Secret Spot · Puzzle #39 · Saturday, November 7
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 berry
Each berry counts once, by any of its common names (lingonberry is cowberry, goji is wolfberry). Species and varieties sold under the same name count as their berry (a wild strawberry is a strawberry); named hybrids like boysenberry count on their own. Fruits sold as berries count, such as juniper berries and golden berries, but tomatoes and grapes do not.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 58 different answers. The usual answers are Strawberry, Blueberry and Blackberry, the party waves, worth 1.0 each. Watch out for Huckleberry and Goji: however original those picks seem, the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth 1.5. The big scores sit further out: Tayberry, Salmonberry and Golden berry are rated Locals only on the sheet, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: the tayberry, a cross between a blackberry and a red raspberry, is named after Scotland's River Tay.
Most common
- Strawberry
- Blueberry
- Blackberry
Rarest
- Farkleberry: The farkleberry is also known as the sparkleberry. Source: Wikipedia, “Vaccinium arboreum” (CC BY-SA)
- Pineberry: The pineberry is a white strawberry with red seeds and a pineapple-like flavor. Source: Wikipedia, “Pineberry” (CC BY-SA)
- Jostaberry: The jostaberry is a cross of the blackcurrant and two kinds of gooseberry. Source: Wikipedia, “Jostaberry” (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 Disney animated film
Any Disney animated feature counts, from Snow White to Zootopia 2, sequels and direct-to-video films included (The Lion King II is its own answer). Pixar films and live-action remakes don't count.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 127 different answers. The obvious picks are Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and Frozen: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. The Emperor's New Groove and Fantasia look like clever picks, but the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth only 1.5. For a big score you need something like Fun and Fancy Free, Saludos Amigos and Return to Never Land, which the sheet rates Locals only, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: Fun and Fancy Free includes Mickey and the Beanstalk, Mickey Mouse's own take on Jack and the Beanstalk.
Most common
- Aladdin
- Beauty and the Beast
- Frozen
Rarest
- Doug's 1st Movie: In Doug's 1st Movie, Doug and Skeeter try to save a friendly monster they find in Lucky Duck Lake. Source: Wikipedia, “Doug's 1st Movie” (CC BY-SA)
- Melody Time: Melody Time is a musical mixtape: seven cartoon segments, each set to popular or folk music. Source: Wikipedia, “Melody Time” (CC BY-SA)
- DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp: DuckTales the Movie was the first animated film Disney released that its main feature animation studio didn't make. Source: Wikipedia, “DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp” (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 sports trophy or championship
Each trophy, cup, title race or championship counts once, and a trophy counts as its championship (the Vince Lombardi Trophy is the Super Bowl, the Claret Jug is the Open). Famous individual trophies count (the Heisman, the Ballon d'Or); the Summer and Winter Olympics are one answer, and so is the US Open, golf or tennis.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 674 different answers. The obvious picks are FIFA World Cup, NBA Finals and Stanley Cup: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. The Ashes and Ryder Cup look like clever picks, but the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth only 1.5. For a big score you need something like Belmont Stakes, Epsom Derby and Giro d'Italia, which the sheet rates Locals only, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: the Belmont Stakes, the last leg of horse racing's Triple Crown, is nicknamed "The Run for the Carnations".
Most common
- FIFA World Cup
- NBA Finals
- Stanley Cup
Rarest
- Calcutta Cup: England and Scotland's Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy contested by any two international rugby union teams. Source: Wikipedia, “Calcutta Cup” (CC BY-SA)
- Jules Verne Trophy: The Jules Verne Trophy was first awarded to the first yacht to sail around the world in under 80 days. Source: Wikipedia, “Jules Verne Trophy” (CC BY-SA)
- Spengler Cup: First held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often called the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. Source: Wikipedia, “Spengler Cup” (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 currency
Each currency counts once, past or present. A bare name means the best-known one: dollar is the US dollar, pound is sterling, peso is the Mexican peso, franc the French franc, lira the Italian lira; say the country for any other.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 345 different answers. The obvious picks are United States dollar, Euro and Pound sterling: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. Doubloon 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 Vermont copper, Sycee and Rai stones, which the sheet rates Locals only or Secret spot, worth up to 10.0. One deep cut is Vermont copper. Vermont minted its own copper coins while it was an independent republic, from 1785 to 1791.
