NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 13, 2012): Capital Profession

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 13, 2012): Capital Profession:

Q: Name a state capital. Change one of the vowels to another vowel and say the result phonetically. You will name a revered profession. What is it?

While I initially was down with a different answer, I realized that Will included the word phonetically for a reason.

Edit: My hint was "While I initially" which means take the initial letters of "While I" (WI) to get the state. The different answer that some came up with is Dover/Diver, but it isn't necessary to pronounce diver phonetically, so that isn't the intended answer.

A: Madison (Wisconsin) --> "Medison" = Medicine

GeekDad Puzzle of the Week Answer: Coffee Conundrum II

Coffee Conundrum II:

Q: Each cup of coffee gives me a jolt and then the jolt decays across time according to the following equation (t in minutes): Jitters=10-[(t-10)^2]/10
So at minute 10 after consuming a cup of coffee (which, for the purposes of this puzzle happens instantly), I reach a maximum of 10 jitters. At a combined 20 jitters, I go catatonic. With what frequency can I instantly consume coffee without the combined jitters passing this important tipping point?

The diagram shows the exact tipping point situation. Focus on the red curve which is the second cup of coffee. Right at the middle of the parabola, the second cup is at its maximum (10 jitters). At this point, the effects of the first cup are diminishing and the effects of the third cup are increasing. Notice, because of symmetry, they have the exact same value when they cross. The tipping point will be when cup 1 is contributing 5 jitters, cup 2 is at its maximum of 10 jitters and cup 3 is also contributing 5 jitters (5+10+5 = 20). (Note you can extend this diagram out to 4 cups, 5 cups, etc. but you'll never have more than 3 cups contributing to the total jitters at once. If you did, you'd definitely be over the tipping point of 20.)

As stated in the puzzle, the height of one parabolic curve is given by the formula:
Jitters = 10 - [ ( t - 10 ) ^ 2 ] / 10

Solving this for a Jitters value of 5 we have:
5 = 10 - [ ( t - 10 ) ^ 2] / 10
-5 = -[ ( t - 10 ) ^ 2] / 10
5 = [ ( t - 10 ) ^ 2] / 10
50 = ( t - 10 )^2
t - 10 = √50
t = 10 ± √50
t = 10 ± 5√2

That means that the coffee Jitters are at a height of 5 either 5√2 seconds before the peak or 5√2 seconds after the peak. This also happens to be the minimum frequency between cups (5√2 seconds or approximately 7.071068 seconds apart) to avoid jitters.

If you can handle exactly 20 jitters without going catatonic, then you could handle drinking cups of coffee every 5√2 seconds (≈7.071068 seconds)

If you must stay under 20 jitters, then you would have to pick a frequency just over every 5√2 seconds.

A: Frequency of 5√2 seconds (or approximately every 7.0710678118654752440084436210484903928483593768847403 seconds)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 6, 2012): Bronte Sisters Turn a Phrase

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 6, 2012): Bronte Sisters Turn a Phrase:

Q: Using only the six letters of the name "Bronte," repeating them as often as necessary, spell a familiar six-word phrase. What is it?

The Bronte Sisters grew up in a small village called Haworth. The question is whether this is relevant to the puzzle.

Edit: A small village is a hamlet and the famous soliloquy continues with "...that is the question".

A: To be, or not to be

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 29, 2012): Capital Punishment

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 29, 2012): Capital Punishment:

Q: Name the capital of a country that, when said out loud, sounds like a three-word phrase. This phrase might describe the reason why the police did not catch a barefoot thief. What is the capital, and what is the reason?

We seem to have a pretty characteristic Will Shortz puzzle involving countries, phrases and sounds.

My clue was "characteristic" which contains the letters of the country name in order (cHarActerIsTIc). I'm not going to get into a debate on the French vs. anglicized pronunciation of the capital city. Will must have heard it pronounced "port-oh-prints" just like I have. Get it? The police weren't able to identify the barefoot thief because all they had were "poor toe prints."

A: Port-au-prince & "Poor toe prints"

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 22, 2012): Vs lbh pna ernq guvf, lbh'er n trrx!

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 22, 2012): Vs lbh pna ernq guvf, lbh'er n trrx!:

Q: Think of a common man's name in four letters, one syllable. Move each letter exactly halfway around the alphabet. For example, A would become N, N would become A, and B would become O. The result will be a common woman's name in two syllables. What names are these?

Am I the only one that thinks there should be a couple more letters at the end of the man's name or can we agree that it's more of a nickname?

P.S. I'm heading out to nearby a narrow gorge and will have to ponder this further as I sit beside the river.

Edit: My initial hint was for Trev (or) which becomes Geri (be). Both 'or' and 'be' were hinted at. My second clue was for a "narrow gorge" (glen) and "beside the river" (banks).

A: GLEN & TYRA
Alternate answer: TREV & GERI

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 15, 2012): Initially Famous Novel

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 15, 2012): Initially Famous Novel:

Q: Name a famous novel in two words. The first word has five letters, and the second word has 11. If you have the right novel, the initial letters of the novel's title, reversed, are the initials of its author. What's the novel, and who is the author?

With audio books or e-Readers, I wonder if physical novels are vanishing, to become a thing of the past?

Edit: The words "audio books ... e-Readers" start with AB...E with the missing letters being CD. Then of course there's the "vanishing" reference to tie in with magician David Copperfield.

A: David Copperfield --> Charles Dickens

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 8, 2012): Three Consecutive Letters

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 8, 2012): Three Consecutive Letters:

Q: Name an article of clothing that contains three consecutive letters of the alphabet consecutively in the word. For example, "canopy" contains the consecutive letters N-O-P. This article of clothing is often worn in a country that's name also contains three consecutive letters of the alphabet together. What is the clothing article, and what is the country?

Does anyone know if the dye in Easter eggs will leave a permanent stain? My fingers are now blue, pink and yellow.

Edit: The hint was "stain" which anagrams to "istan". Add that to the article of clothing to get the country. Also, the picture above has the 3 letters FGH appearing more prominently than the others.

A: A(fgh)an* --> A(fgh)anistan
*alternatively others have suggested hijab.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 1, 2012): Take Me Out to the Ball Game

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Apr 1, 2012): Take Me Out to the Ball Game:

Q: Name some things seen at a baseball game. This is a two-word phrase, four letters in each word. Change one letter in each word to a new letter to get a new two-word phrase that names a popular music group of the past. Name the group.

For some reason, I'm thinking of tulips.

Edit: "of tulips" anagrams to foul tips

A: FOUL TIPS -> FOUR TOPS
(alternatively, some have suggested "foul pops" as the baseball phrase.)

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 25, 2012): In the News...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 25, 2012): In the News...:

Q: Think of a much-discussed subject in the news. Two words (five letters in the first, six letters in the last). The letters of the five-letter word can be rearranged to get the first five letters of the six-letter word. The six-letter word ends in a Y. What's the subject?

Kind of...

Edit: A kind of book or movie would be a genre which is an anagram of the 5 letters.

A: GREEN ENERGY

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 18, 2012): This Puzzle is No Sweat

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 18, 2012): This Puzzle is No Sweat:

Q: Take the phrase "no sweat." Using only these seven letters, and repeating them as often as necessary, can you make a familiar four-word phrase? It's 15 letters long. What is it?

Don't forget, you should use every letter at least once.

Edit: In other words, don't waste any letters because you know what they say...

A: Waste not, want not