCAKE has an unusual property. If you remove its last letter, you get a series of U.S. state postal abbreviations — PA, NC, and AK. Can you name a major city and state that both have this property? To solve this, first think of a state in which you can drop its last letter to leave a series of state postal abbreviations. Then find a major city in that state that also has this property. The city and state names have to be different. What city and state is it?
Edit: One of the characters in Shakespeare's "As You Like It" was Orlando de Boys.
A: ORLANDO, FLORIDA
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.
Not clear- do we drop the last letter on the city too?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSame here. Well known city.
Delete(From end of last week’s string)
ReplyDeleteA little trickery with this week’s puzzle. And Will deserves a Tony award for acting like he didn’t realize there were two answers last week.
Ah! Now I get it!
DeleteI think I get this but I will definitely check back on Thursday to confirm...
DeleteBwahahahahahahah!!!
DeleteI couldn't understand why it would be a Tony award, rather than an Oscar or Emmy or Marconi ... then it dawned on me.
DeleteI found this not a puzzle to figure out, but to look up, using lists.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Just a job of perusing lists looking for a pattern.
Delete26 states with an odd number of letters.
Delete3 states that have the property.
Cities? -- left to the reader.
Yes. I have the 3 states and a city in each of those states...
DeleteThat's what I did 🔤
DeleteI have two cities in one state, plus the intended answer.
DeleteThanks Blaine! Went back and found the third state.
DeleteCORRECTION: I think you drop the last letter of the city. At least I did and I found a very simple answer. Interestingly, there is a secondary answer from a different state and, although the city there is hardly major, it is named after a major world city.
ReplyDeleteThere is a second answer from the second state that fits the pattern but it only what I would call a small town that I have never heard of before.
DeleteMay we repeat state postal abbreviations?
ReplyDeleteIn the same name or between State and City?
DeleteBetween the two employing repeats
DeleteWhat I am guessing is the intended answer has a repeat abbreviation from the state to the city.
DeleteGood thinking about the two sets of answers - I hope WS will mention both of them when he gives the answers next week. Both sets have the valid properties – but the “majorness” of the city in the second answer (not the city it is named for) could invalidate that answer.
ReplyDeleteI have been to both the cities in the 2 answers.
DeleteNo unused clues in this week's On Air Challenge.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying Blaine’s breakfast, then going out to play.
ReplyDeletePVC
ReplyDeleteWS certainly has a funny character! He kids.
ReplyDeleteIs the city part of a different state?
I have nailed two different States and two different Cities in each State.
ReplyDeleteNot that bad a puzzle. But like some other players have found, I don't doubt there are multiple answers.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this week only, would Will Shortz accept snail mail??
Very easy. I project that there will be over 1,000 correct entries to this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteVW
ReplyDelete.75WW ? ;-)
DeleteI have three states and three cities, two easily major and one not.
ReplyDeleteI guess that there are several more "not" but worth looking for.
I have three states, but have not found the city of one of the states, yet.
DeleteThere’s also a city that shares its name with a state in one of the three states. That would have been a fun puzzle.
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DeleteYep! So far I have come up with 10 legitimate answers if one stop light towns were included. I should get a life.
DeleteThree states and up to 7 towns so far – plus the one that shares its name with one of the states. Thanks, WW.
DeleteI just received an email from a friend in that city and state and never connected the dots! This can be tricky if one does not follow the rules.
ReplyDeleteGOING GLOBAL...
ReplyDeleteSome country and city names have the property that if you remove their last letter you get a series of country postal abbreviations. Can you name a country and major city in that country that both have this property?
I got a little flustered with this morning's puzzle. Focusing on states or cities lists was just not helping. Finally, when I re-read the list of states, the answer appeared. Duh :)
ReplyDeleteOpinion - I found a solution in which a postal abbreviation repeats in the city and the state. That doesn't violate the rule about the city and state names being different, correct? (Meaning, if the puzzle were about countries, the answer couldn't be France, France, if there were a city in France called "France") What think you?
ReplyDeleteMeant to prohibit Oklahoma City, Oklahoma or Kansas City, Kansas if either of those would have fit the pattern.
DeleteBridgeWAter, IoWA could be used repeating the WA for Washington state. Of course the rest of the words don't fit the requirements.
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ReplyDeleteIt's been awhile since we've had more than half a dozen female posters here at Blainesville.
ReplyDeletereally !!
DeleteWHINING ABOUT GENDER EQUALITY EVEN HERE??
No, MF, not whining, just observing.
DeleteWW, have wondered about some of the names that could be either gender. Personally I like the idea of the board being coed.
