Some words I never thought I would utter: This is the last ScuttleButton puzzle that will ever appear on the NPR Web site.
With the cancellation of Talk of the Nation, and of course the weekly Political Junkie segment that goes with it, the long relationship between Political Junkie and NPR is coming to an end.
Thus, this is the last button puzzle, with the final winner (and t-shirt and button prizes) announced on Wednesday, June 26th — the final Junkie segment on TOTN.
There will also be a final Junkie column, up next week.
The good news: I'm making a serious effort to find new homes for these features, including the creation of a stand-alone Political Junkie on-air program, to run on public radio stations around the country. For more details about that, write me at kenpr13@gmail.com.
Meanwhile, first things first.
ScuttleButton is of course that waste of time exercise in which each Tuesday or Wednesday I put up a vertical display of buttons on this site. Your job is to simply take one word (or concept) per button, add 'em up, and, hopefully, you will arrive at a famous name or a familiar expression. (And seriously, by familiar, I mean it's something that more than one person on Earth would recognize.)
The randomly-selected winner not only hears their name mentioned during the Wednesday Junkie segment (by me) but they receive a Political Junkie t-shirt and button in the bargain. Is this a great country or what?
You can't use the comments box at the bottom of the page for your answer. Send submission (plus your name and city/state — you won't win without that) to politicaljunkie@npr.org.
Good luck!
Here are the buttons used and the answer to last week's puzzle:
Ould for U.S. Senate — James Ould was the unsuccessful Republican nominee against William Spong (D) in Virginia in 1966.
Mick is Sex — That's Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones.
Barack, You're Fired/Trump for President 2012 — Donald Trump threatened to seek the White House that year but backed away.
Bella For Senator (on hat) — Rep. Bella Abzug, the fiery Manhattan congresswoman who was well known for her omnipresent hat, sought the Democratic nomination from New York in 1976 but lost a squeaker to Daniel Patrick Moynihan in the primary.
Against State Income Tax/Sandman F Line — Rep. Charles Sandman unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor of New Jersey in 1965 and 1969. In 1973, he knocked off GOP Gov. Bill Cahill in the primary but then got trounced in November by Democrat Brendan Byrne.
Sobnosky Senator/The Strength to Do the Job (picture of a muscular arm) — Thought to be from an Ohio state legislative race.
So, when you combine Ould + Mick + Donald + Hat + F + Arm, you may just very well end up with ...
Old MacDonald Had a Farm. The famous nursery rhyme.
The winner, chosen completely at random, is Bonni Thoza of Stockton, Calif. Bonni She gets not only the coveted Political Junkie t-shirt — but the Official No Prize Button as well!
NOTE: A sincere thank you to all the thousands and thousands of loyal ScuttleButton fans who have participated in this silly little exercise over the years. If you wish to be informed about the future of ScuttleButton and Political Junkie — and if you are not already on my list — make sure you send your e-mail address to me at kenpr13@gmail.com.
Final Political Junkie column appears next week.
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