THE PUZZLE CORNER: SEPTEMBER 12, 2026

 😎FUN FACT

The Monkees (September 12) and the original TV version of Mission: Impossible (September 17) both celebrate their 60th anniversaries this year, so it’s time for some themed enigmas.

THE MONKEES, circa 1986

SUPER SECONDS🥈

After the FAMOUS FIRSTS, what comes next?

The Monkees’ first big hit was ♫Last Train To Clarksville♫. What was their next?

TRIVIA TIME⌚

What was the address of the Monkees’ pad (residence)?

AKA, ALSO KNOWN AS

Lalo Schifrin is famous for composing the Mission: Impossible theme, among other works. But what did he originally name the theme?

WHO AM I?

Can you identify the person (real or fictitious) based upon the clue below?

I first led the Impossible: Mission Force before Peter Graves took over as Jim Phelps.

We’ll reveal all next weekend but for now, let’s open up THE ANSWERS BOX 📦and discover the results from the September 5, 2026 Puzzle Corner as we celebrated Star Trek Day and the original series’ 60th anniversary.

FAMOUS FIRSTS🥇

Which was the first USS Enterprise that could separate its saucer section from the rest of the ship?

USS Enterprise, NCC 1701 PRIME!

According to the original 1976 Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual, the very first Enterprise had that capability, but it could only be done in an extreme emergency because it required a Starbase to reunite the two halves. But that feature wasn’t visually shown by any ship until Picard’s NCC 1701-D.

NUMBER PLEASE

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

How many different Star Trek series have there been, as of September 2026?

12/TWELVE! The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, Discovery, Short Treks, Lower Decks, Prodigy, Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy.

Star Trek: Scouts is technically a YouTube channel exclusive and doesn’t count unless Paramount says otherwise.

TRIVIA TIME⌚

Two Star Trek: Voyager performers had cameos in the Star Trek: First Contact movie. One was blatantly obvious and the other wasn’t. Can you name them both?

While Robert Picardo reprised his role as the Emergency Medical Hologram for one scene, Ethan Phillips portrayed a maitre’d instead of Neelix in another.

THE LETTER SHUFFLE

How many new words can you form out of the letters in STAR TREK?

A, are, ark(s), art(s), as, aster {type of flower}, at, ate

Ear(s), eat(s), err(s)

Rare, rat(s), rate(s), rater(s), reak(s) {correct spelling of an old word meaning tricks}, rear(s), rest

Sake, sat, sate, sea, sear, seat, set, skate, skater, stake, staker, stare, starer, stark, start, state, steak

Take(s), taker(s), tart(s), taste, taster, tar(s), tare(s), tea(s), tear(s), test, {and} treat(s).

STAR and TREK don’t count because they were the original words but others than the 65 listed above might be possible.

SUNDAY FUNNIES: BACK TO SCHOOL 2021

D-O-G. DOG.

C-A-T. CAT.

 Hello Everybody!

Today you have both Autumn the Puppy AND Piper D. Katt here as we do our annual Back To School Salute!

That’s right Autumn. Now in classic days, or at least before 1980, most schools did not resume classes until the Tuesday after Labor Day each year. Yet now with all the “Teachers In Service” and other agenda items, students could be back in as early as mid-August.

In any event, hopefully everyone goes back to learn the important things in life.

Like avoiding the “Mystery Meat” in the cafeteria?

Yeah, along with reading, writing, arithmetic, and much more.

But this wouldn’t be Sunday without some funnies, so here they are!

As her son returned from the first day of the school, she asked, “What did you learn today?”

“Not enough,” he replied. “They said I have to go back tomorrow.”

Why was school much easier for cave people?

Because there wasn't much history to study!😉

60 might be the new 90 when it comes to age, but 9 is the new midnight when it comes to curfews.

Where do you learn to make a banana🍌 split?

In Sundae🍨 school.

Do Snakes🐍🐍 go to Charm School?

Do they study Hisstory?

History???

ARITHMETIC: When it comes to math, I’m happy with being 90% right. I don’t care about the other 5%.