DeleteYes, MC, I've wondered that, too. Today, there seem to be more typically female names, like Jean and Deborah, newly posting here, but who knows? They certainly could be male; Jean from Montreal or Paris? It's curious.
DeleteAm guessing that Jan is also a woman, tho it could be a man's name.
DeleteBe Well! Am trundling off to bed. Have to be up before dawn. Heading for the pharmacy and a meeting with the good doctor. Wish me luck.
Mort
jan is a man. You could talk to jan in the morning ;-).
DeleteGood luck.
At least one Jean is a woman... This one!
DeleteJean,
DeleteNot to congratulate you merely for your anatomy as a woman but welcome to the blog. Glad to have you.
I’m not far from the non-answer.
ReplyDeleteJust for fun, I drew a triangle connecting the city and two towns that I found, and then dropped a perpendicular from the larger of the two towns to the opposite side of that triangle. I'm easily amused.
ReplyDeleteAren't we all? The geographic midpoint between my northern and southern municipalities is almost exactly on a state line.
DeleteSome city landscapers need new training.
DeleteOR LA ND o, FL OR ID a; Pop. 277,173
DeleteCO NC OR d, NE WY OR k; Pop. 8,494
CA SC o, MA IN e; Pop. 3,880 (Sa-lute!)
The perpendicular from Concord to the Orlando-Casco leg seems to pass through "the city so nice they named it twice" (at least close enough to melt away those little town blues).
What is the longest word you can make using postal abbreviations?
ReplyDeleteI mentioned it before.
DeleteThere's a 12 letter word meaning "producing unhealthy milk".
DeleteMaybe Will should milk it for whatever it's worth.
DeleteUdderly possible.
DeleteI have 2 ten-letter words and a slew of eight-letter words.
I made up a series of Postal Code word quizzes for FunTrivia several years ago utilizing 200 plus words.
DeleteI ended up with four ten letter ones, but not Blaine's twelve, which I am guessing it has "lactaria" in it
Calamondin
DeleteAll-America
DeleteCascarilla
DeleteBlaine, what was your 12-letter word?
DeleteOne last ten: convallari.
DeleteWW: Did you have another?
The 12-letter word is cacogalactia
DeleteIt's summertime. Anyone going on vacation?
ReplyDeleteFor now, Thailand is out!!
DeleteI’ve got it! Blaine thanks for publishing this. I can’t write or typecast enough to get Will Shortz’s directions down.
ReplyDeleteWill Shortz covered how you don't even need a pencil in a long comment to Blainesvuille on 9/6/15. Look at the right sidebar to find it.
DeleteHere's a direct link to Will Shortz's comment
DeleteWe struggled with last week’s puzzle but today’s was a cinch. Sending it off now. But they never call.
ReplyDeleteI've been to the city/state that I believe to be the intended answer. It's easy to get there from here, though it may take a few hours, naturally. There are a few points of interest there for anyone choosing to vacation there, but of course revealing much about those points of interest would be a dead giveaway.
ReplyDeleteMusical clue: Eric Clapton
I have to agree. It would be even more of a dead giveaway than the dead giveaway you just posted.
DeleteI thought it was a rather mundane comment, as usual.
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ReplyDeleteThere will be closer to 2000!
ReplyDeleteEvery so often it's good to solve a puzzle quickly. Then I can think about something else during the week. It's my birthday today and at my age (80,ouch!!) I'm not interested in what this city has to offer.
ReplyDeleteC a p, here’s to a fabulous trip around the sun! Here’s to many more.
DeleteHappy birthday, Boy named "Pseudonym."
DeleteLegoWhoPerhapsOughtToHaveWritten"HappyBirthdaySueperman"SinceYourPseudonymIsClark"
Happy Birthday! 45 miles due East of this city you may find a place more to your liking. Safe travels.
DeleteClark, Happy Birthday! I enjoy reading your posts. Superman is a good role to play I think. My daughter in law was the set designer on the Lois and Clark series. Did you ever watch it?
DeleteHoping the dawn of a new day will help me see the solution to this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteWell done.
DeleteOK! I think I got it. Now I can get out and golf, but unfortunately it is too hot here in the midwest.
DeleteMusical clue: America
ReplyDeleteAdd-on clue: Central America
DeleteLego,
ReplyDeleteYou got it. "Clark a pseudonym" is because I often wear Superman T shirts. That's because I firmly believe that part of retirement is to be as eccentric as you can. The other more important part is to reinvent yourself.
Also thanks to WW and Garry Rust for their good wishes
Clark Nym, does this mean your real name is Superman? Any additional wisdom from your four-score years here? This evening, what are your thoughts on kryp tonite (sic)?
