Interested in baseball game? This Sunday Puzzle presents you a short quiz related to easy-peasy baseball terms.

Every answer today is a baseball term. Name them from their anagrams.

 Ex. IDLER + S --> SLIDER

 

1. UNDO + M

 

2. TREAT + B

 

3. LOBED + U

 

4. CIPHER + T

 

5. FLOUTED + I

 

Answer Keys  

    1.  mound

    2.  batter

    3.  double

    4.  pitcher

    5.  outfield

'Tis the season for PUMPKINS! Let's talk about these gems from our favorite seasons of all!

*Photos were taken from Jean's local grocery market

Autumn is the season for pumpkins! Pumpkins are not just round and orange. Delight yourself with all those fun and creative pumpkins you’ll find at farmers markets, orchards, and garden centers! Technically, all pumpkins are edible with a long storage life. However, if you’re just going for a culinary pumpkin, the small, round sugar pumpkins called 1. __________ pumpkins are best for cooking. In 1842, Lydia Maria Child, wrote her famous poem about a New England Thanksgiving that began, “Over the river, and through the woods” and ended with a should “Hurrah for pumpkin pie!”

 

Pumpkins have deep American roots. The Pilgrims subsisted on these edibles during their harsh winters, thanks to 2.___________________ people, (which American Native Indian tribe?) who helped them survive their first year at Plymouth Colony. The Pilgrims had gone hungry their first winter, turning up noses at the long-storing foods like pumpkins and squash. When summer came, the colonists planted the seeds given to them by their Native American neighbors. The pumpkin is a native American crop, believed to have originated in Mexico at least 10,000 years ago. Along with 3. ________ and beans, which were domesticated much later, it joins the legendary Three sisters of early Native American agriculture.

 

As stated above, Native Americans introduced the European Colonists to the many uses of pumpkin, which quickly became a common staple food, as suggested by this couplet from a Pilgrim verse written around 1633:

“We have pumpkins at morning and pumpkins at noon,

If it were not for pumpkins we should be undoon.”

(*undoon in this poem was an old English expression for ‘undone’. “to be undone” means “to be without hope for the future”)

 

Answer Keys

    1.  Pie

    2.  Wampanoag

    3.  Corn (=maize)

*Photos were taken from Jean's local grocery market

Care for some idioms using the word “PUMPKIN”?

pumpkin head: a dim-witted or unintelligent person; a dolt; a dumb

 

some pumpkins: someone or something that is particularly great, special, wonderful, etc.

to turn into a pumpkin: to have to return home or go to bed due to the late hour of the night. (Usually used as a present participle, the phrase is a reference to the story of Cinderella, whose magic carriage turned into a pumpkin at midnight.)

 

Time to practice!

    1.   Oh, gosh! It’s already midnight? I'm _________________ into a pumpkin if I don’t head home right now!

 

    2.   Did you see Hans’s new laptop? It’s ____________  pumpkins, huh?

 

    3.   Why did I ever hire that pumpkin _____________? He can't do anything right around here.

 

Answer Keys

1.  turning

2.  some

3.  head

Time to play the latest NPR Sunday Puzzle! Find the two-word phrases with the initials H and R!

Today's theme is "H.R." Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase with the initials H.R.

Ex. Corporate department --> HUMAN RESOURCES

 

1. Kentucky Derby or Preakness

 

2. Big baseball hit

 

3. Vehicle in a drag race

 

4. List of top students

 

5. Waterway past New York City

 

6. African American cultural movement of the 1920s-'30s

 

7. Weapon in H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds"

 

8. Operation for someone who has difficulty with walking

 

9. Hobby through which amateurs send messages around the world

 

10. Place to hang one's chapeau

 

11. Spa

Answer Keys

1. Horse Race

2. Home Run

3. Hot Rod

4. Honor Roll

5. Hudson River

6. Harlem Renaissance

7. Heat Ray

8. Hip Replacement

9. Ham Radio

10. Hat Rack

11. Health Resort

LET'S TALK about LABOR DAY

People are enjoying the long weekend here in the U.S. this week. Monday (September 4^th, 2023) is “LABOR DAY” that celebrates all workers here in America. Work is a blessed endeavor. Whether it is baking a casserole or doing laundry; serving customers or compiling a report; teaching a class or making a hospital bed: Our daily labors earn our daily bread and more.

It was envisioned by the founders to honor the American worker; the driving engine behind the most productive economy in the world, and the American work ethic that resulted in one of the highest standards of living in the world. All of this came out of a belief in economic and political democracy.

Labor day not only celebrated the American workers but also protected their quality of life. Back in the 1800s, the Labor movement was created to address some of the serious problems of the day including long working hours and lack of time off.

Do you know who invented Labor Day? Labor Day was the idea of Peter J. Maguire, a labor union leader who, in 1882, proposed a celebration honoring the American worker. Peter Maguire was the general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners.

 

In the U.S., the first Labor Day parade was on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in 1. (                                      ) City. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover 2. (                            ) signed a law making the first Monday in September a legal national holiday every year.

 

Even though the American workforce has changed dramatically since the industrial revolution, many Americans still work more hours and take less vacation their western counterparts. Take this day of honor to reflect on all your hard work and, if you can make it happen, take a break to relax and enjoy the last hurrah of summer because you deserve this national day of leisure.

 

Now let’s get to that common question. Why is there an old-time rule about not wearing 3. (which color?:                        ) after Labor Day? And does it still apply? 

