THE PUZZLE CORNER: MARCH 21, 2026

 😎FUN FACT

The Human Liver fluctuates in size, depending upon body activity.

NUMBER PLEASE

Get ready! We ask the question, but the answer is just a number.

What number is considered unlucky in Italy?

REBUS

Something familiar is represented in the image below. Do you know what it is?

We’ll reveal all next weekend but for now, let’s open up THE ANSWERS BOX📦 and discover the results from the March 14, 2026 Puzzle Corner.

TRIVIA TIME⌚

The Oscars were held March 15. Who has hosted the awards show the most, to date?

Comedian/actor Bob Hope with 19 events. The strongest contender, currently in second place, is comedian/actor Billy Crystal with 9 events, to date.

Oddly, neither gentleman has ever won an Oscar, although Hope has been presented a few honorary awards.

THE LETTER SHUFFLE

With Saint Patrick’s Day March 17, how many new words can you spell out of the letters in SHAMROCK?

A, ah, am, arc(s), ark(s), arm(s), as, ash

Cam(s), car(s), cash, char(s), charm(s), chaos, chasm, cram(s), crash, croak(s)

Hack(s), ham(s), harm(s), has

Mach, mack, march, mar(s), marsh, mash, mock(s)

Oak(s), oar(s), oh, or

Rack(s), rah (which is an old cheer word), ram(s), rash, roach, roam(s), rock(s)

Sack, scam, scar, scram, sham, shack, shark, shock, soak, soar

More than the 70 listed above might be possible.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: JANUARY 4, 2020

😎FUN FACT
This is the first Puzzle Corner of 2020!

Let’s start with our traditional enigma of the new year.
THE LETTER SHUFFLE
How many new words can you form out of the letters in NEW YEAR?

And now on to a new puzzler...
COMMON BONDS
The items in each subset below have something in common. Do you know what it is?
01. {♫Tracy♫ by The Cuff Links, ♫Sugar Sugar♫ by The Archies}
02. {Strawberry Alarm Clock, Lynyrd Skynyrd}

We’ll reveal all next weekend but for now, let’s open up THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results from the December 28, 2019 Puzzle Corner.

🥇FAMOUS FIRSTS: THE CHRISTMAS🎄 CAROL EDITION

There were radio stations playing Christmas music 24/7 WEEKS before Thanksgiving!
But now that all the ultra-commercialized hype is over, for now, do you know who the FIRST performer(s) of each song listed below were?

01. Frosty the Snowman⛄ was first sung by Gene Autry in a 1950 recording.
02. Judy Garland was the first to sing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas during the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me In Saint Louis.
03. Here Comes Santa Claus🎅 was first sung by its co-writer Gene Autry in 1947, although the classic radio version is actually of a later recording.
04. The Jingle Bell Rock was first performed by Bobby Helms in 1957.
05. Vaughn Monroe first pleaded Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow in 1946.
06. Believe it or not, there are two possible answers for this one!
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer🦌 first shined in 1948 when Harry Brannon sang it live on various New York City radio programs, but Gene Autry was the first to actually record the song the following year.
07. Eartha Kitt first purred Santa Baby in 1953.
08. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town is actually the oldest song on our list. Eddie Cantor was the first to sing it in a 1934 recording, although I personally like the rendition by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
09. Silver Bells🕭🕭 was first performed in the 1951 Paramount Picture The Lemon Drop Kid by its star Bob Hope, who continued to perform it on every TV Christmas special he did until his passing.
10. You are right to say Bing Crosby was the first to ever perform White Christmas, but he did so during his radio show on Christmas Day 1941. The movie Holiday Inn was in 1942, and the remake movie White Christmas was in 1954.
11. Sleigh Ride, as an instrumental, was first performed by The Boston Pops Orchestra conducted by Arthur Fiedler in 1949, although the popular radio version is actually one of their later performances.
12. The Andrews Sisters were the first to sing Sleigh Ride's lyrics in a 1950 recording.

SUNDAY FUNNIES: CLASSIC CELEBRITY CITINGS

"Bark!" And you can quote me on that.

