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Any Questions #233

 

WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel make that hotline bling.

Last week's challenge
Start with the phrase SPIDER WEB. Rearrange the letters to spell a four-letter word that names things often seen in a church and a five-letter word for a person often seen in a church. What are the words?
Answer: You can spell PEWS and BRIDE.

THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: AREA CODES
On-air questions: Today is February 12, or 2/12, which also happens to be one of the world’s most sought-after area codes. Competition for a 212 area code — something of a status symbol even in an age of cell phones — is so fierce, the New York Times reported last year that brokers buy and sell open 212s for up to $1,000. So in honor of 212, today’s show is all about area codes.

1. The world found out that one famous New Yorker does not have a 212 area code, but rather a less-vaunted 917, last summer. This happened after he gave out Sen. Lindsey Graham’s cell phone number, leading the website Gawker to reveal the New Yorker’s number as turnabout. Who is that famous New Yorker?
2. The pop group 3OH!3 — stylized 3 OH! 3 — takes its name from the 303 area code in their hometown in which state, which gained statehood just 28 days after the United States’ centennial? (As a hint: this state contains 75 percent of the land area in the nation above 10,000 feet.)   
3. Saying it was “divine intervention” after the town had gotten used to its “black eye,” its “stigma,” the mayor of a small Louisiana town called Reeves told the BBC in 2007 that his town’s residents had three months to change their area code to 749 from what?
4. In 2001 song called “Area Codes,” rapped Ludacris lists 44 different area codes where he has special friends, in so many words. While the first two are Atlanta area codes, his hometown, the last, 607, is in use in which state, including in parts of Broome, Tompkins and Yates counties, to name a few?
5. Area code 907 covers the entirety of which state, save for Hyder, which has a population of 97, and uses neighboring Stewart, British Columbia’s 250?

Extra credit
1. Visitors to WhiteHouse.gov are told that President Obama “is committed to creating the most open and accessible administration in American history. That begins with taking comments and questions from you, the public.” What area code begins the four separate numbers listed below that paragraph?
2. If you were to try to call Jenny of Tommy Tutone song fame at 867-5309 in the group’s hometown, you would dial 415-867-5309. Which West Coast city is home to this number?

This week's challenge
Start with the word DIAL TONES, which you may remember from our quiz way back on No. 176. Rearrange the letters and you can spell a two-word phrase (4, 5) that describes a job journalist Joan Walsh did online from 2005 to 2010. What is it?

ANSWERS
On-air questions

1. Donald Trump
2. Colorado (3OH!3 is from Boulder)
3. 666
4. New York (Southern Tier). The song went to No. 24 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
5. Alaska

Extra credit
1. 202
2. San Francisco

EDIT SALON
 

A lifelong resident of the Capital Region, Ian joined WAMC in late 2008 and became news director in 2013. He began working on Morning Edition and has produced The Capitol Connection, Congressional Corner, and several other WAMC programs. Ian can also be heard as the host of the WAMC News Podcast and on The Roundtable and various newscasts. Ian holds a BA in English and journalism and an MA in English, both from the University at Albany, where he has taught journalism since 2013.
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