Sunday, March 03, 2024

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 3, 2024): Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 3, 2024): Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All
Q: Take the last name of a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Remove the middle three letters and duplicate the last two letters to get the first name of a different Nobel Peace Prize winner. What are those two names?
I gave a major clue to this week's puzzle previously.

Edit: Last week's post had an image of "I Dream of Jeannie" and Major Nelson
A: Nelson MANDELA --> MALALA Yousafzai

148 comments:

  1. Change the first letter of the first name of the second recipient to the preceding letter of the alphabet. You will get a tuneful refrain or a tribute to a US city.

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    1. Or a country, for that matter, though which one apparently is a matter of some disagreement.

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  2. I have it, but I needed a list of Nobel Prize winners...

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    1. "Again" the word AGAIN is being used meaning "to repeat" and not for "find a second answer."

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    2. "No matter what you say, or who commenced it, I'm against it "

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  3. Rearrange the even letters of the last name of the second person of the puzzle. You get a piece of furniture.

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  4. I thought Xmas was over for awhile.

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  5. About 600 correct entries last week.

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  6. Got it. But here's a spinoff: Take the name of another Nobel Prize winner, eliminate letters 1, 4, and 9, read the result backwards, and get one of today's answers.

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    1. Oops--"eliminate letters 1, 5, and 9..." Sorry about that.

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  7. This may be the first time I've gotten it before the broadcast.

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  8. I feel like it's more of a word search puzzle.. something that would appear on a placemat at a diner

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  9. Mirror, mirror, on the wall...easiest puzzle of them all

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  10. The program this morning included an audio message from Will, whose voice sounded strained, explaining his absence from the show.

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    1. It was heartbreaking to hear him in that condition.

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    2. prayers for Will.
      LegoSincerely

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    3. Sending Will healing thoughts. I actually thought he sounded pretty good, considering his stroke just a month ago.

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    4. Unfortunately, the AI guru confirms that a person who has had a stroke is at a higher risk of having another one in the future. Nothing for it but to enjoy the present.

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  11. I posted my hint two days ago on another blog.

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    1. https://puzzleria.blogspot.com/2024/02/where-heck-are-we-pearamount.html?showComment=1709341766468#c8041562002830565451

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  12. I didn't find this easy -- but then, I didn't consult a list. (No doubt some NPR listeners are familiar enough with both names to find it easy without a list!)

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  13. Got it. Hope Will gets well soon.

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    1. Take the first name of the first recipient. Add a word before the name to get a movie that was released during the second recipient's lifetime.

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    2. Add the word Half before Nelson, to get the movie Half Nelson.

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  14. The 2-letter subsets of the dropped three letters have an interesting property. I agree that there will be lots of correct answers this week, and I join in the prayers for Will.

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    1. I think I know what you mean. I had seen a property like you describe, but could not think of a way to state it without it being TMI.

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    2. There's a common 4-letter word in which all six of the 2-letter subsets have the same interesting property. It might be unique. I thought that finding the word might have made for a good challenge, but Will apparently did not agree.

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    3. I think I’ve got the 4-letter word . If A=1, etc., is the word’s total 36?

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    4. Hmm. My word's total is 40. Maybe the answer isn't unique! I should probably clarify that part of the interesting property is that no permutations are involved. That is to say, the three dropped letters in this week's puzzle would not really have the property if they appeared in any different order.

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    5. The property I’ve identified may be different from yours, but based on the way you’ve described it in the current WESUN puzzle, I think we’re talking about the same thing. But two of the six 2-letter subsets in my word do involve a “permutation,” so yours may be the more elegant solution.

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    6. I think I know the word you have in mind, Dr. K., and it's not very far from mine.

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  15. Obviously, this puzzle needs no clue. However, just for the heck – take four letters from the second name, add on four more letters and you got yourself a movie title.

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  16. So happy Will is better. I got it but I love this puzzle because it reminds me of the best of what human beings can be.i wish everyone peace in Blainesville.

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  17. Once you get the first half, it's easy to get the full answer.

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  18. A close friend's father got the Nobel Prize. She went to the ceremony. Very exciting.

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    1. A housemate of mine in College (and an absolutely wonderful, thoughtful, and humble person) won the Physics Nobel in 2001. He was only 40 yo at the time. Kind of crazy and humbling when we go back to college reunions and people ask "what are you up to these days?"

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    3. And he was only 34 when he did the work for which he was honored.

      For a funny, first-person account of attending the Nobel Prize ceremony as a guest (each laureate gets 40!), listen to The Princess and the Queen.

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    4. Herbert Simon was my friend's father. Nobel Prize for Economics. He worked on Artifical Intelligence also (Turing award).

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    5. Jan, Thanks for posting that wonderful account. My friend said she felt like a Princess at the ceremony.