DeleteSHEESH! Superman's real name is Kal-El. Why do we even let girls into this playhouse?!?!?!
DeleteGadzooks, eco! A quick primer on the Man of Steel, Codex, (not I)-Zod has me wondering about comic relief on this blog.
DeleteI still want to hear from our local Superman, though.
P.S. Kal-El? Isn't that a branch campus of the University of Kalifornia?
DeleteWill you settle for a SuperZee?
DeleteBEST NEWS OF THE DAY-
ReplyDeleteAll 12 boys and their coach have been rescued in Thailand.
Confirmed – Just the last few divers and a doctor still to exit, but otherwise the rescue operation is complete.
DeleteHooyah!
DeleteGreat news!!!! Glad they are all safe.
ReplyDeleteI still find this incredible. Don't think there is a professional FIFA team that would have to be taught how to dive.
The Thai cave news is purely lump-in-the-throat time.
ReplyDeleteReminds of the Peruvian miners, Apollo 13 and all the kids down wells since Kathy Fiscus.
Great about the kids and all without my help! Lois and I had stopped listening to the news for a while. So we missed one of the great feel good stories...drat!
ReplyDeleteOnce the kids were safe I kinda quit following the story. I'll be curious what the heck that coach was thinking in letting those kids go so far into the cave.
DeletePlus, there is that dark cloud over the whole thing knowing that one of the Seals died while helping out.
This is a fascinating article about the boys, several who are from Myanmar: Boys.
DeleteHere is an exerpt:
"It was Adul Sam-on, 14, the stateless descendant of a Wa ethnic tribal branch once known for headhunting, who played a critical role in the rescue, acting as interpreter for the British divers."
"Proficient in English, Thai, Burmese, Mandarin and Wa, Adul politely communicated to the British divers his squad’s greatest needs: food and clarity on just how long they had stayed alive."
The Onion has a picture of a grimy kid in front of the cave with the headline "THAI SOCCER PLAYER STILL WAITING FOR PARENTS TO PICK HIM UP".
DeleteAnd while you're there at the Onion be sure to also check out the video just below the photo:
DeleteHow To Get Your Picky Toddler To Finish All Of Their Foie Gras
"Coach Ake (Ekkapol Ake Chantawong) - 25 years old, kept the incredibly brave and resilient young soccer players safe inside the cave. Here's a bit about him: He lost his entire family when he was just 10 yrs old. He became a Buddhist monk, and was raised in the monastery; he now devotes his life to young people and to the boys he coaches.
DeleteInside the cave he taught the boys to meditate in order to stay calm and to conserve their energy; he helped them to keep their spirits up and he refused food - instead giving the boys his rations.
After the rescue, he was in the worst shape of the group and he was the last one rescued out.
His aunt says that she knows he is probably blaming himself. The parents of the trapped boys say “We will heal his heart”."
I can't blame the coach. Although the reports vary widely and wildly, it seems pretty much a tourist cave, not a spelunking cave, at least when it's dry. Their bicycles were found about halfway in, couldn't be that hard to move about.
DeleteI read that it's a right of passage for boys to scratch their names in one of the chambers. Boys will be boys - sheesh, why do we even let them into this playhouse?
There are signs at the entry warning about the weather from July to September (they entered June 23rd). Apparently the coach checked in with the park rangers before they entered, who should have been aware of weather forecasts. Though I also read that Thai's don't obsess about the weather like we do.
Rather than find fault, I'd rather think of this as one of those accidents when nature does things different than our expectations. And yes, the coach deserves a lot of credit for their survival that WW notes.
Maybe it's a matter of different cultures. As a parent or as head of an institution for kids, I would want to know where those kids are at all times. Especially if they are going a mile or two inside a mountain cave!
DeleteBy cultures, I just mean between the USA and Thailand!
DeleteI disagree. To me it seems like when I grew up here in Seattle. Parents were not over protective then and it was a much better way to grow up, not being afraid of everything like kids are trained to be now.
DeleteWhen I would come home, after being out all day, my mother would usually ask me where I had been and what I had done. I was always able to respond articulately to both questions with a single word answer. To question #1: "Out." To question #2: "Nothing."
I think it is a great shame that Charles Manson had to die before Trump could pardon him.
ReplyDeleteDonald could always pardon Charley posthumously. He did so with Jack Johnson. Don't know how pardoning Manson would appeal to Trump's need for self aggrandizement though.
DeleteIt looks like a whole bunch of people, young and old, comported themselves admirably, before and during the rescue.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to the stories as they come out.
