Sunday, February 17, 2019

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 17, 2019): One Dozen Four-Score Million

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 17, 2019): One Dozen Four-Score Million:
Q: The numbers one, 12, 80, and million have something in common that only one other number has. What is it... and what's the other number
I'm presently stumped, but I'll eventually get to the root of this.
A: The numbers appear in the Best Picture Oscar-winning movies One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (or It Happened One Night), 12 Years a Slave, Around the World in 80 Days, and Million Dollar Baby. The only other number to appear in a Oscar-winning film title is the Roman numeral "II" in The Godfather Part II.

144 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.

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  2. I have an answer that I'm mostly happy with. But not entirely.

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  3. I am very stumped with this numbers one, but I actually was the winner last week, (after 8 years of playing), so I will accept the defeat.

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    Replies
    1. Congrats, piccolina! Great work on air!

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    2. You did very well. I particularly loved hearing you brain working on "guarantee". I was following your cadence exactly as you were pulling out the consonants, G — R — N - T - Grant!

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    3. Yes, piccolina, you did very well with a pretty tough on-air challenge. Don't give up too soon on this week's "number challenge," however. It looks as if the number of correct entries will be low; and thus you may have a shot at playing on-air on back-to-back Sundays!
      ...and, in doing so, incur the wrath of the great unwashed masses who have never "gotten the call."

      LegoWhoIsUnwashedAndWhoSeldomAttendsSundayMasses

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    4. thanks, guys!! I'll be back in another
      8 years.....

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    5. That's optimistic, piccolina. I was on-air in January, 1998. Still waiting for my second call. And I echo the congrats on how terrific you sounded this morning.

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    6. Congratulations indeed. I was hoping WS would use eatery mop.

      But he didn't.

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    7. Congrats from this fellow Medford resident!

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    8. Thanks, you guys are so nice.

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    9. piccolina, that may be the first time that has been said here. ;-)

      Yes, congrats on your Plethora of Presidential Puzzle Punditry.

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    10. The answer just came to me. Have winners from the same city ever been selected in consecutive weeks?

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    11. That's so cool that you were last week's winner, piccolina. I actually won a few weeks before that with the Billy Joel answer ("Piano Man"). Wow, I was sooooo nervous and clearly didn't understand the instructions when I played the on-the-air puzzle. I winged it up until I got stumped on the Sara Lee answer. Too embarrassed to stop Will and ask for clarification. Anyway, live and learn. My heart was beating outside my chest. This is my commemorative post about achieving my bucket list item - https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10161904874630131&substory_index=0&id=682135130

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  4. This puzzle reminds me of my uncle.

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  5. Number puzzle? I pass right away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But is it a number puzzle? I have no idea.

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    2. “Reading? Well, I can’t read!”

      ^^^ I said this more than once to the parents of kids in my daughter’s elementary school math club when they would tell me “I can’t do math.”

      . . .

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  6. Also, is it million or 1 million, or does it matter? It says million here, and 1 million on the npr site.

    Flashbacks to his and her puzzle...

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    Replies
    1. Brisco, if you are flashing back to the (in)famous "Upside-down digital clock" puzzle from five years ago, this week's puzzle is not quite that devious.
      For what it's worth, on the audio transcript of this morning's NPR puzzle, Will clearly says "...the numbers are one, twelve, eighty and million..."
      No "one" said in front of the word "million" (although "one" does appear in the puzzle text on the NPR web page just above the "Submit Your Answer" link).

      LegoWhoLikesThisPuzzle

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    2. Hey Lego,

      Yep, that's the one.

      Okay, so minimal deviance. Got it. :)

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    3. There was another devious puzzle...this one isn't devious, involves some thinking.

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    4. Eliminating the 1 from the 1 million will not, in all likelihood, help you find the solution, but it will help confirm the answer when you find it.

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  7. Got it! No mathematics involved. -Lorenzo.

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  8. The solution could be 1000, but it isn't.

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  9. This has to be one of the cutest puzzles I’ve seen in a while. Whoever created it deserves a prize.

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  10. "one + twelve" anagrams to "two + eleven."

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    Replies
    1. And "eighty + million" anagrams to "golem nihility."

      LegoLambdaWhichAnagramsToGoldaMelba

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    2. And "thirteen + eighty" anagrams to "eighteen + thirty."