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  19. The middle name of one of the people rhymes with the other person's first name.

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    1. Nelson Mandela's middle name is Rolihlahla, which rhymes with Malala.

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  20. Anyone need a clue?

    Didn't think so.

    Wishing healing to Will!

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  21. Thinking of Will and wishing him speedy recovery.

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  22. So few Nobel Peace Prize winners. So few Putin in the effort.

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  23. Did "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" have a ghost writer?

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    1. No. The author just went ahead on his own.

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    2. On a spirited horse, I assume.

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    3. Without a head, all he had left was an icky bod.

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    4. Well, he did tend to stick his neck out.

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    5. Lost not only his head, but his hat with the tassel.

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    6. That may be because something spooked his horse.

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  24. It's like you don't know the words and you are faking it.

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  25. It was good hearing Will's (recorded) voice this morning. Best wishes for his full recovery.

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  26. The two continents in which the countries of the winners is located are separated by a well known body of water.

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    1. Good clue. I always find it interesting how we delineate continents. The Americas are technically one long land mass, yet two continents. One could also say that Europe, Asia, and Africa are a single land mass divided into three continents. No point to this other than my own ramblings about how we divide up our world…

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  27. Too bad about Will. I wondered why he was out so long. I solved this one before I was about to consult a list of Nobel Peace Prize winners, oddly enough. Once again, the answers popped into my head, just like that.
    pjbIsGladToSeeOurBelovedPuzzleMasterIsFeelingBetterNow,ThoughHisVoiceDidSoundABitStrained

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  28. For info
    https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/will-shortz-stroke-new-york-times-crossword-editor-1235928785/

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  29. A nice enough puzzle—satisfying and effective!

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  30. Fairly easy, yet satisfying puzzle. My best wishes for Will's full recovery

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  31. For once (in a while), I got Blaine’s clue - shall I say: while eatin’ my daily breakfast. Interestingly, the first Nobel prize winner’s last name can be anagrammed to something that means quite the opposite of what they stand for.

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  32. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    2. I'm going to have to delete my if you keep adding details about which specific week's comments I was referring to.

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    3. Ouch. 0 for 2. I give up. (No clue here).

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  33. Remove the 4th and 5th letter from one of the winner's first name and replace them with one letter to name the child of another Nobel Peace Prize winner.

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  34. It was at least hopeful to hear Will in the last minute of the broadcast, even though he sounded weak. These days, a lot more is known to medical science, so a speedy and full recovery to Will.

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  35. There are numerous signs that you are now old. One of them is if you can remember back to a time when you had hope that our Supreme Court might rule on the side of reason, justice and common sense.

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    1. You don't have to be that old! Just 23 years ago, we didn't have any justices who were on the payroll of political operatives!

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    2. Really? What about Scalia and Thomas?

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    3. Uh.
      One disadvantage of advancing years is that you think 1991 was 23 years ago. (But I don't think Scalia took bribes.)
      Okay, 33 years ago.

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    4. He didn't die on a Boy Scout outing.

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    5. Well, even Kagan and Sotomayor concurred.

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    6. I agree with all your comments above, but I'm also personally aware that another sign of my age is the cynicism that is too easy to feel. I keep trying to keep it at bay, but I've seen too much.

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    7. Being realistic is so often confused with cynicism. We all have choices in life. One is to become involved in trying to improve things. Another is to pretend things will improve on their own— they won't. A third is to work to make things fall apart and fail. Doing nothing is to empower those in the latter group. We have the power to make things better, but not using our power is capitulation. Hitler could have easily been stopped, but wasn't because of a reluctance to do the responsible thing. The same thing is now happening worldwide with Trump, Putin, Netanyahu, Modi and so many others. But let's all just sit back and see how it all works out on its own; after all we don't want to be called cynical, do we?

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    8. Skydiveboy, you seem to be saying that if you'd been in Germany a hundred years ago, you would have done the responsible thing, and that Trump presents a similar threat here now. Yet, what are you doing about it?

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    9. Here's a topical puzzle, since that's our common language in Blainesville.

      Take one of the two likely candidates for President of the USA, last name only. Remove a common term for a referee. Add to the remaining letters a salutation used in Nazi Germany, then rearrange to get the name of a previous megalomaniacal dictator of that era. Anyone? Anyone?

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    11. Cute, but I'm sticking with Will Shortz's favorite, "CLINTON ELECTED / BOB DOLE ELECTED" crossword.

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    12. jan,
      How do you know I didn't? This is not my first rodeo. But as to today, I have always been deeply involved in politics and learning about history. I used to hold elective office; I used to march in protests; I used to lobby in Washington D.C. I still write letters and I talk to strangers and those I already know about what really matters. I am now somewhat limited in what I am still able to do due to age related problems, but even my post above is a step in the right (should that be left?) direction.

