NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 29): And Now the President Will Sing...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 29): And Now the President Will Sing...:

Q: Name a famous American singer, one who's living. Six letters in the first name, six letters in the last. Write out this name from left to right. Cross out six consecutive letters from inside the name, leaving the start and end intact. The result will be the six-letter last name of a U.S. president. Name the singer and the president.

This one is really easy. All you need to do is get a list of presidents and find the ones with 6-letter last names (there are only 9).

Edit: So did you get the correct answer?

A: WIL(LIE NEL)SON --> Woodrow WILSON

Need help solving the FoxTrot Su-Dork-U?

A week ago Sunday (10/15), the FoxTrot comic strip featured a Sudorku where the grid included various math equations (hence the Dork reference) in place of the usual starting digits.

It's pretty straightforward once you get the starting digits. For those that need some help, here are some clues:

(1/3)^-1 is the reciprocal, namely (3/1)^1 or just 3

For all the square roots, obviously only take the positive root

d/dx 3x means take the derivative. In general d/dx ax^n = nax^(n-1). So you get 1*3*x^0 or just 3

For the integral from 1 to 2, you do the reverse. x^2 becomes x^3/3. Taking this from 1 to 2 results in (2^3)/3 - (1^3)/3. That gives you 7/3. But it is multiplied by 3 to get you 7.

3! means factorial or multiplying all the numbers from 3 down to 1 (3*2*1) or 6.

The sum of k from k=1 to 3, is just 1+2+3 = 6

The log10(10) means that 10^x = 10. It's essentially the number of zeroes after the 1.

0101 is binary (base 2). This is 0*8 + 1*4 + 0*2 + 1*1 = 5

By the Pythagorean theorem a^2 + b^2 = c^2. Some common Pythagorean triples are 3-4-5 and 5-12-13

-(i^2). In complex numbers, i represents the square root of -1. So this is just -(-1) or 1.

FF-F8 is a hexidecimal equation. In hex, A-F represent 10 through 15. So FF = 15*16 + 15 and F8 = 15*16 + 8. The difference is 7.

sin(pi/2 radians) is the same as sin(90 degrees) = 1

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 22): A Politician's Name is Synonymous with...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 22): A Politician's Name is Synonymous with...

Q: Name a well-known 20th century political figure, now deceased, with a two-syllable last name. The word spelled by the first syllable is a synonym of the word spelled by the second syllable backward. Who is this famous person?

I have no clues this time, not a one. But you will recognize the person.

Edit: Time to reveal who the person is. Remember, I gave you *no* clues!

A: Richard NIXON --> NIX and NO.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 15): Chained Sentences

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 15): Chained Sentences:

Q: The challenge is a special challenge called, 'Chained Sentences.' The object is to write a sentence or other bit of writing in which the last two letters of each word are the first two letters of the next.
For example: Give veteran Angela Lansbury rye yeast. Or, the heroic iconoclast stops psychological allusions.

Well, I can't give you *the* answer since there are lots of possible answers. I will just give you my submission and you can judge it against what is announced on the air on Sunday. I think it has pretty good syntax and a reasonable length.

A: Despite technological alternatives espoused, Edith, the head administrator, ordered education online, neglectful ultimate telecommunication onus usurious.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 1): Is it Better to Plan, or not to Plan?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct 1): Is it Better to Plan, or not to Plan?:

Q: Think of a nine-letter word for something that is unplanned. Change the middle letter from I to U, and you'll get a new word for something that is always planned. What is it?

I came by the answer almost accidentally. I wasn't really thinking about this puzzle, but was just pondering things that might be planned or unplanned. While I was thinking of unplanned things, the answer hit me.

Edit: In response to the title, I wouldn't want to be involved in either of these events (unplanned or planned). By the way, there were a couple *big* clues in what I wrote earlier. The keywords were "accidentally" and "hit me". So it's time to reveal my answer:

A: COLLISION --> COLLUSION

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 24): I'm feeling i-l-l today

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 24): I'm feeling i-l-l today:

Q: Name a famous person whose first and last names, together, total eleven letters. This person's first and last names each contain the consecutive letters 'I-L-L' in that order. Who is it? It's a person everybody knows.

I'm not sure if this is the intended answer, but this is what I came up with. Is he known to everyone or is there another answer?

A: Bill O'Reilly (host of The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 17): Get to the Point!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 17): Get to the Point!

Q: Think of a seven-letter word that names a certain implement with a sharp point. Reverse the order of the second, third, fourth, and fifth letter, leaving the other three letters in place. The result will name a popular TV series. This series has other types of sharp implements in use.

If you've heard of this series, the answer is obvious... although I wasn't as familiar with the original implement with a sharp point.

Edit: Okay, so how many TV shows have you heard of with sharp implements. If you've heard of this one, you had the answer within seconds.

A: NUTPICK -> NIP/TUCK

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 10): O as in FISH

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 10): O as in FISH:

Q: In most words containing the letter 'O' between two consonants, the O is either pronounced as a long O or a short O. Can you name a common word in which O appears between two consonants and the O is pronounced like a short 'i'?

You can easily get this if you think a little. I'll explain the title after the deadline has passed.

Edit: Okay, time to reveal the meaning of the title. English pronunciation has all sorts of anomalies. Someone said it is so confusing. We have GH sounding like F in ENOUGH, O sounding like I in WOMEN, and TI sounding like SH in ACTION. Wouldn't that make GHOTI a valid way to spell fish? Anyway, that was the clue to the answer.

A: WOMEN ('wi-m&n)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 3): "And in the News today..."

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Sep 3): "And in the News today...":

Q: Take the phrase 'a correspondent.' Change one letter in it to a new letter, and rearrange to get the name of a famous correspondent who is still at work. Who is it?

This actually took some thought. I missed the part about changing one of the letters. Coincidentally, I had half of the answer, but the remaining letters didn't spell a name, only a form of transportation. I'll tell you more about the answer after the deadline, but think of TV, both network and cable...

Edit: The deadline has passed so it's time to reveal my answer. As I said, I originally missed the note about changing a letter. We were working on names like PETER and PETERSON when I noticed ANDERSON, which I thought to be a last name. The remaining letters only spelled COPTER. I didn't think there was a COPTER ANDERSON so I discarded the idea. It wasn't until I reread the puzzle that I figured out the real answer. I was so close!

A: A CORRESPONDENT --> change T to O --> ANDERSON COOPER (Anderson Cooper - correspondent for ABC News and co-anchor of World News Now who has now moved on to CNN)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 27): Company - TE times 3

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Aug 27): Company - TE times 3:

Q: Name a well-known company in U.S. history, still in existence today. There are three words in its name. Each word contains the letter pair T and E. What company is it?

My wife and I were on the way up to Crater Lake with the kids last week and this puzzle kept us occupied. (This also explains why I didn't post before the deadline) I kept focusing on AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph). I also had "United States..." but couldn't complete it. Once again my wife trumped me and came up with the answer first.

A: UNITED STATES STEEL