Secret Spot · Puzzle #18 · Saturday, October 17
Secret Spot: the answers
Seven prompts, one answer each, and the fewer surfers who said yours, the more it scored. Here are the prompts with the answers we expected to be most common, and the rarest. Play today's Secret Spot, or play this day as practice (never counted).
1. A prompt still in play
This prompt comes round again within 14 days, so it's hidden until then.
2. Name a cheese
Each cheese counts once, and a named version counts as its cheese: buffalo mozzarella is mozzarella, pepper jack is Monterey Jack.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 256 different answers. The obvious picks are American cheese, Cheddar cheese and Mozzarella: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. Gruyère cheese and Limburger look like clever picks, but the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth only 1.5. For a big score you need something like Pule cheese, Brunost and Mimolette, which the sheet rates Locals only, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: Serbia's Pule cheese is made mostly from donkey milk.
Most common
- American cheese
- Cheddar cheese
- Mozzarella
Rarest
- Humboldt Fog: Humboldt Fog is named for the ocean fog that rolls in from California's Humboldt Bay. Source: Wikipedia, “Humboldt Fog” (CC BY-SA)
- Cornish Yarg: Cornish Yarg is wrapped in nettle leaves before it's left to mature. Source: Wikipedia, “Cornish Yarg” (CC BY-SA)
- Tête de Moine: Tête de Moine means "monk's head" in French. Source: Wikipedia, “Tête de Moine” (CC BY-SA)
Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.
3. Name a First Lady of the United States
Each First Lady counts once, by full name or by a surname or nickname only one of them has (Lincoln, Jackie O); the two Adamses, Bushes and Roosevelts need a first name. White House hostesses who served as First Lady count (Harriet Lane).
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 53 different answers. The obvious picks are Melania Trump, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Hillary Clinton: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. Dolley Madison looks like a clever pick, but the sheet marks it as a kook move, worth only 1.5. For a big score you need something like Harriet Lane, Julia Grant and Helen Herron Taft, which the sheet rates Locals only, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: a Coast Guard cutter named after Harriet Lane is still in service.
Most common
- Melania Trump
- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- Hillary Clinton
Rarest
- Lucy Webb Hayes: Lucy Hayes was the first First Lady with a college degree. Source: Wikipedia, “Lucy Webb Hayes” (CC BY-SA)
- Abigail Fillmore: Book lover Abigail Fillmore set up the first White House Library. Source: Wikipedia, “Abigail Fillmore” (CC BY-SA)
- Caroline Harrison: Caroline Harrison was the first President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Source: Wikipedia, “Caroline Harrison” (CC BY-SA)
Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.
4. A prompt still in play
This prompt comes round again within 14 days, so it's hidden until then.
5. A prompt still in play
This prompt comes round again within 14 days, so it's hidden until then.
6. Name a car model
Each model counts once, with all its generations and versions (a '65 Mustang is the Ford Mustang); the model name alone is fine (Civic). A make on its own, like Ford, doesn't count.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 772 different answers. The obvious picks are Ford F-Series, Ford Mustang and Honda Civic: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. DMC DeLorean and Ford Model T look like clever picks, but the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth only 1.5. For a big score you need something like Toyota AE86, Ferrari Testarossa and Bugatti Chiron, which the sheet rates Locals only, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: the Toyota AE86 starred in the anime Initial D as the hero's drift car and his tofu delivery car.
Most common
- Ford F-Series
- Ford Mustang
- Honda Civic
Rarest
- Smart Fortwo: The name Smart blends Swatch, Mercedes and ART, from the car's start as a Swatch and Mercedes project. Source: Wikipedia, “Smart Fortwo” (CC BY-SA)
- Lexus LFA: Only 500 Lexus LFA supercars were ever built, over two years. Source: Wikipedia, “Lexus LFA” (CC BY-SA)
- Koenigsegg Jesko: The Koenigsegg Jesko is named after the company founder's father, Jesko von Koenigsegg. Source: Wikipedia, “Koenigsegg Jesko” (CC BY-SA)
Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.
7. Name an ancient civilization
Each civilization counts once; its people, land and later stages count as it (the Sumerians are Sumer, Babylon is Babylonia). The Aztecs and Incas count.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 247 different answers. The obvious picks are Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. Sumer and Indus Valley Civilisation look like clever picks, but the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth only 1.5. For a big score you need something like Hopewell tradition, Dorset culture and Caral–Supe civilization, which the sheet rates Locals only, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: the Hopewell trade network ran from Lake Ontario all the way to Florida.
Most common
- Ancient Egypt
- Ancient Greece
- Ancient Rome
Rarest
- Nok culture: The Nok culture is famous for terracotta sculptures, first found in Nigeria in 1928. Source: Wikipedia, “Nok culture” (CC BY-SA)
- Funan: Funan is thought to be the first known kingdom in Southeast Asia, nicknamed the land of gold. Source: Wikipedia, “Funan” (CC BY-SA)
- Moche culture: The Moche of northern Peru left rich art and monumental buildings that survive today. Source: Wikipedia, “Moche culture” (CC BY-SA)
Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.