WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel "ant-swer" some more questions.
Last week's challenge
Start with the phrase LIGHT BULB. Change one letter to an F and you can rearrange the result to spell a nine-letter word for a thing that takes place in a ring. What is the word?
Answer: If you change one of the Bs to an F, you can spell BULLFIGHT.
THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: "ANT-"
On-air questions: On February 1, 1884, the first installment of the Oxford English Dictionary was published. Officially titled A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles; Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by The Philological Society, the 352-page volume covered words from A to Ant, and cost just over 12 shillings (the approximate equivalent of $660 in 2013 dollars). It sold 4000 copies. The OED was first unofficially referred to as the OED in 1895, and that became its official name in 1933. To commemorate the publishing of the A to Ant section of the OED, this week each correct answer will begin with the letters A-N-T.
1. What name do we give to the point on the surface of the earth that is diametrically opposite another point, such that a straight line through the center of the earth would connect the two points?
2. A collection of Peanuts art by Charles Schulz, a Norman Rockwell oil painting, and a Navajo blanket believed to have once been owned by Kit Carson are among the ten most valuable items appraised to date on the U.S. version of what PBS series?
3. Reflecting his belief that every element of a story should be necessary, what Russian playwright once said "If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there", a sentiment which inspired a principle bearing his name?
4. Element number 51 on the periodic table is symbolized by Sb, which is taken from its Latin name of stibium. It is frequently used as a component in an alloy with lead and tin, as a component in batteries, and as part of flame-proofing compounds. What metallic element is it?
5. By what name do we commonly know the snack created by spreading peanut butter, cream cheese, or a similar spread onto a celery stick and topping it with raisins?
Extra credit
1. What geographic boundary, whose position is not fixed because of the changing tilt of the Earth's axis, is currently located (as of January 2019) at a latitude of 66° 33' 47.5" S?
2. Derived from the Greek words for "human" and "recent", what name has been proposed for the current geologic epoch, marked by the beginning of significant human impact on the environment?
This week's challenge
Start with the word ANTISEPTIC. Add a letter and you can rearrange the result to spell a two-word phrase (four letters, seven letters) for someone who might need an antiseptic. What is the phrase?
ANSWERS
On-air questions
1. Antipode
2. Antiques Roadshow
3. Anton Chekhov
4. Antimony
5. Ants on a log
Extra credit
1. Antarctic Circle
2. Anthropocene epoch