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. I think Ron's point is that also numerically 1 + 12 = 2 + 11 whereas 13 + 80 does not equal 18 + 30

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  11. I've been on two times, 14 years apart. If I run true to form, I will be 91 the next time I win.

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  12. All I can say so far is that Will seems to have defeated mn 2 weeks in a row.

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  13. We got it. My afternoon nap helped.

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  14. The 1 in front of "million" no longer appears on the NPR Website.

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    Replies
    1. I see that one and million are spelled out and the other numbers are numerals. May I ask if there is any significance to that?

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    2. Yes, you may ask.

      And the answer is yes.

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. Charles, not sure where you see the 'one' spelled out, except on Blaine's version here. All we have is the audio from Sunday, and the transcript from the audio that prints it as '1'.

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    5. hmmm, I see that....but the transcript shows "1"....is that "one" important???

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    6. Every one is important. After some missteps on the website, they are very deliberate in their phrasing.

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  15. Replies
    1. In WaPo comments last week:

      TRUMP: Who's gonna pay for my beautiful wall?

      TRUMP SUPPORTERS: Mexico!

      Mexic

      Mexi

      Mex

      Me?

      Delete
  16. hmmm...stumped so far. But "million" isn't a number. One million is a number, two million is a number....

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  17. I find some redundancy with two of the provided numbers.

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    Replies
    1. Anyway, now that I've finally solved it, I think I'll head to bed.

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  18. I'm looking at Blaine's little "number words" graphic and I see that 40 is spelled "fourty." OMG! I've been spelling it "forty" my entire life. I feel so stupid. Lucky for me none of my teachers ever busted me for my egregious error.

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    Replies
    1. I pride myself on not having mistakes like that. I hadn't noticed it previously, but I've made the 'u' disappear -- just for you. :)

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    2. Oh great! Now I've noticed that 19 and 90 are spelled as 'ninteen' and 'ninty'

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    3. Blaine, you must be an NIN fan, obviously.

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    4. Blaine,
      Now you really are getting down to the ninty-grinty.

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    5. I have type O blood, and am still here.

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    6. I hope that was not a snarky attempt to denigrate NIN fans, WW.
      (By the way, if anyone reading this happens to be a NIN fan, "denigrate" means, "put down.")

      Delete
    7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    8. I should also ask, in what vein are you referring to?

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    9. In a vain hope that you are not, O, negative.

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    10. I only came here hoping to score some peanut butter cups.

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  19. If you rotate a clock face at exactly eighty or million o'clock and squint at the hands, they appear to form the Roman numeral "C."

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  20. Solving this feels like quite an achievement.

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  21. After solving this, I told myself, "I'm smaht."

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  22. I just learned we are now experiencing another food crisis in this country. It seems many juveniles are suffering from mall nutrition.

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  23. Ooh, I did finally solve this. Funny thing is, I figured it out by being wrong.

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  24. Some here may enjoy Car Talk's Puzzler for this week. It will be extremely easy to solve for some, and a bore for others perhaps.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm looking forward to your solution.

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    2. I think this Puzzler is bogus.

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    3. jan, I just called a gun shop to check and see if it is bogus. Sometimes Car Talk puzzles are bogus. The owner of the store informed me it is valid and not a bogus puzzle.

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    4. The Japanese Type 92 7.7 mm machine gun entered service in 1932, over 9 years before war with the U.S. The Type 99 7.7 mm rifle entered service in 1939, 2 years before Pearl Harbor. The answer Click and Clack are going for played no role in their design. Ask your gun store friend if what the Car Talk boys are suggesting is practical, not just possible. I've read some gun forums online that say no.

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    5. jan,
      I phoned the gun store and asked the guy who answered. He said he didn't know, but there was someone there who would. I explained it again to the second guy who knew right away what I was talking about and then went on further and told me some specifics and timelines during the war. I was impressed with his detailed knowledge on this subject.

      Pinto's Gun Shop
      224 Wells Ave S.
      Renton, WA 98057
      (425) 227-9280
      Tuesday 10AM–6PM

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    6. I have an answer, but I don't want to steal anyone's fire.

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    7. I think any disagreement with the puzzle question focuses on the "why did they do this," rather than did they do this. I doubt anyone today, so long after the war, can truly know the exact motivation(s) involved. To me the more important aspect to the puzzle is simply did they do this and did it account for the result the puzzle is after. Yes, they did do it, and yes, it did work that way. Their actual motivations may not have exactly coincided, but who can say for sure?

