Category: Spencer Leach

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Constructed by: Spencer Leach
Edited by: Patti Varol

Today’s Theme (according to Bill): Phenomenal Unity

Themed answers each end with a measurable phenomenon, and start with a unit used to measure such a phenomenon. Clever …

• 16A Loudness of a kiss? : PECK VOLUME
• 27A Attraction to certain electric cars? : TESLA MAGNETISM
• 44A Number of times one rents a car? : HERTZ FREQUENCY
• 60A Quantity of dirt displaced by a burrowing garden pest? : MOLE AMOUNT

Read on, or jump to …
… a complete list of answers

Bill’s time: 7m 45s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Group with a Brain Training app : MENSA

Mensa is a high-IQ society that was founded in Oxford, England in 1946. The founders were two lawyers: Australian Roland Berrill and Englishman Lancelot Ware. Apparently, the elitist founders were unhappy with the development of Mensa, given that most members came from the working and lower classes.

6 “Mic Drop” K-pop band : BTS

“Mic Drop” is a 2017 song by the boy band BTS from South Korea. They released two versions of the song simultaneously, one in Korean and one in Japanese.

13 Advanced HS English course : AP LIT

The Advanced Placement (AP) program offers college-level courses to kids who are still in high school (HS). After being tested at the end of an AP course, successful students receive credits that count towards a college degree.

16 Loudness of a kiss? : PECK VOLUME

A peck is a dry measure of volume equal to a quarter of a bushel. The term can be used figuratively to mean a considerable quantity in general, as in the phrase “a peck of trouble”.

18 Volcano on Sicily : ETNA

Mount Etna on the island of Sicily is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy, and indeed the largest of all active volcanoes in Europe. Etna is about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt. Vesuvius. Mt. Etna is home to a 110-km long narrow-gauge railway, and two ski resorts. It is sometimes referred to as “Mongibello” in Italian, and as “Mungibeddu” (sometimes “Muncibeddu”) in Sicilian. The English name “Etna” comes from the Greek “aitho” meaning “I eat”.

19 Casual meeting : SESH

Session (abbreviated to “sess.” formally, and “sesh” informally)

20 Cosmetics giant that annually honors “Women of Worth” : L’OREAL

L’Oréal is a French cosmetics company, the largest cosmetics and beauty company in the world. Here in the US, L’Oréal runs a “Women of Worth” program that honors women who volunteer in their communities. The phrase “Women of Worth” underlines the longstanding L’Oréal slogan “Because I’m worth it”, which evolved into “Because you’re worth it” and eventually “Because we’re worth it”.

23 Parrot in Disney’s “Aladdin” : IAGO

In the 1992 Disney feature “Aladdin”, there is a parrot called Iago. Iago is voiced by the comic Gilbert Gottfried.

25 Captain America co-creator Jack : KIRBY

As writers for the comic book industry, Jack Kirby and Stan Lee worked together a lot throughout the 1960s. The Kirby-Lee team created such icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and the Hulk.

Captain America is a fictional superhero in comics published by Marvel Comics. He is the alter ego of a weak man called Steve Rogers who was given an experimental serum by the US Government during WWII.

27 Attraction to certain electric cars? : TESLA MAGNETISM

The Tesla unit measures the strength of a magnetic field, and is named after the physicist Nikola Tesla. Tesla was born in Serbia, but later moved to the US. His work on mechanical and electrical engineering was crucial to the development of alternating current technology, the same technology that is used by equipment at the backbone of modern power generation and distribution systems.

32 Dated telecommunication request : FAX ME

A facsimile is a copy. The term comes from the Latin phrase “fac simile” meaning “make similar”, with “fac” being the imperative form of “facere”, to make. The term “fax” (as in “fax machine”) is an abbreviated form of “facsimile”.

33 Sign of summer? : LEO

Leo is the fifth astrological sign of the Zodiac. People born from July 23 to August 22 are Leos.

34 Annual presidential address, for short : SOTU

The US President’s State of the Union (SOTU) address is a requirement called out in Article II of the Constitution. George Washington gave the first address before a joint session of Congress in 1790. Thomas Jefferson discontinued the practice of making a personal address by sending Congress a written document that was then read out by a clerk. In 1913, Woodrow Wilson re-established the custom of delivering the message personally, there have been occasions since then when a written address has had to suffice, the last occasion being in 1981 when Jimmy Carter was in office.

35 Web gateway co. : ISP

Internet service provider (ISP)

36 Omega-shaped curve in a river : OXBOW

The term “oxbow” can describe both a meander in the course of a river as well as the lake that forms if such a meander gets cut off from the main stream.

38 Tyke : TOT

“Tyke” has been used playfully to describe a young child since at least 1902 For centuries before that, a tyke was a cur or mongrel, or perhaps a lazy or lower-class man.

39 Education acronym : STEM

The acronym “STEM” stands for the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. An alternative acronym with a similar meaning is MINT, standing for mathematics, information sciences, natural sciences and technology.

