Secret Spot · Puzzle #9 · Thursday, October 8
Secret Spot: the answers
Five 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 monkey or ape
Species count as their kind: a rhesus macaque is a macaque, a mountain gorilla is a gorilla, any orangutan is an orangutan, and any langur, lutung or leaf monkey is a langur. Humans are apes too. Lemurs, lorises and tarsiers are primates but not monkeys.
Most common
- Gorilla
- Orangutan
- Baboon
Rarest
- Proconsul: Proconsul means "before Consul", after a famous chimpanzee on show in London when it was found. Source: Wikipedia, “Proconsul (mammal)” (CC BY-SA)
- De Brazza's monkey: De Brazza's monkey, the largest guenon, sports an orange diadem and a white beard. Source: Wikipedia, “De Brazza's monkey” (CC BY-SA)
- Gelada: Geladas of the Ethiopian Highlands love grass: it makes up as much as 90% of what they eat. Source: Wikipedia, “Gelada” (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 Looney Tunes character
Characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons count, by any name (Taz is the Tasmanian Devil). A duo with one name counts once (Hubie and Bertie), but Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner count apart. Tiny Toons and Animaniacs characters don't count.
Most common
- Road Runner
- Bugs Bunny
- Daffy Duck
Rarest
- Egghead Jr.: Egghead Jr. made his debut in the 1954 cartoon Little Boy Boo. Source: Wikipedia, “Egghead Jr.” (CC BY-SA)
- Merlin the Magic Mouse: Merlin the Magic Mouse and Cool Cat were both dreamed up by Alex Lovy in 1967. Source: Wikipedia, “Merlin the Magic Mouse” (CC BY-SA)
- Hippety Hopper: Hippety Hopper, a young kangaroo, bounced through 14 theatrical cartoons between 1948 and 1964. Source: Wikipedia, “Hippety Hopper” (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 language
Each language counts once; a national variety or dialect counts as its language (British English is English, Mandarin is Chinese, Egyptian Arabic is Arabic). Sign languages, old languages and made-up ones (Klingon, Elvish) count.
Most common
- English language
- Chinese language
- French language
Rarest
- Manx language: Manx is a revival success story: about 2,000 people could chat in it in 2021. Source: Wikipedia, “Manx language” (CC BY-SA)
- Serbian language: Serbian is a rare language written in two alphabets: Cyrillic and Latin. Source: Wikipedia, “Serbian language” (CC BY-SA)
- Gothic language: Gothic is known mainly from the Codex Argenteus, a 6th-century copy of a Bible translation. Source: Wikipedia, “Gothic language” (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 famous historical document
Each document counts once, by any of its names (the US Constitution is the Constitution of the United States). Charters, declarations, treaties, proclamations, famous letters, speeches written down, maps and manuscripts count; the US Bill of Rights and the English Bill of Rights 1689 count apart.
Most common
- Magna Carta
- United States Declaration of Independence
- Constitution of the United States
Rarest
- Missal of Silos: The Missal of Silos, from before 1080, is the oldest known document on paper made in Europe. Source: Wikipedia, “Missal of Silos” (CC BY-SA)
- Codex Manesse: The Codex Manesse, a medieval German songbook, has 137 painted portraits of its poets. Source: Wikipedia, “Codex Manesse” (CC BY-SA)
- Codex Argenteus: The Codex Argenteus, Latin for 'Silver Book', is a 6th-century gospel book in the Gothic language. Source: Wikipedia, “Codex Argenteus” (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 novelist
Each novelist counts once, by full name, pen name or by surname when only one famous novelist has it (Hemingway, Austen). Writers count when they have published at least one novel.
Most common
- Charles Dickens
- Ernest Hemingway
- J. K. Rowling
Rarest
- S. E. Hinton: S. E. Hinton wrote The Outsiders while she was still in high school. Source: Wikipedia, “S. E. Hinton” (CC BY-SA)
- Edgar Rice Burroughs: Edgar Rice Burroughs's ranch became Tarzana, a Los Angeles neighborhood named after his Tarzan. Source: Wikipedia, “Edgar Rice Burroughs” (CC BY-SA)
- Barbara Cartland: Barbara Cartland wrote some 723 novels over her career. Source: Wikipedia, “Barbara Cartland” (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.