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    8. The answer will be automatically posted @ 9pm PST Friday.

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    9. Will it be the same as yours?

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    10. That should be obvious.
      How is this answer that Car Talk posted four years ago?

      "RAY: And the Puzzler question very simply is: Why did they do that? Of all the calibers out there, why did they make a 31-caliber rifle? Well, one part of it, I think, is pretty obvious. And that is, if they had to vacate a position and their ammunition were captured, it would be unusable to the Americans. What hap? Too big! It doesn't fit in the rifle!

      TOM: That's right. It would stick.

      RAY: But the other part of it isn't so obvious. If the reverse happened--that is, if we...if the Japanese captured our ammunition, the smaller-caliber bullet would fit in their rifles, and they would be able to use our bullets to fire on us."

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    11. Well, if you refuse to pretend that Car Talk Puzzlers aren't all reruns...

      Yeah, that's my point. The Japanese developed weapons of this caliber long before they were facing the U.S. as an enemy. Also, you can't just throw sub-caliber ammunition into a rifle and expect it to perform well. (Some gun forums included descriptions of the kind of machining of the rifle receiver you need to do if you want to do so.) I'd like to see some documentation that the Puzzler scenario was actually considered at the time by the Japanese weapons designers.

      Delete
    12. They foisted off that glib and incorrect answer then and if Ray or whoever is in charge now ignored the storm of comments (including mine) they got, will
      probably do it again.
      I liked the radio show and still like the newspaper pieces and the website, but stopped taking them seriously a long time back.

      Delete
  25. Well, I still don't know the answer to this one. I guess I'll just wait until Thursday...

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  26. Got it! Think I'll treat myself to a pizza.

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  27. Anyone else notice that "million" is not a number?

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    Replies
    1. I think many of us noticed that. Also I would say you should all be on notice to this fact.

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  28. Once you get the answer, the reason for writing the question as it was becomes very clear. It should not be too hard to get unless you live in a bubble.

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    Replies
    1. I'm afraid this puzzle has my number...
      Looking forward to Thursday!

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    2. 68C,
      I suggest you take that crummy car you love so much and head down that bumpy road you must be familiar with and thereby arrive at the answer.

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    3. SDB, who pulled your string??

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    4. 68C,
      As to the car, I sold them for 4 months in 1969, and cannot understand how anyone could love such a piece of junk. That being said, I am providing you with a hint that is applicable to your situation.

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    5. Thanks for the clue but that's the kind of help I can do without.

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    6. An amazing study of a 1968 Charger R/T. And perhaps something you can do with.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vNvc9n1ikI

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    7. That's the gold standard of car chase scenes!

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    8. The 1969 original "The Italian Job" movie with Michael Caine has my favorite car chase. You can watch it here:


      The Italian Job (Car Chase-Mini Coopers) - YouTube
      YouTube‎ · ‎Nihal Milroy De Silva

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    9. That chase from "The Italian Job" was good but I still like the one from "Bullitt" the best, mostly for it's intensity and high performance cars.
      A lot of people talk about "The French Connection" but that seems to be more of a car vs elevated subway to me.
      Another good one I came across a little while ago was the 1990 "Short Time".
      There's even that web site that ranks the best movie car chases.

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  29. Still stumped........Is the answer the kind of thing that will make us wonder why we didn't see it?....One of those 'doh' moments???

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    Replies
    1. Puzzle veterans (like most of Blaine's posters) probably have an edge in solving this one, because they are aware of the miscellaneous things that Will takes into account when preparing his puzzles. I regret not thinking of that at first, as I should have solved this one more quickly.

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    2. This puzzle veteran is still stumped.

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    3. When I saw "Four Score" in the puzzle's title, I turned to the Gettysburg address, but that was a dead end that led me to the eventual solution.