Hello Everybody! Autumn the Puppy here!
It's been quite a while since the last time I've posted any funny celebrity quotes. Not that celebrities don't say anything funny, whether intentionally or not, just that I haven't used any of their material in a while.
So without further adieu, and my comments are in italics.

"I had a rose🌹 named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog: 'No good in a bed, but fine against a wall.'" - Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady to President Franklin Roosevelt.
Maybe you should have pointed out the thorns to whoever wrote that description.

"Be careful about reading health books.You may die of a misprint." - Mark Twain, famous author.
So they had fad diets even way back then huh? It's a lot trickier today with the Internet!

"By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher." - Socrates, Greek philosopher.
Is that how you got into the business sir?

"I have never hated a man enough to give his diamonds🔷⃟🔶 back." - Zsa Zsa Gabor, actress.
People should marry for love, but it doesn't hurt to have something to cover the expenses of old age.

"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying." - Rodney Dangerfield, famous comedian.
That doesn't necessarily sound like a bad thing. Think of the all the innocent victims of violence that wouldn't be leaving before their natural end.

"Money can't buy you happiness, but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery." - Spike Milligan, comedian/writer.
At least it keeps the bills paid, food on the table and a roof over your head. That sounds like happiness to me.

Bob Hope

"I don't feel old. I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap." - Bob Hope, comic actor.
You should see some of the cats🐈🐱 I have to share this house with Mr. Hope. I don't think any of them have moved in weeks. But let me try to catch 40 winks after barking at the mailman📧📪...

"I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish🐟🐠 do in it." - W. C. Fields, comedian.
Humans pollute the water a lot more than fish do, sir.

Churchill

"We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress." - Will Rogers, comedic actor.
If red tape existed back then, George Washington would still be waiting for supplies to get to Valley Forge!

"Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you." - Winston Churchill,
England's Prime Minister during World War 2.
Life's for living! Have fun when you can responsibly.

And on that note🎵, have a great week everybody and please be back here again next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!—AtP.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: MARCH 2, 2019

😎FUN FACT
Inventor Richard James created what we know today as the Slinky by accident!

TRIVIA TIME⌚
When and where was the abacus invented?

NEXT?
What is the next item(s) in the sequence below?
SA, JP, JC, JL, ___? ___?

We’ll reveal all next weekend, but for now, let’s open up THE ANSWERS BOX📦 and discover the results from the February 23, 2019 Puzzle Corner.

AKA, ALSO KNOWN AS
Who do we know Patricia Reichardt better as?
Peppermint Patty in the Peanuts comic strip.

TRIVIA TIME⌚
This year’s Academy Awards took a different approach by not having an official host. But who has hosted the show the most, to date?
Bob Hope 18 times.

SUNDAY FUNNIES: CELEBRITY CHRISTMAS CITINGS (Celebrity Christmas Quotes)

Hello Everybody! Autumn the Puppy here with our monthly look into the comings and goings of other people.
In other words, it's Celebrity Quote Time, and this month, the theme is naturally Christmas.
Let's see who has what to say on the subject, with my commentary afterward.

Coolidge, circa 1919

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real Christmas spirit."
Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States
I couldn't agree more. The mood should last year round toward all living creatures, with less commercialism.

Hope, circa 1978

"If you haven't got any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble."
Legendary comedian Bob Hope

Not Ellen DeGeneres

Sad, but true.

"Nothing says holidays like a cheese log."
Ellen DeGeneres
At least it isn't a fruit cake!

"One Christmas I wanted an electric train set but got a saxophone instead."

Clemons, circa 2009

Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
Yeah, and we all know how that 'mistake' turned out.

"The two things women don't want to find in their stockings at Christmas are runs and their husbands."

Rivers, circa 2009

Comedian Joan Rivers
I've never had any reason to wear stockings, but I'll take your word for it.



Folks, there are many reasons to celebrate this month.
Family, friends.
Whatever your faith, I hope you and yours have the best time together you possibly can, even if some of your kin can't make it home to celebrate, just remember them in your heart and they'll always be there.
Until next time. Have a great week.--AtP.

Celebrity images courtesy of Wikipedia via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License. Anti-fruitcake picture courtesy of Google.