How long can a newly married woman be called a bride? Does bride apply only as long as her wedding day, or does it extend right on through the couple’s silver anniversary and beyond? Plus, insightful advice about writing from a Pulitzer winner:...
What exactly is a planet? Controversy over this question led to Pluto’s redefinition, along with a brand-new English word. And: Some people now use the phrase all the things! to mean and whatnot or you know what I mean. This new sense of all the...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski says he and his fellow puzzlers often kibitz over familiar riddles, thinking up alternative answers. For example, the answer to “What month do people sleep the least?” is “February,” because that month has the fewest days. But...
In Leonardo da Vinci, biographer Walter Isaacson notes that da Vinci was fond of riddles, including this one: Winged creatures will support people with their feathers. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Da Vinci Riddle” In his...
A listener from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, sent us this riddle: I begin at the end. I am constant but never the same. I am frequently captured but never possessed. What am I? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Another Riddle” Grant, this...
Here’s a riddle: Within a fountain crystal clear / A golden apple doth appear / No doors or locks to this stronghold / Yet thieves break in and steal the gold. What is it? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Golden Apple Riddle”...