daily.surf

Secret Spot · Puzzle #27 · Monday, October 26

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. 1. Name a chocolate bar

    Each chocolate bar counts once; a size or flavor counts as its bar (a KitKat Chunky is a KitKat). A maker's name counts as its best-known bar (Cadbury is Dairy Milk, Hershey's is the Hershey bar), and makers known for bars count (Lindt, Milka).

    The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 135 different answers. The obvious picks are Hershey bar, KitKat and Snickers: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. Toblerone and Wonka Bar look like clever picks, but the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth only 1.5. For a big score you need something like Bertie Beetle, Curly Wurly and Daim bar, which the sheet rates Locals only, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: Bertie Beetle was first made to use up honeycomb left over from Violet Crumble bars.

    Most common

    • Hershey bar
    • KitKat
    • Snickers

    Rarest

    Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.

  2. 2. Name a children's book

    Each book counts once, by its title; a series counts once by its name (Magic Tree House), and its single books count on their own. Picture books, children's novels and classics count; young-adult and horror books don't.

    The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 1,838 different answers. The usual answers are The Cat in the Hat, Goodnight Moon and Green Eggs and Ham, the party waves, worth 1.0 each. Watch out for Caps for Sale and The Giving Tree: however original those picks seem, the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth 1.5. The big scores sit further out: Stellaluna, The Poky Little Puppy and The Tiger Who Came to Tea are rated Locals only or Secret spot on the sheet, worth up to 10.0. One deep cut: Stellaluna, a young fruit bat, is adopted by a family of birds and learns to act like one.

    Most common

    • The Cat in the Hat
    • Goodnight Moon
    • Green Eggs and Ham

    Rarest

    Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.

  3. 3. Name an NHL team

    Each of the 32 teams counts once, typed by city, nickname or both (Toronto, Maple Leafs). A former name counts as its team (the Hartford Whalers are the Hurricanes).

    The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 32 different answers. The obvious picks are Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. Seattle Kraken 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 Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes, which the sheet rates Uncrowded or Locals only, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: in their very first playoffs, in 2003, the Wild made a surprise run to the conference finals.

    Most common

    • Boston Bruins
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Detroit Red Wings

    Rarest

    Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.

  4. 4. Name a university

    Each university or college counts once, by its name or nickname (MIT, UCLA, Ole Miss). Each campus that goes by its own name counts on its own (UCLA and Berkeley are two answers); different schools that share a name count as one.

    The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 1,139 different answers. The usual answers are Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton University, the party waves, worth 1.0 each. Watch out for University of Oxford and University of Notre Dame: however original those picks seem, the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth 1.5. The big scores sit further out: Amherst College, Wellesley College and University of St Andrews are rated Locals only on the sheet, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: Amherst College was founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College.

    Most common

    • Harvard University
    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Princeton University

    Rarest

    Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.

  5. 5. Name a theme park

    Any theme park, amusement park or water park, by any of its names (Disney World is Walt Disney World). Each Disney park counts on its own (Epcot, Magic Kingdom), but parks that share a name count once: every Six Flags is Six Flags, every Universal Studios is Universal Studios, every Legoland is Legoland.

    The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 407 different answers. The obvious picks are Universal Studios, Six Flags and Disneyland: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. Dollywood 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 Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, Knoebels Amusement Resort and Lake Compounce, which the sheet rates Locals only, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut is Holiday World & Splashin' Safari. Holiday World began as Santa Claus Land, and it sits in the town of Santa Claus, Indiana.

    Most common

    • Universal Studios
    • Six Flags
    • Disneyland

    Rarest

    Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.

  6. 6. Name a flower

    Each flower counts once, and a species counts as its flower: a dog rose is a rose, a sweet violet is a violet, a Madonna lily is a lily.

    The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 232 different answers. The obvious picks are Rose, Daisy and Lily: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. Edelweiss and Bird of paradise look like clever picks, but the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth only 1.5. For a big score you need something like Pitcher plant, Victoria regia lily and Mountain laurel, which the sheet rates Locals only, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: the purple pitcher plant is also known as turtle socks.

    Most common

    • Rose
    • Daisy
    • Lily

    Rarest

    Before the crowd came in: the answers we expected to be most and least common, from how well known each one is.

  7. 7. Name a social media platform

    Each platform counts once, by its current or former name (X is Twitter). Social networks, video and photo sharing sites, forums and messaging apps count, including ones that have shut down (Vine, Myspace). Dating apps don't.

    The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 269 different answers. The usual answers are Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, the party waves, worth 1.0 each. Watch out for Myspace and Vine: however original those picks seem, the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth 1.5. The big scores sit further out: Habbo, LiveJournal and Orkut are rated Locals only on the sheet, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: Habbo, once called Habbo Hotel, has had 316 million avatars registered.

    Most common

    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • Snapchat

    Rarest

    • Miiverse: Nintendo's Miiverse let players share handwritten messages and drawings from 2012 to 2017. Source: Wikipedia, “Miiverse” (CC BY-SA)
    • Ravelry: Ravelry is a social network for fiber arts like knitting, crocheting, spinning and weaving. Source: Wikipedia, “Ravelry” (CC BY-SA)
    • SixDegrees.com: SixDegrees.com, launched in 1997, was one of the first social networking sites. Source: Wikipedia, “SixDegrees.com” (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.

All of puzzle #27 · The archive