NPR Sunday Puzzle: Feb. 19, 2012

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb. 19):

Answer: SANTA + IAGO = SANTIAGO

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Feb. 19:
The word "marten," as in the animal, consists of the beginning letters of "Mississippi," "Arkansas," "Texas," and "New Mexico"; you can actually drive from Mississippi to Arkansas to Texas to New Mexico in that order. What is the longest common English word you can spell by taking the beginning letters of consecutive states in order as you travel through them? Puzzlemaster Will Shortz's answer has eight letters, but maybe you can top that.

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Feb. 23, 2012

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Feb. 5):

Answer: GORILLA + (A, T) = ALLIGATOR

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Feb. 12:
Name two fictional characters — the first one good, the second one bad. Each is a one-word name. Drop the last letter of the name of the first character. Read the remaining letters in order from left to right. The result will be a world capital. What is it?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Feb. 5, 2012

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 29):

Answer: 1234 - 5 - 6 + 789 = 2012

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Feb. 5:
Name an animal. Add the letters "A" and "T," and rearrange the result to name another animal. These are both animals that might be found in a zoo, and the last letter of the first animal is the first letter of the last one.

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Jan. 29, 2012

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 15):

Answer: This was a two-week creative challenge with multiple answers. For example: "The Nanny / Lost / All My Children."

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Jan. 29:
Write the digits from 1 to 9 in a line. If you put a plus sign after the 2, a times sign after the 4, and plus signs after the 6 and 8, the line shows 12 + 34 x 56 + 78 + 9, which equals 2003. That's nine years off from our current year 2012. This example uses four arithmetic symbols. The object is to use just three of the following arithmetic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, in a line from 1 to 9 to get 2012 exactly. The operations should be performed in order from left to right. There are no tricks to this puzzle. Can you do it?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

Will Shortz Celebrates 25 Years of NPR's 'Weekend Edition Sunday'

This week, Will Shortz celebrated the 25th anniversary of Weekend Edition Sunday and (my favorite segment) the Sunday Puzzle. The NPR weekend program, billed as "the radio version of the Sunday paper," first premiered on Jan. 18, 1987. Shortz, the editor of The New York Times crossword puzzle, has made an estimated 1,300 program appearances as NPR's resident puzzle master.

> Test your solving skills on today's NPR Sunday Puzzle, a two-week creative challenge

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Jan. 15, 2012

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 8):

Answer: Game = BOWLING; terms = PIN, FRAME, SPARE, BUMPER, LANE, ALLEY

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Jan. 15:
This is a special two-week creative challenge. Combine the titles of some TV shows, past or present, into an amusing sentence or statement.

For example: "TODAY / SISTERS / NAME THAT TUNE / FATHER KNOWS BEST," "DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES / BEWITCHED / MY THREE SONS / ONE DAY AT A TIME," "I'VE GOT A SECRET / MURDER, SHE WROTE / THE F.B.I."

Entries will be judged on their sense, naturalness of syntax, humor, originality, familiarity of the TV shows named, and overall effect. No more than three sentences per entry, please.

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Jan. 8, 2012

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Jan. 1):

Answer: FIELD GOALS → LADIES GOLF

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Jan. 8:
Name four parts of a car that are also terms used in a particular game. One of the parts is spelled in three letters, two of them in five letters each, and one has six letters. Two places a car might go are also terms used in the game. What game is it, and what are the terms?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Jan. 1, 2012

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec. 25):

Answer: DAREDEVIL (- R) → LIVE, DEAD

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Jan. 1:
Name certain scores in a certain sport. This is a two-word phrase with a total of 10 letters (5 letters in each word). If you have the right phrase, you can rearrange all the letters to name a different sport, also in two words (6 letters in the first word, 4 in the second). What are the scores, and what is the sport?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

Movie Quiz: 80s and 90s Film Alphabet

How well do you know 80s and 90s movies? Here's a fun alphabet quiz, courtesy of UK designer Stephen Wildish. (Note: Unfortunately, the answers are not yet posted on his site.)

