Sunday, August 03, 2025

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 3, 2025): What's on TV?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 3, 2025): What's on TV?
Q: "I turned on the TV and saw anger, evil, slander, and ruin. It was all pleasant news. What channel was I watching and what specifically was on the screen?"
I remember watching this channel back in the days of standard definition CRTs. Anyone else?

38 comments:

  1. I don't remember that, Blaine.
    But I did get the answer from what sounds like a programming language.

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  2. Got the answer, and I can echo Blaine's comment.

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    1. How many people will think this puzzle is lame?

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    2. Literally my first thought.

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    3. The wording is a bit awkward, but I think it's the first clever puzzle in longer than I can remember.

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  3. May be a tad easier for people who live in my part of the country.

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  4. I'm thinking of two people associated with the space program.

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  5. So, what's a car with a 12-letter name with four E's and no other vowel?

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  6. Replies
    1. One such addition is a word from a past puzzle that was one of my favorite bits of wordplay ever. It might be too old for Blaine's archive.

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  7. If I have the right answer, since I'm 87 years old, its my favorite channel.

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  8. C-SPAN works except for the all pleasant part.

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  9. Since my answer does not imply a specific channel, I think I might be missing one aspect of the complete solution. I did a little further research, but only enough to suggest that there might be some controversy ahead.

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  10. I am surprised I was able to solve this one fairly quickly because I do not watch TV, but I have been holding off submitting my answer because I suspect the chanel/screen may be specific to older technology, and I am unfamiliar with stations other than NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS. I have a roof antenna for 60 Minutes, and the occasional debate or something out of the ordinary I may want to watch. Otherwise my big screen is for DVD films only.

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  11. My own solution was kind of comical, but o3 has me beat.

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  12. The answer may actually be too long for the "Short Answer" part of the form. Seemed to be for me anyway. Almost thought I would have trouble proofreading what I had just written, as small as that part appears to be now. Wouldn't give me enough room to show my entire explanation in more than the one line, and it actually takes up a few more lines than I was given. I hope they don't count off for that.
    pjbIsNotAlwaysAManOfFewWords

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  13. BTW The 12-letter car brand with the four E's is MERCEDES BENZ.
    pjbWillNowHaveThatJanisJoplinSongStuckInHisHeadAllDay

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  14. The CHEVY CHEVELLE also works. Except for that pesky Y. And the fact that the CHEVELLE is a model and not a BRAND. And the fact that it's 13 Letters, thus the wrong answer.
    But other than that....

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  15. Really not my wheelhouse, but I after I chilled a bit, I got the answer.

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  16. There's an interesting connection between the founder of the channel and the puzzle.

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  17. Well, from my experience of channels like this, it probably wasn't ALL pleasant news.

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  18. I would've listed those words in THIS order: ruin, slander, anger, THEN evil as the last. I believe those who have figured it out can see why.

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  19. [taps mic] Is this thing on? [clears throat] Knock, knock.

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  20. This puzzle pushed the outer limits of my TV viewing memory. Hope I have the right idea.

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  21. That must have been a lame night to watch.

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  22. Hark, half pleasant, other areas of TV-land not rakeing in as many who phone home for this puzzle.

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  23. I have definitely found the connection in this puzzle but I'm struggling to come up with anything specific in terms of what is showing on the tv screen. I could answer in a general sense but my hunch is that the answer need be more distinct...

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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.

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