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    13. I guess the statement I'd take exception to would be, "We have the power to make things better." In 1940s Germany, the White Rose denounced the Nazi's crimes and oppression, called for resistance, denounced the persecution and mass murder of Jews. They paid with their lives. They didn't have the power to make things better. I doubt we do.

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    14. I am not being as specific as you are. How about France and England? Hitler could have been stopped early on, but wasn't. I tried to get our government to provide jet fighter planes to Ukraine, but even Pramila Jayapal shut me down on that one with a regurgitation of White House phony reasons for not doing so. But now that window has closed.

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    15. Hitler could have been stopped early on, if France and England could have been bothered to do so. But, they couldn't, so Hitler couldn't be stopped early on. The course of history isn't changed by reasoned argument and peaceful protest.

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    16. Why do you say "they couldn't"? You are wrong about that.

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    17. They couldn't be persuaded to act. Some tried and failed.

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    18. That does not mean "they couldn't." We are doomed to repeat our mistakes if we do not learn from them. Saying there is nothing we can do is defeatist, and exactly what people like Trump, etc. want us to do.

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    19. Hillary Clinton says "Accept the fact that Biden is old, and vote for him anyway." That is NOT a lot to get excited about. At least Trump LOOKS presidential.

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    20. No, he looks more like a sociopath.

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  36. We've have been in a recession economy for about a year. The only thing not at recession level is defense spending. Companies like Boeing, Raytheon and other defense manufacturers are doing great thanks to Mr. Green T and his Ukraine war which he is losing and we are funding. Putin would NOT have invaded Ukraine under Trump and you DAMN well better know it and realize it! And THANK GOD, if you have one, (by the way, mine was crucified, died and rose again on the third day) that our Supreme Court had the cojones (that means testicles, i.e, fortitude) to end Roe vs.Wade. I'm sorry, I've been pretending to be liberal cream puff too long just to fit in with people that I think are intellectuals. I'm sick of this wussy ass bullshit!

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  37. We've have been in a recession economy for about a year.
    Uhhhhh.
    Current-dollar GDP increased by 6.3% in 2023.

    Does FOX call that a recession?

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  38. (NELSON) MANDELA - NDE + LA = MALALA (YOUSAFZAI)


    "A Wild Hare" >>> Nelson Mandela attended The University of Fort Hare.

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  39. Nelson MANDELA (1993) Remove NDE and double LAMALALA Yousafzai (2014)

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  40. MANDELA (- NDE + LA)—> MALALA

    My spinoff puzzle: “Take the name of another Nobel Prize winner, eliminate letters 1, 5, and 9, read the result backwards, and get one of today’s answers.”
    DALAI LAMA - D, I, A —> MALALA

    I could perhaps have (more elegantly?) written “Take the full name of another Nobel Peace Prize winner, eliminate 3 letters—the first letter, the middle letter overall, and the last letter—read the result backwards, and get one of today’s answers.”

    As I’ve said, I’m ok at solving puzzles, but when it comes to puzzle construction, I’m still a bit of a beginner.

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    1. Next time I’ll have to remember to close the bold text, too.

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  41. b>Nelson Mandela/Malala Yousafzei

    Collective misremembering is referred to as the Mandela Effect, so called because of the large number of people who believed they had witnessed Nelson Mandela’s funeral years before his death. Visual examples include Mickey Mouse’s suspenders and the Monopoly man’s monocle – neither of which exists.

    Another example is, “Mirror, mirror on the wall…” The Queen in Snow White actually says, “Magic mirror on the wall.”

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  42. I wrote, “Rearrange the even letters of the last name of the second person of the puzzle. You get a piece of furniture.” That’s YOUSAFZAI ---> OSFA ---> SOFA.

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  43. [Nelson] MANDELA, MALALA [Yousafzai]

    > Born about 5400 miles apart.

    In Mvezo, Cape Province, South Africa, and Mingora, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan

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  44. This week's edition of Puzzleria! is pleased as punch to present "Puzzle Fun by Bobby Jacobs" on this week's edition. His three latest gems are a timely Oscar-worthy, "Hollywonderful"Academy Award-Winning Appetizer titled “Amazing Actors and Actresses.”
    We upload Puzzleria! sometime tonight before Midnight Pacific Standard Time.
    Also on our menus this week:
    * a Schpuzzle of the Week titled "Recreational diversions,"
    * a Fruity Hors d’Oeuvre titled “Indoor,outdoor, side-by-side?”
    * a "Tipsy" puzzle slice titled “Animatopoeia!”
    * an Automotive Dessert titled "Flower, grape, subtitle, school," and
    * a whole mess of riffs of this week's NPR puzzle, titled "Flower, grape, subtitle, school," (including six penned by our friend, Nodd.
    So, you are invited to come visit us for some "Bobbylicious Puzzle Fun."

