archive
The Salt
Sandwich Monday: The Candwich
October 15, 2012 For this week's Sandwich Monday, we try the Candwich, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a can. The makers say it has an extended shelf life over conventional sandwiches, staying fresh for years. This is good, because it may take decades to get up the nerve to eat it.
Sunday Puzzle
Where, 'O' Where Shall I Put You?
October 14, 2012 Every answer is a two-word phrase in which the letter "O" is added at the end of the first word to make the second word. For example, given the clue "pack animal owned by Thomas Jefferson's first vice president," the answer would be "Burr burro."
It's All Politics
B-I-D-E-N Or R-Y-A-N? It's Debate Bingo
October 11, 2012 If you're looking for something else to do while watching or listening to tonight's 90-minute vice presidential debate, there's always debate bingo.
The Salt
The Secret To Genius? It Might Be More Chocolate
October 11, 2012 A cardiologist has some fun plotting how a country's chocolate consumption may predict Nobel prizes. The outlier, he notes, is that Sweden, the home of the Nobel, seems to get more than its share of the prizes.
'Another Thing': Test Your Clever Skills
'Another Thing': Singing The Housework Blues
October 8, 2012 All Things Considered and author/blogger Lenore Skenazy offer a weekly on-air contest to test your cleverness skills. The "Another Thing" contest takes a trend in the news and challenges you to help us satirize it with a song title, a movie name or something else wacky.
Around the Nation
In Pumpkin Regatta, It's Toothy Grins All Around
October 8, 2012 MPBNThe typical jack-o'-lanterns that don front stoops this time of year pale in comparison to their multihundred-pound brethren: the giant pumpkin. Every year in Damariscotta, Maine, people hollow them out, climb inside and race them.
Three-Minute Fiction: 'No Down Time'
October 7, 2012 The president laughed and stuck the pea in his nose again. The first time he had done it, he had gotten such a big laugh that he simply had to do it again. After all, it was Christmas Eve! No war, no unemployment. Just a little dinnertime fun for the leader of the free world and his family.
Sunday Puzzle
Frog Stuck In Your C-R-O-A-T?
October 7, 2012 You'll be given a category, and you name something in the category starting with each of the letters in the word "Croat." For example, if the category were "boy's names," you might say Chris, Roger, Otto, Adam and Terry.
Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
Musician Ben Folds Plays Not My Job
October 6, 2012 Years ago, musician Ben Folds started a band with his two friends and called it the Ben Folds Five. Ben Folds went on to have a solo career, but he's gotten the band back together and their new album is The Sound of the Life of the Mind. Folds plays a game called "I'll Be Back!"
'Another Thing': Test Your Clever Skills
'Another Thing': A Terrible Toy For The 21st Century
October 1, 2012 All Things Considered and author/blogger Lenore Skenazy offer a weekly on-air contest to test your cleverness skills. The "Another Thing" contest takes a trend in the news and challenges you to help us satirize it with a song title, a movie name or something else wacky.
Sunday Puzzle
Seeing Double
September 30, 2012 Every answer today is a six-letter word or name that has a repeated two-letter pair, like "eraser," which has E-R twice, or "regret," which has R-E twice. The repeated pair of letters can appear anywhere in the word. You'll be given the pair of letters and a clue, and you provide the words.
Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
Vikings Punter Chris Kluwe Plays Not My Job
September 29, 2012 We're pretty sure Kluwe is either the nerdiest player in the NFL, and/or the most athletic nerd in history. We've invited him to answer three questions about the Ig Nobel awards, which honor some of the more ridiculous breakthroughs in science.
Election 2012
A Political Litmus Test, In 6 Jokes
September 25, 2012 Could humor be the key to bridging a divided nation? Read these relatively nonpolitical jokes told by six very politically outspoken comedians, and tell us which ones you think are funny. We'll try to determine whether that says something about your political leanings.
'Another Thing': Test Your Clever Skills
'Another Thing': A Toothpaste Worthy Of A Caveman
September 24, 2012 All Things Considered and author/blogger Lenore Skenazy offer a weekly on-air contest to test your cleverness skills. The "Another Thing" contest takes a trend in the news and challenges you to help us satirize it with a song title, a movie name or something else wacky.
Sunday Puzzle
Finding Consecutively Good TV Shows
September 23, 2012 Every answer is the name of a TV show past or present. Each can be found in consecutive letters in the sentences read. Name the TV shows. For example, in the sentence "We watched the acrobat many times," the hidden TV show is BATMAN. Hint: Each answer has at least six letters.