42 France’s longest river : LOIRE

The Loire is the longest river in France. It is so long that it drains one-fifth of the nation’s land mass. The Loire rises in the southeast, in the Cevennes mountain range, then heads north then due west, emptying into the Bay of Biscay at the city of Nantes. The Loire Valley is home to some of France’s most famous wine production, and includes the wine regions of Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Muscadet. It is also home to some of the nation’s most spectacular châteaux. There are over 300 castles along the river, built by French kings and their courtiers.

44 Number of times one rents a car? : HERTZ FREQUENCY

The Hertz car rental company was started in 1918 by Walter L. Jacobs in Chicago. He began with just twelve model T Ford cars available for rent. In 1923, the car rental operation was bought out by John D. Hertz who incorporated it into his truck and coach manufacturing company.

The unit of frequency measure is the hertz (Hz). It is the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. The unit is named for Heinrich Hertz, the German physicist who proved the existence of electromagnetic waves.

49 Sephora rival : ULTA

Ulta Beauty is an American chain of beauty stores that was founded in 1990 and headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois. I am not part of the company’s target demographic …

Sephora is a French chain of cosmetic stores, founded in 1969. The name “Sephora” is derived from the Greek for “beauty” (“sephos”). We’ve been able to visit Sephora outlets in JCPenney stores since 2006.

51 Lap top protector : NAPKIN

Our word “napkin” dates back to the 1300s, when it had the same meaning as today. The term comes from the old French word “nape” meaning “tablecloth” and the Middle English suffix “-kin” meaning “little”. So, a napkin is a little tablecloth.

58 Furniture chain that is developing a 3D-printed meatball : IKEA

Yep. IKEA makes 3-D printed meatballs that are served to potential new hires during the interview process.

60 Quantity of dirt displaced by a burrowing garden pest? : MOLE AMOUNT

The mole (abbreviated to mol.) is a fundamental unit in chemistry. It is an amount unit, and might be compared to a pair and a dozen. It is a specific measure of the number of atoms, or molecules, in a given sample of matter. Technically, one mole is the number of atoms in exactly 12 grams of pure carbon-12. That number is a constant known as Avogadro’s number (6.02214076×10²³).

65 Mex. title : SRTA

“Señorita” (Srta.) is Spanish, and “Mademoiselle” (Mlle.) is French, for “Miss”.

Down

2 Pentathlon sword : EPEE

The original pentathlon of the ancient Olympic games consisted of a foot race, wrestling, long jump, javelin and discus. When a new pentathlon was created as a sport for the modern Olympic Games, it was given the name the “modern pentathlon”. First introduced in 1912, the modern pentathlon consists of:

1. pistol shooting
2. épée fencing
3. 200m freestyle swimming
4. show jumping
5. 3km cross-country running

3 MLB semifinal : NLCS

The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a round of postseason games played by teams from Major League Baseball’s National League to determine which team will go to the World Series.

4 Religion based on the spiritual teachings of Guru Nanak : SIKHISM

Sikhism is a religion that was founded in the Punjab region, which straddles the India-Pakistan border. Even though Sikhism was established relatively recently, it is now the fifth-largest organized religion in the world. Sikhism was founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak.

5 Rugged ride, briefly : ATV

All-terrain vehicle (ATV)

8 Third studio album re-released as a “Taylor’s Version” : SPEAK NOW

“Speak Now” is a 2010 studio album released by Taylor Swift on the Big Machine Records label. Taylor released a re-recorded version, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” in 2023 on Republic Records. The re-release is a result of a dispute over ownership of the masters for the original recordings.

9 Baltimore-to-Ocean City dir. : SSE

Ocean City is a resort town on the Atlantic coast in Maryland. Although the town has a relatively small permanent population, Ocean City grows during the summer to become the second-most populous municipality in the state, after Baltimore. That is because of the many, many visitors, primarily from Baltimore and Washington, DC.

The Maryland city of Baltimore was founded in 1729. It took its name from Baltimore County, which had been founded 70 years earlier. The “Baltimore” name was chosen in honor of Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore who was the proprietor of the Province of Maryland. The peerage was named for Baltimore Manor in County Longford, in the Irish midlands.

10 Penicillin, for one : ANTIBIOTIC

The antibiotic called penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. He noted that a blue-green mold growing in a Petri dish produced a substance that inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus bacteria, which was growing on the same substrate. The mold was Penicillium notatum, and Fleming named the antibiotic penicillin after the mold. I was lucky enough to visit Fleming’s laboratory on a recent visit to London …

12 “The Candy House” novelist Jennifer : EGAN

“The Candy House” is a 2002 work by writer Jennifer Egan that is a sequel to her 2010 Puliltzer-winning “A Visit from the Goon Squad”. Like the original, “The Candy House” is usually described as a novel, but often as a collection of linked short stories.

17 Kurylenko of “Black Widow” : OLGA

Olga Kurylenko is a Ukrainian actress and model. Kurylenko played the Bond girl Camille Montes in the James Bond movie “Quantum of Solace”.