One theory about wearing the color 4. (                                 ); the color 5.(                         ) reflects the sun instead of absorbing it. Another theory is that the end of summer meant a return to the city and work life, as many people used to take the month of August to visit seashore. Returning to city life (often dirty) meant that dark clothes returned and the aforementioned color was not practical. Today, there really aren’t such rules about the color 6. (                              ). We have air conditioning, lighter fabrics, and clothing has generally become more casual and comfortable.

 

Answer Keys

    1.  New York City

    2.  Cleveland

    3.  White

    4.  White

    5.  White

    6.  White

 

*Source from the Old Farmer’s Almanac

Time to play the latest Sunday Puzzle from NPR! Let's find a word in a word!

Every answer today is the name of a U.S. city, which consists of one word inside another. (It might be a bit hard to find the answer if you are not familiar with the U.S. cities, though.)

Ex. Was in first place [inside] Also / Ohio --> TO(LED)O

 

1. Back of the foot [inside] Part of a bird / West Virginia

 

2. Where to save money [inside] Expositions / Alaska

 

3. Earth [inside] Spanish for gold / Florida

 

4. Cuban revolutionary [inside] List of players / New York & Minnesota

 

5. Small songbird [inside] Frilly fabric / Massachusetts & Kansas

 

Answer Keys

1.  Wheeling (heel inside wing)

2.  Fairbanks (bank inside fairs)

3.  Orlando (land inside oro)

4.  Rochester (che inside roster)

5.  Lawrence (wren inside lace)

Moon Facts or Myths?

What comes to your mind when you think about the Moon, especially the Full Moon at night? I personally love the full Moon and tend to make a wish upon the Moon for myself, my family, and my loving friends. 

Does the Moon influence our behavior or emotions? There's never been solid proof, but there is some new evidence suggesting that the Moon can affect sleep - and it doesn't matter whether you're n the country or the city! Let's explore the myths and reality of the Moon's power.

The Moon & Lunacy Connection

The Latin name for the Moon is 1. _____________, which is the root of modern words like "lunacy", "lunatic", and even "loon", as in "crazy as a loon." Even today, many doctors, nurses, police officers, and elementary school teachers agree that full Moons will bring out bizarre behavior. 

The Moon & Sleep

According to one scientific study conducted in 2021, people go to bed and sleep for a shorter period of time in the days leading up to a full Moon. Specifically, people would go to bed 30 minutes later than average and sleep almost an hour less per night. This makes some sense because the light from the Moon after sunset is brighter on the days leading up to a full Moon.  2. "________________ Moon" in the autumn, so-named because it provided several nights of light for farmers to gather in their crops at the height of harvest. Every month, the nights leading up a full Moon bring more light to the evening. 

Our sleeping patterns are controlled by our natural 3. _______________ rhythms - the day and night cycles driven by Earth orbiting the Sun. But there are also 4. _______________________ rhythms, which are tied to lunar cycles. Certainly, some animals will respond to both rhythms.

Anecdotally, you have to wonder if less sleep (whether interrupted sleep or going to bed later) for several nights in a row might lead to some irritability - and what you might call  5. "________________"!

The Moon & Lunacy

- There have been hundreds of studies about the Moon and lunacy. One study says more animal 6. _____________ (from cats, rats, dogs, horses) occur at the full Moon; another says there's no increase in dog 7. _____________.

- One shows an increase in 8. _______________ (such as assaults or homicides) around the full Moon.

- Calls to 9. _________________ prevention hotlines peak at the New Moon, not the Full Moon.

Even though we are not quite sure how you'd actually prove the connection between the Moon and lunacy, one explanation might be what psychologists call 10. "_____________________ bias". In other words, people are more likely to notice things that confirm a preexisting belief.

For example, if you are working in an emergency room, and something weird happens on the full Moon, your older and wiser colleagues nod and say, "Must be a full Moon." That is what they heard from their elders when they were new at the job, which is often called by psychologists 11. "communal ___________________". 

How does a belief that strange things happen on the full Moon help us feel safer? The full Moon occurs only once every 29.5 days, which means the other 4 weeks of the lunar month should be less dangerous and unpredictable. 

What do you think about the Moon? Does it influence behavior or emotions? Or is it all in our imagination and our dreams? 

**Source from The Old Farmer's Almanac

Answers to the Blanks

1. Luna

2. Harvest

3. circadian

4. circalunar

5. moodiness

6 & 7. bits

8.  crime

9. suicide

10. confirmation

11. reinforcement

Time to play the Sunday Puzzle from NPR On-Air Challenge!

Each sentence below has two blanks. Change the first letter of the word that goes in the first blank to QU- to get the word that goes in the second blank.

 

Ex. The ducks in our ____ yard ____ a lot. --> BACK, QUACK

 

1. After jogging, I sat on a park ____ with a sports drink to ____ my thirst.

2. The price of a ____ of oil to the exact penny is not something to ____ about.

3. How many blocks of limestone can a railcar ____ from a ____?

4. The chef's ____ in the world of cooking was making ____ Lorraine.

5. If you haven't heard about a manuscript you submitted months ago, it would be ____smart to ____your editor.

6. The ____ was two members short of a ____ to conduct business.

7. The witty writer was most ____ for being eminently ____.

8. The words "____" and "____" both mean to exhibit unsteadiness.

 

Answer Keys

1.  bench, quench

2.  barrel, quarrel

3.  carry, quarry

4.  niche, quiche

5.  very, query

6.  forum, quorum

7.  notable, quotable

8.  waver, quaver