In the thousand-plus or so emails I get each time a ScuttleButton puzzle is posted, I invariably will get dozens and dozens of complaints that it was just too easy, that it insulted their intelligence, that I need to make them more challenging. That was clearly the case last week, as there were nearly 100 such emails.
Well, be careful what you wish for. This week's puzzle is one of the most difficult.
ScuttleButton, of course, is that once-a-week waste of time exercise in which each Monday or Tuesday I put up a vertical display of buttons on this site. Your job is to simply take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and, hopefully, you will arrive at a famous name or a familiar expression. (And seriously, by familiar, I mean it's something that more than one person on Earth would recognize.)
For years, a correct answer chosen at random would get his or her name posted in this column, an incredible honor in itself. Now the stakes are even higher. Thanks to the efforts of the folks at Talk of the Nation, that person also hears their name mentioned on the Wednesday show (by me) and receives a Political Junkie t-shirt in the bargain. Is this a great country or what?
You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state — you won't win without that) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.
(Why do people keep forgetting to include their name and city/state?)
And, by adding your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, you will be among the first on your block to receive notice about the column and the puzzle. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org. Or you can make sure to get an automatic RSS feed whenever a new Junkie post goes up by clicking here.
Good luck!
By the way, I always announce the winner on Wednesday's Junkie segment on TOTN — seven or eight days after the puzzle goes up. So you should try and get your answer in as soon as possible. But logistically, you have about a week to submit your guess.
Here are the buttons used and the answer to last week's puzzle:
When Win Wins ... He Will Be Back — Winthrop Rockefeller, a Republican, was elected governor of Arkansas in 1966.
Irish for President Nixon — Part of a set of nationality buttons from the 1972 election.
All Ayes for Lori/National Committee Woman — Other than the fact that Lori is a Republican, I don't know anything more about this button.
R & R/Rockefeller & Reagan — Some Republicans who didn't like Richard Nixon thought this might be the ticket that could defeat him for the 1968 GOP nomination.
Give the Smilin' Man a Chance — 1976 button for Jimmy Carter, the Democratic nominee who went on to win the presidency.
So, when you combine When + Irish + Ayes + R + Smilin', you may just very well end up with ...
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling. The classic song from 1912.
The winner, chosen completely at random, is ... Janine Libbey of Nashville, Tenn. Janine gets not only the coveted Political Junkie t-shirt — but the Official No Prize Button as well!
And don't forget to check out this week's Political Junkie column, which focuses on recent pronouncements from Hillary Clinton and Rand Paul that make one think this might have something to do with 2016. Click here to read the column.
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