    LegoDramatically&Cinematically

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    1. 💗🍀Looking forward to these fun puzzles!

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  45. MANDELA, MALALA, etc.

    When I wrote anyone need a clue?, the initials ANC are for Mandela's African National Congress Party.

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  46. NELSON MANDELA, MALALA YOUSAFZAI. My hint: Change the first letter of the first name of the second recipient to the preceding letter of the alphabet. You will get a tuneful refrain or a tribute to a US city. (LA LA LA)

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  47. Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai

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  48. Once again I forgot I had posted a hint:
    "I thought Xmas was over for awhile."
    Referring to:
    Deck the hall with boughs of holly, Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! 'Tis the season to be jolly: Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!

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  49. I noted that the dropped letters (NDE) have an interesting property: taken two at a time, the letters reading left to right, are all state abbreviations. (ND, DE, NE). I found a 4-letter word with the same property that might be unique: MIND. (MI, IN, ND, MN, ID, MD)

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    1. I came up with "mend," which, as you noted, was not not very far from yours. As I mentioned, two of the state abbreviations derived from "mend," NE and DE, required "permutations."

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    2. I had noticed the state abbreviations as well, but was having trouble coming up with a way to "state" that.

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  50. Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai

    Sorry – I was out this afternoon and totally forgot about the witching hour. Last Sunday I said, “Obviously, this puzzle needs no clue. However, just for the heck – take four letters from the second name, add on four more letters and you got yourself a movie title.” Referring to La La Land.

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  51. My comment: “For once (in a while), I got Blaine’s clue - shall I say: while eatin’ my daily breakfast.” - staying with Blaine’s I dream of Jeannie theme, “eatin’” was referring to Barbara Eden, who played Jeannie, and “daily” was referring to Bill Daily, who played Major Healey.
    “Interestingly, the first Nobel prize winner’s last name can be anagrammed to something that means quite the opposite of what they stand for.” - was referring to Mandela, which anagrams to “leadman” which according to Webster, can mean a worker in charge of other workers, which sounds in-Mandela-ish.

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  52. So, I was just reading about the accession of Sweden to NATO membership, and that got me reading about NATO, and that got me to NATO's motto (who knew they had one?), "Animus in consulendo liber", which translates as "A mind unfettered in deliberation", which sounds to me suspiciously similar to Tom and Ray Magliozzi's Car Talk motto, "Unencumbered by the thought process". That can't be right.

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  53. This was by far the best SOTU speech I have ever heard. I hoped it would be good; I suspected it would be good, but it far surpassed all of that and I am elated!

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    1. That with Trump we've gone from telling Russia what to do to telling them to do what the hell they want was just great. I only wished that in the spirit of bipartisanship he offered to name the immigration bill after his predecessor, knowing how he so much likes to have his name put on things.

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    3. I wonder who wrote the speech.

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  54. (Nelson)MANDELA, MALALA(Yousafzai)
    pjbWillBeHavingBadWeatherComingThroughHisHomeStateTomorrow,SoPleasePrayFor[AL]

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  55. If anyone is wondering why the Republican response to the State of the Union speech was filmed in the kitchen, it is because they were unable to get the cameraman into the bathroom. Remember, Republicans since the time of Nixon, are proud of their relations with plumbing. Plunge on dudes!

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    1. I thought she was barefoot and pregnant, and chained to the stove!

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    2. Well, at first I thought it was where she, being a Republican woman, belonged, but then I could also see that no one had ever even cooked an egg in that never used room.

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    3. I sure did not look like the kitchen had ever been used. I bet it was not in her home. So funny.

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    4. I know the daughter of one of the President's speech writers.

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    5. Yes, the kitchen may not have ever been used, but she sure was.

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    6. Couldn't they have provided her with an apron and a hair net?

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  56. At least we no longer have to worry that the U.S. government has been hiding evidence of alien contact, because now it says it checked and says it hasn't found any evidence of evidence hiding.

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    1. I looked at it, but did not attempt to actually read any of it. I do not trust the government on this subject. I think the truth may come out fairly soon. The report reminds me of Operation Mincemeat, which was a successful British deception operation of the Second World War to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily.

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    2. I see there were 2 movies about it, but I did not know that until just now. I read a book about it several years ago. Amazing story.

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  57. This week's challenge: Take a body part, and a letter at beginning and end to get another body part, then add another letter at beginning and end to get something designed to affect that body part.

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  58. Too easy. Waiting for Blaine now.

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  60. I think I have it. The third answer is clever.

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  61. Agreed. Like with a pretzel. It’s the twist that makes it more interesting.

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  62. Over 1600 correct entries this week.

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  63. A typo in the word "add" (not "and"). Also, the intern missed a letter in MALALA.

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