Most common
- United States dollar
- Euro
- Pound sterling
Rarest
- Quachtli: The Aztecs used standard pieces of cotton cloth, called quachtli, as money. Source: Wikipedia, “Quachtli” (CC BY-SA)
- Spesmilo: The spesmilo was a currency for Esperanto speakers; its name is Esperanto for 'a thousand pennies'. Source: Wikipedia, “Spesmilo” (CC BY-SA)
- Tin Animal Money: Old Malay tin money was cast in animal shapes, and the favorite was a crocodile. Source: Wikipedia, “Tin Animal Money” (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 snake
Species count as their kind of snake: a ball python is a python, a timber rattlesnake is a rattlesnake, a black mamba is a mamba. The king cobra counts on its own.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 189 different answers. The usual answers are Python, Cobra and Rattlesnake, the party waves, worth 1.0 each. Watch out for King cobra and Mamba: however original those picks seem, the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth 1.5. The big scores sit further out: Bullsnake, Common watersnake and Brahminy blind snake are rated Locals only on the sheet, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: the bullsnake is one of North America's longest snakes, reaching up to 8 feet.
Most common
- Python
- Cobra
- Rattlesnake
Rarest
- King brown snake: Despite its name, the king brown snake is one of the black snakes, only distantly related to true brown snakes. Source: Wikipedia, “King brown snake” (CC BY-SA)
- Flying snake: The flying snakes of Southeast Asia can glide from tree to tree. Source: Wikipedia, “Chrysopelea” (CC BY-SA)
- Asp: In ancient times "asp" meant a snake of the Nile, thought to be the Egyptian cobra. Source: Wikipedia, “Asp (snake)” (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 an island
Any island. A one-island country counts as its island (Iceland, Jamaica), but a country of many islands doesn't (Japan, the Philippines): name one of its islands. Each Hawaiian island counts on its own. Islands that share a name count once.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 664 different answers. The obvious picks are Cuba, Greenland and Hawaiʻi: party waves on the sheet, worth 1.0 each. Madagascar and Easter Island look like clever picks, but the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth only 1.5. For a big score you need something like Kodiak Island, St Michael's Mount and Christmas Island, which the sheet rates Locals only, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: Alaska's Kodiak Island is the second-largest island in the United States, a little bigger than Cyprus.
Most common
- Cuba
- Greenland
- Hawaiʻi
Rarest
- Ball's Pyramid: Ball's Pyramid, 572 metres high, is the tallest volcanic stack in the world. Source: Wikipedia, “Ball's Pyramid” (CC BY-SA)
- Surtsey: Surtsey is a brand-new island: it rose out of the sea off Iceland in an eruption in 1963. Source: Wikipedia, “Surtsey” (CC BY-SA)
- Kahoʻolawe: Kahoʻolawe is the smallest of Hawaii's eight main islands, about seven miles off Maui. Source: Wikipedia, “Kahoʻolawe” (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 chemical element
Each element counts once, by its name; spellings like aluminum and aluminium, or sulfur and sulphur, are the same.
The answer sheet for this prompt accepts 118 different answers. The usual answers are Carbon, Gold and Helium, the party waves, worth 1.0 each. Watch out for Tungsten and Einsteinium: however original those picks seem, the sheet marks them as kook moves, worth 1.5. The big scores sit further out: Neodymium, Osmium and Rhodium are rated Locals only on the sheet, worth up to 8.5. One deep cut: Neodymium's name comes from the Greek for 'new twin'.
Most common
- Carbon
- Gold
- Helium
Rarest
- Americium: Many household smoke detectors hold a tiny bit of americium. Source: Wikipedia, “Americium” (CC BY-SA)
- Astatine: Nobody has ever seen a solid lump of astatine: any visible sample would vaporize from its own heat. Source: Wikipedia, “Astatine” (CC BY-SA)
- Iridium: Iridium is named after iris, the Greek word for rainbow, for its many-colored compounds. Source: Wikipedia, “Iridium” (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.