ASTRONOMY: Venus Williams, Freddy Mercury and Bruno Mars met once at a grocery store but they didn’t planet that way.

Are magicians🧙🧙 good students because they're great at trick questions?

Are rulers📏📏 the royalty of all school supplies?

Teacher: "Give me a sentence beginning with "I".

Student: "I is...."

Teacher: "Stop there. You need to begin with I am".

Student: "Okay...I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."

Teacher: "What is the shortest month?"

Student: "May. It only has three letters." 

Although the Teacher was probably looking for February because it has only 28 days, except in Leap Year.

And on that note♫ take care everybody! Have a great week!

STAY SAFE! 😷

And one of us will be back next weekend with more Sunday Funnies!—AtP and PDK.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: SEPTEMBER 12, 2020

😎 FUN FACT

Charles Darwin never once used the word “evolution” in his book📖 On the Origin of Species.

REBUS

Something familiar is represented in the image below.

Do you know what it is?

⛆☔⋈

COMMON BONDS

We’ve only got one subset this time because it’s a big list, but what do the following musicians all have in common?

{Keith Richards, Steve Winwood, Quincy Jones, Herb Alpert, Billy Joel, Neil Young, John Fogerty, Hank Williams Junior, Roberta Flack, Julian and Sean Lennon}

We’ll reveal all next weekend but for now, let’s open up THE ANSWERS BOX📦 and discover the results from the September 5, 2020 Puzzle Corner.

AKA, ALSO KNOWN AS

It’s been in the news so much, what does PPE stand for?

Personal Protective Equipment.😷

FAMOUS FIRSTS🥇

Who was the first actress to ever win THREE consecutive Emmy Awards?

Barbara Bain in 1967, 1968, and 1969 for her work on Mission: Impossible.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

FUN FACT
It is completely impossible to keep your eyes open when sneezing.

BEFORE AND AFTER

Two separate things have at least one word in common, allowing them to be combined into something new. Based upon the clue below, do you know what that new thing is?

Norman Lear produced sitcom about the Keatons?

COMMON BONDS
The items in each subset have something in common.
Do you know what it is?
01. {Come On Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners, Only The Good Die Young by Billy Joel}
02. {Steve Winwood, The Monkees}

We'll reveal all next weekend. But for now, let's open up THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results of the September 5, 2015 Puzzle Corner and our Schoolhouse Rock! Quiz.

THE QUESTIONS
01. When Schoolhouse Rock! first debuted in 1973, they began with Multiplication Rock!, covering the table from "My Hero Zero" to "Little Twelvetoes". But what two numbers were skipped?
02. Multiplication Rock! lessons were quickly joined in the weekly rotation with Grammar Rock! What was the first lesson in that subject?
03. What group of lessons was added in 1975 in time for the bicentennial of the United States?
04. What subject started debuting lessons in 1979 amongst the existing topics?
05. Although the shortest subject because of the ever changing technology field, Computer Rocks! debuted in 1983 with what two recurring characters?
06. Sadly, the series went off the air for a while starting in 1985, but when it returned in the early 1990s, it gained a mascot to introduce the segments. Who was this character?
07. With the series revival, what new subject was introduced amongst the original episodes and new lessons in Grammar Rock!?
08. Sadly, the series went off the air again in 1999 because no one wanted to tie up 3 minutes of air time, and has only been on DVD (and YouTube) since then. What new subject was covered in a straight to DVD release in 2009?

THE ANSWERS
01. Although the principles were explained in other songs, Multiplication Rock! never produced songs honoring the numbers 1 and 10.
02. The first lesson of Grammar Rock! aired was "Conjunction Junction".
03. America Rock!, teaching United States history.
04. Science Rock! was added to the lesson plan in 1979.
05. SCOOTER COMPUTER AND MISTER CHIPS.
06. Schoolhouse Rocky, who was dressed in a modified version of the costume from "My Hero Zero".
07. Money Rock! was introduced amongst the original episodes and new lessons in Grammar Rock!
08. Earth Rock! about earth sciences.

The series received a belated 40th anniversary special on ABC on the eve of its 41st anniversary, but hasn't been on network television since.