Lots of people have been inquiring about the future of ScuttleButton. While I wish I had an answer — I don't, not yet — I'd like to suggest that you sign up for the Political Junkie/ScuttleButton mailing list. That way, I will be able to share the information once I have it (see info below).
And what exactly IS ScuttleButton, you may ask?
It is, of course, 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 first 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:
Save Voorhees Campus/N.Y.C. Community College — The budget cuts in the 1970s threatened many New York City institutions, including its city colleges.
A — An oft-used ScuttleButton favorite, this button was obtained at an Anarchist Party bookstore in NYC in the 1970s.
Vernon Jolley U.S. Congress — Jolley was the Democratic nominee against Rep. Marge Roukema (R-N.J.) in 1986.
Goode/Democrat for Mayor — Wilson Goode was elected mayor of Philadelphia in 1983, becoming the first African-American mayor of that city.
Buck Fella — Button of unknown identity.
So, when you combine Voorhees + A + Jolley + Goode + Fella, you may just very well end up with ...
For He's a Jolly Good Fellow. The old popular song.
The winner, chosen completely at random, is ... Jerica Mercado of Blackfoot, Idaho. Jerica gets not only the coveted Political Junkie t-shirt — but the Official No Prize Button as well!
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