      Delete
  30. Earlier today (OK, yesterday then) while shopping at a local Goodwill store I ran across a beautiful wooden boomerang they were only asking $3 for, so I took it up to the cashier and asked what the return policy was on this item. She informed me it was seven days as with almost everything in the store. I replied that it was too long and walked out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. skydiveboy's dream:
      skydiveboy: What is your return policy on this item?
      Cassie the Cashier If it doesn't return to you within about ten seconds you can return it to us for a full refund. Be sure to save your receipt.
      skydiveboy: What do you mean "return it to you!" How can I return it to you if it doesn't return to me?
      Cassie the Cashier: That is a good point, sir. But here's an idea: why not pay for the boomerang with 300 bad pennies. Sure, your boomerang may not turn up after you fling it, but all 300 of those bad pennies will find their way back to you. They will turn back up! That way you won't be out any money.
      skydiveboy: But I don't want my 300 bad pennies back; I want my bargain three-buck boomerang back!
      Cassie the Cashier Okay, sir. Look at it this way then. Just like a bad penny that comes back to you, a bad boomerang will also come back to you. If the boomerang comes back to you, that just means it was a bad boomerang. You don't want to to buy a bad boomerang, do you? You want to buy a good boomerang... one that does not come back!
      skydiveboy: Thank you, Ma-am. I won't be back.

      LegoWhoOnSecondThoughtThinksThisScenarioIsNotskydiveboy'sDreamButRatherHisNightmare!

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    2. The noise you just heard was my head exploding.

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    3. SDB, I found your story to be delicious. Perhaps you would enjoy this bit of conceptual art by a dear acquaintance of mine -

      https://www.lenkaclayton.com/work/#/boomerang-sent-to-australia-and-back-again/

      Delete
    4. hodiau016,
      I love it! I hope it will included in the Guinness Book of World Records as being the longest boomerang flight to date.

      Delete
  31. I think a 'doh' moment is probable, but not certain.

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  32. Each number is part of the title of an Academy Award Oscar for Best Picture.

    "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
    "The Godfather Part II"
    “12 Years a Slave"
    "Around the World in 80 Days"
    "Million Dollar Baby"

    My Hint:

    “I suggest you take that crummy car you love so much and head down that bumpy road you must be familiar with and thereby arrive at the answer.”

    I didn’t expect that it would cause a commotion. No insult intended. These cars were very poorly constructed and rattled even when at idle. The doors did not fit, and the suspension and steering was awful. I thought they were like a tin bread box with a big engine. Kansas is the place one thinks of the Yellow Brick Road. Brick roads are not exactly smooth, so the combination of that car on that road might lead one to think of the Wizard of Oz movie, and therefore the Oscars. I think my hint failed; oh darn.

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    Replies
    1. I thought you were quoting Bette Davis from All About Eve (1950 Oscar winner), where she said "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride”.

      Delete
    2. Except I misquoted. But it's the thought that counts.

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  33. These numbers appear in the titles of Best Picture Oscar winners.
    The awards show airs this coming Sunday.

    The only other winner with a number in its title is
    "The Godfather Part II"

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  34. One, 12, 80 and million all appear in the titles of Academy Awards Best Pictures:
    One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1976)
    12 Years a Slave (2014)
    Around the World in 80 Days (1957)
    Million Dollar Baby (2005)

    The other Best Picture Award winner with a number in the title is The Godfather – Part II (1975).

    I was originally tempted to post, “The creator of this puzzle deserves an award,” but was concerned that would earn me a, “Removed by Administrator,” so I decided to post that, “The creator of this puzzle deserves a prize.”

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  35. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  36. Late as usual, watching the Oakland teachers strike while trying to submit a permit.

    All of the numbers appear in the title of an Academy Award Best Picture Winner:

    One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and It Happened One Night
    12 Years a Slave The solution came thinking about Twelve Angry Men, but that didn't win the Oscar. Others do the same?
    Around the World in 80 Days
    Million Dollar Baby, or Slumdog Millionaire

    So the answer is Two, as in The Godfather Part II

    I noted thousand as a potential answer, Grand Hotel, the 1931/32 winner.
    There was another devious puzzle - the TWO WS/ The Wolf of Wall Street puzzle stumped most of us; involves some thinking I almost added "outside of the box", as in TV, the idiot box. But thought that might be a giveaway.

    I have an answer that I'm mostly happy with There have been many winners that I don't think were the best choices. My personal grousing:

    How Green Was My Valley was chosen over Citizen Kane?
    How did The Greatest Show on Earth beat High Noon? And I'm not a western fan.
    The silly Around the World in 80 Days was hardly a great movie.
    Oliver! was better than 2001: A Space Odyssey (not even nominated)? I can't feel it!
    Kramer vs. Kramer over Apocalypse Now?
    Raging Bull was much better than Ordinary People
    Chariots of Fire? Meh!
    Dances With Wolves was mediocre, Goodfellas was much better
    I never liked Titanic, way over the top.

