WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel celebrate the 26th Amendment.
Last week's challenge
Start with the name FISHER-PRICE. Change one letter to an E and you can rearrange the result to spell an eight-letter word for small fruits and a three letter word for something those fruits are often used to make. What are the words?
Answer: If you change the F to an E, you can spell CHERRIES and PIE.
THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: TWENTY-SIX
On-air questions: On July 5, 1971, the Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was formally certified by President Richard Nixon. The amendment prohibits the federal government and the states from denying anyone who is at least 18 years old the right to vote, and is the most quickly ratified amendment in history, having been proposed in Congress on March 23rd, 1971 and reaching the required number of ratifying states less than four months later on July 1. In 2014, South Dakota became the 43rd state to ratify the amendment, and the other seven states have yet to take any action. To commemorate the certification of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, this week our questions are about the number 26.
1. It's element number 26 on the periodic table, symbolized by Fe, which comes from the Latin word "ferrum"; it's the most abundant element on earth by mass; and it comprises about 4 grams of human body weight, most of which is found in hemoglobin. What element is it?
2. While the UK version uses 22 boxes, many versions around the world of what game show, which has been hosted in the U.S. since 2005 by Howie Mandel, begin with the contestant picking from one of 26 briefcases which contain various amounts of money, often ranging from a few pennies to a million dollars or more?
3. The Republic of Ireland is divided into 26 counties, including Kilkenny, Limerick, and Tipperary. Also divided into 26 administrative divisions is Switzerland, where the divisions are known by what six-letter word beginning with C, a word that is also used as the name of a city in Ohio?
4. Of the hundreds of Major League Baseball players who have worn jersey number 26, the player who wore it for the most seasons is retired second baseman Chase Utley. Utley wore number 26 from 2015 to 2018 while he was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and for the prior twelve seasons during his time with what team?
5. The 26-mile race known as a marathon – which has an official distance of just over 26.2 miles – is named for the legend (whose historical accuracy is often questioned) of a Greek messenger who was sent to inform the assembly that the Persians had just been defeated at the Battle of Marathon. The messenger, appropriately enough, ran from Marathon to what city?
Extra credit
1. The human foot contains 26 bones divided into three groups: the tarsals, the metatarsals, and what group of bones at the ends of the toes, a word also used for the bones at the ends of the fingers?
2. A company called XXVI Holdings, Inc. holds the equity for Google and a number of other companies. These companies are subsidiaries of what other company, whose name inspired the choice of using the Roman numerals for 26 in its holding company's name?
This week's challenge
Start with the phrase YOUNG VOTERS. Rearrange the letters to spell a two-word phrase (six letters, five letters) for things a hippie might have listened to at Woodstock. What is the phrase?
ANSWERS
On-air questions
1. Iron
2. Deal or No Deal
3. Canton
4. Philadelphia Phillies
5. Athens
Extra credit
1. Phalanges
2. Alphabet
