H E L L O
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Dr. Shapiro's Puzzle of the Day

Today's Puzzle

Monday, November 2
OK, I know, sports trivia isn't a strong suit for most Proofniks. It isn't a strong suit for me either. But perhaps that won't stop you from telling me what sports these athletes are best known for?

1. Usain Bolt      2. Margaret Court      3. Prince Fielder      4. Tim Duncan      5. Diana Nyad

Bonus Question What position did Grant Balfour play? He was better at it than you'd think.

   


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Yesterday's Puzzle + Solution

POP QUIZ! The answers all have something in common.
  1. What's Bryce's sign?
  2. What do you call a masterless samurai?
  3. What family includes ravens, crows, and magpies?
  4. What is one of the largest companies in the paper adhesives industry?
  5. What was represented by tomatoes in a Puzzle of the Day earlier this week?
  6. What literary character did author Harper Lee model on her own father?
  7. Who is the most intellectual of the Brothers Karamazov?
  8. What do diplomats and cowboys call a negotiation?
  9. Tablespoon is to teaspoons as league is to...?
  10. TWO-PART ANSWER: What equals 2.248 × 10–13 lb?

Solution 1. Leo   2. Ronin   3. Corvidae   4. Avery   5. Summer   6. Atticus   7. Ivan   8. Parley   9. Miles   10. PicoNewton (not PicoGraham!)

Congratulations to yesterday's partial and full solvers Zachary Z., Yana, Charlie, Inca, Leo S., Kate, and the Greggs. 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.