Last week's challenge
Start with the phrase SPECIFIC ORDER. Change one letter to an O and you can rearrange the result to spell a four-letter word and a two-word phrase (five letters, four letters) that both name something you see on a menu at a Chinese restaurant. What are they?
Answer: If you change a C to an O, you can spell SOUP and FRIED RICE.
THIS WEEK'S CATEGORY: COUNTING BALLOTS
On-air questions: OK, Mike, we’re ending an election week, which is why the WAMC newsroom is running on fumes right now. We had races for mayor, statewide ballot questions, and local races. As always, a few races are still undecided. In honor of the election, this week, we’ll do some counting of our own. I’ll give you some trivia-based math problems, you give me the right answer.
1. The number of U.S. states between February 14, 1912 and January 3, 1959 plus the number in the name of the band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976 whose best-selling studio album is 1989’s “Cosmic Thing.”
2. The title number of monkeys in a 1995 thriller directed by Terry Gilliam times the title number of angry men in a 1957 drama directed by Sidney Lumet divided by the number of years Solomon Northup spent in captivity in a 2013 biopic directed by Steve McQueen.
3. The number of feet between home plate and first base in baseball plus the number of feet between the foul line and the head bowling pin at a bowling alley plus the number of feet needed for a first down in football.
4. The number of fluid ounces in a gallon divided by the title number of bits in the Nintendo gaming system that came between 1990s Super Nintendo and 2001’s GameCube.
5. The 1963 film by Fellini about a film director at a creative crossroads plus the number of men in the title of sitcom in which John Cryer appeared in every episode.
Extra credit
1. The number of schools in the Ivy League plus the number of football teams in the AFC divided by the uniform number worn by Kobe Bryant, Willie Mays, Manny Ramirez and NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon.
2. The number of warriors who pressed ahead half a league onward in the valley of Death divided by the total number of women who have appeared on a major party’s presidential ticket
This week's challenge
Start with the phrase EARLY VOTING. Rearrange the letters and you can spell a two-word phrase that might be seen on a Capital Region road sign. What is the phrase?
ANSWERS
On-air questions
1. 100 (48 states plus B-52s); “Cosmic Thing” includes “Love Shack” and “Roam”
2. 12 (12 Monkeys, 12 Angry Men, 12 Years A Slave)
3. 180 (90 plus 60 plus 30); from the back of home to second base it’s 127 3/8 feet
4. 2 (128 divided by 64); Nintendo 64 was the last to take cartridges
5. 11 (8 ½ plus Two and a Half Men)
Extra credit
1. 1 (8 plus 16 = 24/24)
2. 150 (The 600 divided by four; Clinton, Harris, Ferraro, Palin)