    There are many more on my list.

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    Replies
    1. HOw Green Was My Valley was a great film. As was The Greatest Show on Earth and Kramer Vs Kramer. Apocalypse now I'm in accord about Oliver! I also say meh to Chariots of Fire. Dances with Wolves I don't care for Goodfellas either though. Tit-anic meh as well. Raging bull was not that great--too much testosterone. I loved Ordinary People. It was a good story.

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    2. My error that got me to the right place was Twelve Angry Men, which was nominated but didn't win.

      Delete
  37. I am glad this puzzle will soon be Gone with the Wind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Her (2013) Awful Truth (1937): the Deliverance (1972) and Arrival (2016) of an Alibi (1928/29) in The Post (2017) is Lost in Translation (2003). The Conversation (1974) is Missing (1982) Atonement (2007) and Tender Mercies (1983) for the Bad Girl (1931/32)/ Funny Girl (1968).

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    2. I am sad to hear Peter Tork is gone with the wind. He was my favorite Monkee. Hey, hey, we’re the Monkees. . .I trust you are monkeying around still, P.T.

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  38. Had never occurred to me, but I wish it had.

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  39. I gave up on Monday trying to solve this. Just as well, time and energy was Lost last Weekend. Still, it Stings. We have a pool at work for the Oscars, maybe I'll win that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Liz,
      I don't understand. Why would you store your Oscars in a pool?

      Delete
  40. I was still clueless, deeply mired in the number/wordplay weeds, when I posted my facetious comment about the clock hands forming the Roman numeral C. After the solution came to me later that day, and I realized that the "other number" was actually a Roman numeral, I regretted my heavy-handed (but inadvertent) clue. I would have deleted it, but since Blaine had already let it ride, I figured I'd leave it. By the way, did you know before this puzzle that "million" begins with the Roman numeral for its own square root? Me neither.

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  41. And, technically, Slumdog Millionaire has Million in it, also.

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  42. I think we all knew Nike has no heart. Now we know they have no sole either.

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  43. There is a stink of monumental proportions in the Catholic Church, and it is not coming from the pew.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Mendo Jim's NATO Alphabet challenge from a fortnight ago inspired me to do my own NovemberAlphaTangoOscar puzzle. It appears at the top of today's Joseph Young's Puzzleria! (see Blaine's PUZZLE LINKS).

    LegoThanksMendoJimForTheIdea

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  45. Replies
    1. Didn't the woman drop her lawsuit?

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    2. She did, though the rumor is she did after she/ her family received threats....

      Significance in all of this is Judge Marra's ruling that Alexander Acosta (now Labor Secretary) violated the law as US District Attorney in the related prosecution of Jeffrey "he likes them young" Epstein. Acosta did not inform victims of the planned plea deal - 13 months in a private prison wing, and Epstein could leave the prison for 12 hours a day 6 days a week. This for a guy who raped >80 underage girls, according to the FBI investigation ....

      Epstein was known for his parties, with luminaries including Trump and Bill Clinton.

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    3. I omitted part: the original deal with Epstein said no prosecution and no reveal of his "friends" at the parties. Be interesting to see if that can get opened up; I hope a lot of sweaty pigs are sweating over this.

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    4. WOW! I didn't know it was that serious. I need to see if I can locate where I put my old appointment books.

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    5. Yeah, even though the Bible condones it, maybe some will take it more seriously than TRE45ON.

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    6. Hmmmm. I wonder if Michael Cohen, DJT’s consiglieri, paid her off...and is now singing. It might explain the timing of Judge Marra’s ruling.

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    7. Yes, and I understand Judge Marra's ruling was received with rape reviews.

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  46. This week's challenge: This challenge comes from listener Roger Barkan of Savage, Md. I'm thinking of a well-known U.S. natural landmark. Take the two-word name of its location. Then change the first letter of the second word to the immediately previous letter of the alphabet, and you'll get another description of the landmark's location. What's the landmark, and what are the two descriptions of its location?

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  47. I glad I'm not stuck this week!

    ReplyDelete
  48. About 170 responses last week.

    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.