Secret Spot · Puzzle #24 · Friday, October 23
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. Name a mushroom people eat
Each mushroom counts once, by any of its names (portobello and cremini are button mushrooms, hen of the woods is maitake). Species count as their mushroom where they share its name: a golden chanterelle is a chanterelle, a black truffle is a truffle, a giant puffball is a puffball. Only edible mushrooms count.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 99 different answers. The obvious picks are Button mushroom and Shiitake: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. Truffle and Enoki look like clever picks, but the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth only 1.5. For a big score you need something like Honey fungus, Huitlacoche and Indigo milk cap, which the sheet rates Locals only, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: Honey fungus can glow: its mycelium produces light through bioluminescence.
Most common
- Button mushroom
- Shiitake
- Chanterelle
Rarest
- Candy cap: Candy caps are prized for their strong aroma and are used as a flavoring. Source: Wikipedia, “Candy cap” (CC BY-SA)
- Termite mushroom: Termite mushrooms are farmed by termites, which house the fungi and get food from them in return. Source: Wikipedia, “Termitomyces” (CC BY-SA)
- Caesar's mushroom: Caesar's mushroom was a favorite of early rulers of the Roman Empire. Source: Wikipedia, “Amanita caesarea” (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.
2. Name a US state capital
The capitals of the 50 states, each counting once by its city name (Springfield is the capital of Illinois). Washington, D.C. and territorial capitals don't count.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 50 different answers. The obvious picks are Boston, Atlanta and Austin, Texas: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. Montpelier, Vermont and Pierre, South Dakota look like clever picks, but the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth only 1.5. For a big score you need something like Charleston, West Virginia, Concord, New Hampshire and Dover, Delaware, which the sheet rates Locals only, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: Daniel Boone was one of the first trustees when Charleston, West Virginia was incorporated in 1794.
Most common
- Boston
- Atlanta
- Austin, Texas
Rarest
- Frankfort, Kentucky: Before Frankfort was founded, its site was a river crossing on one of the great buffalo trails of colonial America. Source: Wikipedia, “Frankfort, Kentucky” (CC BY-SA)
- Jefferson City, Missouri: Missouri's capital is officially the City of Jefferson, and informally Jeff City. Source: Wikipedia, “Jefferson City, Missouri” (CC BY-SA)
- Augusta, Maine: Augusta, Maine is the easternmost state capital in the United States. Source: Wikipedia, “Augusta, Maine” (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 card game
Each game counts once, by any of its names (Cheat is I Doubt It, Klondike is Solitaire). A variant with its own name is its own answer (FreeCell, Canasta). Family, party and patience games count, and so do collectible card games.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 541 different answers. The usual answers are Poker, Solitaire and Rummy, the party waves, worth 1.0 each. Watch out for Egyptian Ratscrew and Spoons: however original those picks seem, the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth 1.5. The big scores sit further out: Dutch Blitz, Mao and Mille Bornes are rated Locals only on the sheet, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: Dutch Blitz is a fast-paced family card game that’s very popular in Pennsylvania Dutch country.
Most common
- Poker
- Solitaire
- Rummy
Rarest
- Pit: Pit is a fast-paced card game that imitates the open outcry bidding of a commodities market. Source: Wikipedia, “Pit (game)” (CC BY-SA)
- Hanabi: In Hanabi, Japanese for fireworks, you can see everyone’s cards except your own. Source: Wikipedia, “Hanabi (card game)” (CC BY-SA)
- Nerts: Nerts is a fast-paced game for many players, often described as competitive solitaire. Source: Wikipedia, “Nerts” (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. Name a rodent
Species count as their kind: a Norway rat is a rat, a deer mouse a mouse, a fox squirrel a squirrel, a golden hamster a hamster. Flying squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, prairie dogs, kangaroo rats and mole-rats count on their own. Rabbits and shrews aren't rodents.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 45 different answers. The usual answers are Squirrel, Rat and Mouse, the party waves, worth 1.0 each. Watch out for Capybara and Naked mole-rat: however original those picks seem, the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth 1.5. The big scores sit further out: Paca, Viscacha and Ceratogaulus are rated Locals only or Secret spot on the sheet, worth up to 10.0. One deep cut: the lowland paca's cheekbone forms a resonating chamber, a feature found in no other mammal.