“Black Widow” is a 2021 superhero movie in the Marvel Comics universe. The title character is played by Scarlett Johansson, a role that she played in several earlier films.

24 Ginger __ : ALE

The brand most closely associated with ginger ale is Canada Dry. “Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale” was first formulated in 1904 by a Canadian chemist called John McLoughlin from Ontario. Prohibition in the United States helped sales of the drink as it was particularly effective in masking the taste of illegally-produced, homemade liquor.

26 ACLU focus : RTS

Rights (rts.)

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has its roots in the First World War. It grew out of the National Civil Liberties Bureau (CLB) that was founded to provide legal advice and support to conscientious objectors. The ACLU’s motto is “Because Freedom Can’t Protect Itself”. The ACLU also hosts a blog on the ACLU.org website called “Speak Freely”.

28 “Bill Nye the Science Guy” staple : EXPERIMENT

That would be “Bill Nye the Science Guy”. In addition to his career as a science educator, Nye is also a comedian. He performed stand-up comedy during his early years as an engineer.

29 “Seascape” playwright : ALBEE

“Seascape” is a 1974, Pulitzer-winning play by Edward Albee. It played on Broadway in 1975, with British actress Deborah Kerr starring.

30 Prefix with political : GEO-

Geopolitics is the study of human and physical geography on international politics and relations. An example of geopolitics would be US policy when it comes to the production of oil around the world, given the nation’s status as the world’s leading oil consumer.

36 Cloverleaf segments : OFFRAMPS

Cloverleaf interchanges allow two highways to cross without the need for stopping traffic. They are so called as when viewed overheard they look like the leaves of a four-leaf clover.

37 Gen __ : XER

The term “Generation X” originated in the UK where it was the name of a book by Jane Deverson. Her book detailed the results of a study of British youths in 1964, contrasting their lifestyle to those of previous generations. It was Canadian author Douglas Coupland who was responsible for popularizing the term, with his more successful publication “Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture”. By one definition, Gen-Xers were born between 1961 and 1981.

40 Any of the Tetons: Abbr. : MTN

The Teton Range is located just to the south of Yellowstone National Park, and is part of the Rocky Mountains. The origins of the name “Teton” is not very clear, although one story is that it was named by French trappers, as the word “tetons” in French is a slang term meaning “breasts”.

45 Serene : ZEN

Zen is a Buddhist school that developed its own tradition in China back in the 7th century AD. “Zen” is a Japanese spelling of the Chinese word “chan”, which in turn derives from the Sanskrit word “dhyana” meaning “meditation”.

47 Arm bone : ULNA

The bones in the forearm are the radius and ulna. “Ulna” is the Latin word for “elbow”, and “radius” is Latin for “ray”. The humerus (plural “humeri”) is the long bone in the upper arm.

50 Triangular sails : JIBS

A jib is a triangular sail that is set at the bow of a sailboat.

52 Milne bear : POOH

Alan Alexander (A.A.) Milne was an English author who is best known for his delightful “Winnie-the-Pooh” series of books. He had only one son, Christopher Robin Milne, born in 1920. The young Milne was the inspiration for the Christopher Robin character in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Winnie-the-Pooh was named after Christopher Robin’s real teddy bear, one he called Winnie, who in turn was named after a Canadian black bear called Winnie that the Milnes would visit in London Zoo. The original Winnie teddy bear is on display at the main branch of the New York Public Library in New York.

53 Swiss artist Paul : KLEE

Artist Paul Klee was born in Switzerland, but studied art in Munich in Germany. We can see many of Klee’s works in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. If you get to Bern in Switzerland, even more of them can be seen at the Zentrum Paul Klee that was opened in 2005. Klee’s most celebrated work is his pointillist painting from 1932 called “Ad Parnassum”, which is owned by the Kunstmuseum, also located in Bern.

55 German auto : AUDI

The Audi name has an interesting history. The Horch company was founded by August Horch in 1909. Early in the life of the new company, Horch was forced out of his own business. He set up a new enterprise and continued to use his own name as a brand. The old company sued him for using the Horch name so a meeting was held to choose something new. Horch’s young son was studying Latin in the room where the meeting was taking place. He pointed out that “horch” was German for “hear” and he suggested “Audi” as a replacement, the Latin for “listen”.

56 Tech review site : C|NET

c|net is an excellent technology website. It started out in 1994 as a television network specializing in technology news. The host of “American Idol”, Ryan Seacrest, started off his career as host of a c|net show.

57 French infinitive : ETRE

The French for “to be” is “être”.

59 Oral health org. : ADA

The American Dental Association (ADA) is the largest and oldest national dental association in the world. Today the ADA is based in Chicago, but the association was founded in Niagara Falls, New York in 1859. The ADA started out as a group of 26 dentists, and it now has more than 152,000 members.

61 Springfield barkeep : MOE

Moe Szyslak is the surly bartender and owner of Moe’s Tavern in “The Simpsons” animated TV show. I don’t really care for “The Simpsons”, but Hank Azaria who supplies the voice for the Moe character … him I like …