Read this article and then watch the video to get a very different perspective on how the rescue was actually performed.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.vox.com/2018/7/11/17561932/thai-cave-rescue-boys-stretcher
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DeleteThis story is also interesting, but the one I posted a link to above is better. I suggest reading both as they are very different.
Deletehttps://www.cnn.com/2018/07/11/asia/thai-cave-rescue-full-story-intl/index.html
SDB: Tks for sharing articles. I never would have known about the sedation.
DeleteNatasha:
DeleteIt is called the Sedation Act.
I am glad no one consulted Prime Minister Theresa May on how to rescue the Thai boys from the cave. She still can't seem to figure out how to get out of the EU via Brexit. (Not that I want them out of the EU)
ReplyDeleteSort of like the lifeguard training i went through 60 years ago when we were taught that we might have to knock out (i.e. slug in the jaw) swimmers in trouble who were struggling.
ReplyDeleteNow I want to hear the story of how the decision was made to knock 'em out and who made it.
Should be interesting this afternoon as to the number of cities and small towns that fit the pattern in the three states that also fit the pattern. Would not be surprised to see over a dozen.
ReplyDeleteWill did say: "Can you name a MAJOR CITY and state that both have this property?" So I would assume he won't accept or mention small towns some of us come up with.
The sedation/stretcher technique is not getting much play in the main stream media.
ReplyDeletemy local paper's AP summary mentions only "guide" as to how the boys were extracted.
Still looking forward to future revelations.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
ReplyDeleteAlternate municipalities that do not meet all the puzzle parameters are:
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
MAINE, NEW YORK
PARIS, MAINE
"PVC" is Peach Valley Cafe in ORLANDO, FL.
Add-on clue: Central America refers to Central Florida University, located in ORLANDO.
I forgot this one: The embedded “Boys” link about the Thai rescue was a reference to Orlando de Boys from As You Like It.
DeleteFlorida & Orlando
ReplyDeleteOR LA ND O, FL OR ID A
ReplyDeleteWS certainly has a funny character! He kids.: WS (the PM) refers to William Shakespeare, the Play Maker; Orlando is the lead male and younger brother in As You Like It, as Blaine noted.
Is the city part of a different state?: Orlando was also a novel by Virginia Woolf.
I have two answers.
ReplyDeleteOrlando, Florida → Or La Nd (o) Fl Or Id (a) Is a major city.
Casco, Maine → Ca Sc (o) Ma In (e) Pop. 3742.
I also posted: “Am trundling off to bed. Have to be up BEFORE DAWN. Heading for the PHARMACY and a meeting with THE GOOD DOCTOR. Wish me luck.
Mort
Tony ORLANDO was a 70 pop singer with his backup singers Dawn. The group was known as Tony Orlando and Dawn, therefore Orlando was before dawn.
Tour De Pharmacy and The Good Doctor were two movies staring ORLANDO Bloom.
In terms of its fame if not its size, I'd say Scarsdale, New York is nearly major.
ReplyDeleteAnd just 10 miles from Will's Westchester Table Tennis Center.
DeleteYes, Scarsdale ought to garner an HM, at least.
DeleteMy hints were Dawn, as in Tony Orlando and Dawn, see(sea) water surrounding Fl, golf(gulf) as in Gulf of Mexico, Fl. western border, and hot, as in Fl. being in the tropic zone.
ReplyDeleteWhat about SCARSDALE NEW YORK
ReplyDeleteORLANDO, FLORIDA , or COCOA, FLORIDA
ReplyDelete> VW
Virginia Woolf wrote Orlando
My clues -
ReplyDelete“A little trickery “ was reference to Orlando Magic.
“Tony award for Will” was reference to Tony Orlando.
Great clue, Snipper.
DeleteOR LA ND O, FL OR ID A
ReplyDeleteMy watch comment, was intended as a reference to a Mickey Mouse watch, with its Disney and Orlando associations. To avoid what wold have been a well earned, "Blaining," I refrained from characterizing this puzzle as, "Mickey Mouse."
An alternate answer - that is as far from being a major city as you can get, Denmark, New York, 2016 population 2844
“¡Por favor manténgase alejado de las puertas!” is the Spanish announcement on the Walt Disney World monorails, following the English Please stand clear of the doors!
ReplyDelete1. FL OR ID A (-A)→ OR LA ND O (-O).
ReplyDelete2. NE WY OR K (-K) →
SC AR SD AL E (-E).
3. MA IN E (-E) →
CA SC O (-O).
I had these, plus some more. I submitted Orlando and Scarsdale.
DeleteI had 3 cities, 10 towns, and 1 village.