Most common
- Squirrel
- Rat
- Mouse
Rarest
- Castoroides: Castoroides was a giant beaver about the size of a bear that lived in Pleistocene North America. Source: Wikipedia, “Castoroides” (CC BY-SA)
- Mountain beaver: Despite its name, the mountain beaver isn't a close relative of beavers: it's closer kin to squirrels. Source: Wikipedia, “Mountain beaver” (CC BY-SA)
- Hutia: The rabbit-sized Bahamian hutia was thought extinct until it was rediscovered in 1964. Source: Wikipedia, “Bahamian hutia” (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.
5. Name a pro surfer
Each surfer counts once, by full name or by surname when only one famous surfer has it (Slater, Kahanamoku). World champions, big-wave riders and surfing legends with Wikipedia articles count.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 311 different answers. The usual answers are Bethany Hamilton and Kelly Slater, the party waves, worth 1.0 each. Watch out for Duke Kahanamoku: however original that pick seems, the sheet marks it a kook move, worth 1.5. The big scores sit further out: Robert August, Greg Noll and Mark Occhilupo are rated Locals only on the sheet, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: Robert August starred in The Endless Summer, the classic 1966 surf film.
Most common
- Bethany Hamilton
- Kelly Slater
- Laird Hamilton
Rarest
- Lisa Andersen: Lisa Andersen won four world surfing titles in a row, from 1994 to 1997. Source: Wikipedia, “Lisa Andersen” (CC BY-SA)
- Tom Carroll: Tom Carroll became the first surfing millionaire, with a 1989 Quiksilver contract. Source: Wikipedia, “Tom Carroll (surfer)” (CC BY-SA)
- Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman: Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman is the real Gidget: her father wrote the novel about her. Source: Wikipedia, “Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman” (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.
6. Name a houseplant
Each plant counts once, by its common or Latin name. Species count as their plant where players use one name (any philodendron is Philodendron, any peace lily is Spathiphyllum), but famous species count on their own (rubber plant, fiddle-leaf fig and weeping fig are different ficuses).
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 187 different answers. The obvious picks are Kalanchoe, Aloe vera and Monstera: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. ZZ plant and Venus flytrap look like clever picks, but the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth only 1.5. For a big score you need something like Parlour palm, Air plant and Adelonema wallisii, which the sheet rates Locals only or Secret spot, worth up to 10.0. One deep cut: the parlor palm is one of the most widely sold houseplant palms in the world.
Most common
- Kalanchoe
- Aloe vera
- Monstera
Rarest
- Fatsia japonica: Fatsia japonica is also called the paperplant or Japanese aralia. Source: Wikipedia, “Fatsia japonica” (CC BY-SA)
- Monstera adansonii: Monstera adansonii also goes by Swiss cheese plant, five holes plant and monkey mask plant. Source: Wikipedia, “Monstera adansonii” (CC BY-SA)
- Oxalis triangularis: Oxalis triangularis, with its maroon three-part leaves, is commonly called false shamrock. Source: Wikipedia, “Oxalis triangularis” (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 a Founding Father or famous early American
Each person counts once, by full name or surname (Ben Franklin is Benjamin Franklin). Founders, signers, first ladies and famous Americans born before about 1780 count.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 221 different answers. The obvious picks are George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. Button Gwinnett and John Hancock look like clever picks, but the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth only 1.5. For a big score you need something like Francis Hopkinson, Charles Willson Peale and Gilbert Stuart, which the sheet rates Locals only or Secret spot, worth up to 10.0. One deep cut: Francis Hopkinson designed Continental paper money and two early American flags.
Most common
- George Washington
- Alexander Hamilton
- Thomas Jefferson
Rarest
- Jacob Shallus: Jacob Shallus was the penman who handwrote the original copy of the US Constitution. Source: Wikipedia, “Jacob Shallus” (CC BY-SA)
- Timothy Matlack: Timothy Matlack was picked to hand-letter the original Declaration of Independence on vellum. Source: Wikipedia, “Timothy Matlack” (CC BY-SA)
- Charles Thomson: Charles Thomson helped design the Great Seal of the United States and added its Latin mottoes. Source: Wikipedia, “Charles Thomson” (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.