(via The Next Web)

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Dec. 25, 2011

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec. 18):

Answer: JERRY + AT + RICK → GERIATRIC

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Dec. 25:
Name an occupation in nine letters. It's an entertainer of sorts — an unusual and uncommon but well-known sort of entertainer. Drop the third letter of the name, and read the result backward. You'll get two four-letter words that are exact opposites. What are they?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Dec. 18, 2011

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec. 11):

Answer: ANTELOPE (change O to H, rearrange) → ELEPHANT

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Dec. 18:
Take the word "at." Put a man's first name on each side of it, and say the word out loud. Phonetically, you'll get a word that describes a growing part of our country. What is it?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Dec. 11, 2011

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Dec. 4):

Answer: Baroque (style of music) → bar-b-que (cooking style)

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Dec. 11:
Think of an animal whose name contains an O. Change the O to an H, and rearrange the result to name another animal. What animals are these?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Dec. 4, 2011

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov. 27):

Answer: There are multiple answers to this challenge, including: blare → blasé, charm → chasm, gents → genus, kilns → kilos, mints → minus, torts → torus, etc.

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Dec. 4:
Name a style of music. Change the middle letter to a B, and you'll name a style of cooking. What are the style of music and the style of cooking? (There are several ways to spell the cooking style, but the answer is one of them.)

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Nov. 27, 2011

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov. 20):

Answer: MAYO (food item) → "YO, MAMA" (saying) → YO-YO MA (person's name)

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Nov. 27:
Think of a common five-letter word in one syllable. Change the fourth letter to the next letter of the alphabet, and you'll get a common word in two syllables, also in five letters. What words are these?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Nov. 20, 2011

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov. 13):

Answer: 101 (the next number is a series of numbers, in ascending order, that can be represented in Roman numerals by two characters).

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Nov. 20:
Name a food item. Divide this word in half. Take the second half followed by the first half twice, and you'll get a familiar saying. If you take the second half twice, followed by the first half, you'll name a well-known person. What are the food item, saying, and person's name?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Nov. 13, 2011

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Nov. 6):

Answer: 25 equilateral triangles.

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Nov. 13:
What number comes next in the following series: 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 15, 20, 40, 60 and 90?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Nov. 6, 2011

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct. 30):

Answer: PATTI LABELLE (singer) - P, I (first name) and L, E (last name) → AT&T (company) + A BELL(logo)

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Nov. 6:
Take 15 coins. Arrange them in an equilateral triangle with one coin at the top, two coins touching below, three coins below that, then four, then five. Remove the three coins at the corners so you're left with 12 coins. Using the centers of the 12 coins as points, how many equilateral triangles can you find by joining points with lines?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Oct. 30, 2011

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct. 23):

Answer: PIER ONE (retail store chain) → PIONEER (electronics manufacturer)

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Oct. 30:
Name a well-known singer. Drop the first and last letters of the singer's first name and you'll get the letters of a well-known company. Drop the first and last letters of the singer's last name, and you'll identify the logo that the company is classically known for. Who is the singer and what's the company?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Oct. 23, 2011

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (Oct. 16):

Answer: FENDER BENDER → GENDER BENDER

NPR Sunday Puzzle for Oct. 23:
Think of a two-word name of a nationally known chain of retail stores. Insert the second word of the name into the exact middle of the first. The result will spell the name of a well-known electronics manufacturer. What are these names?

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!

'Word as Image,' a Book of Visual Puzzles

Word as Image is a witty new book by Ji Lee, Facebook's Creative Director.

Challenge: Create an image out of a word, using only the letters in the word itself.

Rule: Use only the graphic elements of the letters without adding outside parts.

After seeing the examples in the video, you may be inspired to think of others—I sure am! As they say, the dictionary is filled with thousands of fun visual puzzles just waiting to be solved. Visit www.wordasimage.com to submit your solutions.

> Buy the book here

(via Laughing Squid)