Friday Fun: What's the next number in the sequence?

Can you figure out the next few terms in the following sequence?

Q: 1, 3, 7, 12, 18, 26, 35, 45, 56, 69...

I'll post the answer some time next week.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 22): Add 3 Letters Twice

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 22): Add 3 Letters Twice:

Q: Here's an example: Take the letters I, L, R and T. Insert a trigram (three-letter group) twice into these letters to complete a familiar 10-letter word. If you add S, P and O, you would get the answer, 'spoilsport.'
Now, take R F E and R. Insert a trigram twice somewhere in these letters to complete a familiar two-word phrase. What phrase is it?

On a scale of 0 to 9, I give this week's puzzle a 3.

Edit: 0 to 9 would be the set of *digits* where 3 is the *fourth* digit.

A: Insert ING twice --> R(ING) F(ING)ER

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 15): Female TV Host Puzzle

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 15): Female TV Host Puzzle

Q: Name a female host of a popular TV program. Rearrange the letters of her first name to name a god in mythology. Rearrange the letters in her last name to name a type of god that this god is not. Who is the TV host and what are the anagrams?

So you've looked at this week's NPR puzzle and you've decided you need some help. Okay, before you light a signal fire, the puzzle really isn't that difficult. So that you don't waste time, I'll tell you that it is *not* the Babylonian god Marduk, but you can try anagrams of that if you like...

Edit: There were several hints in my post. I used the word "SO" a couple times. Also, if you read the first letter of each sentence you get S.O.S. I also mentioned help and a signal fire a few times which again points to S.O.S. That all leads to the name of the person and her show. Next the Roman equivalent of Zeus was Jupiter. And the Babylonian equivalent of Jupiter was Marduk.

A: SUZE ORMAN (CNBC host of the Suze Orman Show)
--> ZEUS, ROMAN

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 8): Cat Got Your Tongue?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 8): Cat Got Your Tongue?:

Q: Think of a familiar phrase in five words that means 'tongue tied.' One word in it has one letter, one word has two letters, one has three, one has four and one has five — though not necessarily in that order. What is the phrase?

This week, I have no way of providing a clue that won't give away the puzzle.

Edit: I was speechless, completely tongue-tied, I guess you could say I was...

A: AT A LOSS FOR WORDS

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 1): A Tale of Two Cities

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 1): A Tale of Two Cities:

Q: Take the phrase 'atlas of the world,' change the 'E' to an 'R,' and rearrange all the letters to name two cities that are closely related.

The puzzle implies an atlas of the world is required... but maybe not.

Edit: A U.S. atlas would suffice.

A: DALLAS, FORT WORTH

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 22): What's on your desk?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 22): What's on your desk?:

Q: Name an item often found on a desk. It's a hyphenated word. Add an 'S' to the beginning of each part, and you'll get two synonyms. What's the item?

I'm looking at my desk trying to figure out what this item must be. My desk is pretty clean except for the items I'll eventually need to do my taxes (...that nasty IRS!). My wife was thinking it's something related to "ink" --> sink. I was thinking of something related to "light" --> slight. But neither of those ideas seemed to pan out.

I get the feeling people won't be happy when they hear the answer. Anyone else bothered by the puzzle this week?

Edit: There were quite a few clues in my post: Paperwork that is yet to be handled probably appears in this place, "Nasty IRS" is an anagram of the two synonyms, and "pan" is a synonym for tray, while "out" is an antonym for in.

A: IN-TRAY --> SIN, STRAY

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 15): Pensacola Anagram

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 15): Pensacola Anagram:

Q: Take the name 'Pensacola,' remove one letter and rearrange the letters that remain to get the first and last name of a famous person in American history. Who is it?

Here's a couple hints: The person died in Florida. Also, I don't think the timing of this puzzle is coincidental.

Edit: The puzzle was aired a day after Valentine's Day... 80 years after the Valentine's Day Massacre.

A: PENSACOLA -S --> AL CAPONE

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 8): What is the Country? What are the Synonyms?

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 8): What is the Country? What are the Synonyms??:

Q: Take the name of a country, interchange two consecutive letters. Add an 'e' after the fifth letter. The result will be two synonyms, one after the other. What is the country, and what are the synonyms?

Anyone notice that the language of this country sounds like another synonym?

Edit: The language is Finnish, a homonym for "finish".

A: FINLAND --> FINAL, END

Word Game: If I give you BVI, the answer is obvious...

Here's a fun game you can play with friends. I'll give you a sequence of letters. Your goal is to find a common English word that has those letters exactly in that order with no additional letters in between. As the title implies, if I gave you "BVI" you could reply with "oBVIous". Got it?

To get you started, here are a few combinations to try:
HTG, WKW, UMF, PTC, GGP, AUE and HMM...

Good luck, and feel free to post any letter combinations of your own that might be fun to try.

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 1): Famous Living Woman...

NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb 1): Famous Living Woman...:

Q: Think of a famous living woman whose first and last names are each accented on the second syllable. Say the second syllable of her last name, followed by the second syllable of her first name, and phonetically you'll get a word meaning very attractive woman. Who is it?

This one isn't that hard. The first woman I thought of was the right answer. Note: Put the syllable in the *last* name first.

Edit: The first woman I thought of was the first lady...

A: MICHELLE OBAMA --> BAM-CHELLE = BOMBSHELL