As I've mentioned on PotD before, I am partial to Webster's Third New International Dictionary, on which my grandfather was an editor. This dictionary held pride of place in the house where I grew up, always open on its own stand.
In 8th grade I won another copy as a prize in a spelling bee! That one came with me to college and now sits in my own living room. But either my prize was a cheaper edition or they don't make 'em like they used to; it lacks the full-color plates of my parents' edition with illustrations of gems, insects, and the like.
However, my copy of the dictionary still has *one* full-color plate, seen at left. (Forgive the "artsy" photograph. You try getting a 2800-page book to lie flat for the camera!)
This plate appears as part of the entry for what word?
Yesterday's Puzzle + Solution
I woke up this morning and, for some reason, I was thinking about the classic math video (see left) which depicts the eversion of a sphere. You should grab a snack and watch it! It's really quite trippy! Unfortunately, you probably won't find any public screenings while the pandemic is on; thank goodness for YouTube.
But oh, right, I'm supposed to have a puzzle for you. Sorry for the digression.
*ahem* What is the common name of the food crop Zea mays everta? Times are tough for the farmers who grow it, as the establishments where Zea mays everta is prepared and sold for on-site consumption have mostly been shuttered since March.
No hints today!
Solution
I'll let Yana explain:
The "grab a snack" and "public screenings" is making me think popcorn (as is the "mays" section, knowing French tends to help with Latin).
No French needed, in fact; there's also the English "maize".
There was one more clue here. If you watched two minutes of the video, or merely glanced at the title, then you know that sphere eversion means turning a sphere inside out. By the same token, Zea mays everta is Zea mays (corn) turned inside out! I hope this cues Hamilton for some of you.
Congratulations to yesterday's solvers Connor, Caden, Maddy, Carl, Peter 1000, Inca, Newton, Yana, Kathy, and Super Groovy Zach. Thanks to everybody who made a guess!
About This Site
Though he now teaches mathematics, Dr. (né Mr.) Shapiro's first job in a K–12 school was as a lunch monitor in Davis, CA. It was there that he originated the Puzzle of the Day, even rewarding correct answers with tickets in denominations like "15 points" (though without a clear idea of how he'd ultimately redeem these). Dr. Shapiro's favorite puzzle from this pre-professional era was "Tell me the location of the beehive on this campus."
Ten years later, Dr. Shapiro revived Puzzle of the Day at Proof School, writing each day's puzzle on a name tag. After 600 puzzles or so, he was just starting to feel normal about students reading his chest all the time when campus closed and the puzzle, like the rest of our lives, moved online. New puzzles are posted daily on school days.
Want to catch up on old PotDs? There's an archive currently containing puzzles from March to June 2020.
As I've mentioned on PotD before, I am partial to Webster's Third New International Dictionary, on which my grandfather was an editor. This dictionary held pride of place in the house where I grew up, always open on its own stand.