ReplyDeleteFL OR ID A: OR LA ND O, CO CO A, both cities. MA RI NE LA ND, a town with 5 postal code pairs is pretty cool, but doesn't remove leave an extra letter.
MA IN E: CA SC O, PA RI S, LA MO IN E, DE NM AR K - all are towns, not cities
NE WY OR K: NE WY OR K, the city which violates the rules. AL DE N, CO NC OR D, DE NM AR K, MI LA N, PA RI S, SC AR SD AL E, all towns. FL OR ID A (a village)
There is a well known signpost in Maine listing distances to a
ReplyDeletenine locations, all in Maine, including Norway, Paris, Denmark, Naples,Sweden, Poland, Mexico, Peru and China.
While Maine is a major state, none of these are major cities.......
So I submitted Paris, Maine (PA RI S, MA IN E), as a possible answer.
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
DeleteEKW, I like your different thinking on the majorness of the city.
WARNING!
ReplyDeleteTomorrow is Friday the 13th!
Do not venture out. Stay home from work. Do not go spelunking.
Average number of people who explore caves per year: 2,000,000
DeleteAverage number of deaths in cave exploration per year: 3
Likelihood of death from exploring a cave: 1:666,667
Number of skydive jumps in 2017: 3,200,000
Number of fatal skydiving accidents: 24
Likelihood of death from skydiving: 1:133,571
5 times more likely to die skydiving.
Survived!!!!
DeleteThis surprising as I thought you were for sure a dead duck.
DeleteWhy can't I be both???
DeleteThis is an excellent summary of the Thai rescue with new details, well-crafted diagrams and video clips, and a cohesive look at so many threads of the story.
ReplyDeleteThe flexible plastic cocoons or "Skeds" were key to keeping the boys and coach swaddled and safe through all the narrow, water-filled chambers. Just incredible.
Delete"Thailand’s new king donated supplies."
DeleteGood of him.
Still fudging on "sedation."
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
ReplyDelete(Oregon, Louisiana, North Dakota; Florida, Oregon, Idaho)
Eric Clapton had a song called "Mainline Florida" on his 1974 album "461 Ocean Boulevard".
My comment using the words "mundane" and "usual" referred to the Universal Theme Park in Orlando. Both words are synonyms for "universal".
Now that, my friends, is a hint that would never be removed by a blog administrator!
DeleteLegoWhoIsAboutAsMundaneAndUsualAsTheyGetAndWhoIsAlsoMuchLessFunThanOrlando'sUniversalThemePark(EvenThoughHeIsProudOfThisWeek'sJustNowUploadedPuzzleria!WhichReallyIs"LotsOfFun"AsWillShortzHimselfOnceSaidOverNationalPublicRadio!Whew!)
(I did get this puzzle)
ReplyDeleteAnd, BTW, did you know that there is a Florida, New York? It's not a city, I believe it's termed a village, but it fits... not that most people have heard of it...but it's in my area. Not that WS may have heard of it...
This may be the most revealing cave rescue story yet, from the Washington Post:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/time-is-running-out-inside-the-treacherous-rescue-of-boys-trapped-in-thai-cave/2018/07/13/df335afe-8614-11e8-8f6c-46cb43e3f306_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e41786bffefa
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DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe most worrisome thing about the sedation story is the variation in accounts of the strength of the effects.
ReplyDeleteThey run from mild anti-anxiety to full unconsciousness.
It looks like ketamine was the drug used and it may have been a reasonable choice.
Maybe Jan can weigh in.
Jan never steps on a scale in public.
Deletejan, Was it always that way, or did you just scale back?
DeleteNext week's challenge: This week's challenge comes from Sandy Weisz of Chicago, who's also attending the National Puzzlers' League convention in Milwaukee this weekend. Name a famous person from Chicago — first and last names. The last name ends in an E. Change the E to an I and rearrange the letters in just the last name to get a famous actor — whose first name is the same as the first person's. Who are these people?
ReplyDeletePuzzles this easy should be illegal.
ReplyDeleteIs this supposed to really be a puzzle?
ReplyDeleteSeriously? Another anagram puzzle?
ReplyDeleteAs the first dealer of the Society To Relimquish Anagram Puzzles I am embarrassed to admit I had the answer before he finished asking the question.
Well, at least the Anagram Solvers on the 'net won't help with this one.
ReplyDeleteI see what you did there.
DeleteWill Shortz mentioned SCARSDALE, NEW YORK as being longer than his intended answer, but that he didn't consider SCARSDALE a "major city" so he didn't accept it.
ReplyDeleteWW and I hoped that solution would get an HM, though Shortz never mentioned length as a qualification.
Delete