Last week, we posted a Science Friday Crossword Puzzle Challenge, complete with clues related to Science Friday.
for the solutions. (If you want to solve the puzzle, for a blank version.)
The puzzle also offered a final clue, which could be answered by combining the letters in the boxes containing circles. The clue was: Science Friday guest who's appeared in both hours of the show, discussing different topics.
The answer: CAMERON, as in the filmmaker James Cameron. On April 20, 2012, Cameron appeared in “Exploring the Deepest, Darkest Spots on Earth,” as well as “How Movie Makers Use Science to Make Magic.”
To learn the stories behind the rest of the Science Friday-related clues, check out the links below. And don't miss this segment about a computer that solves crosswords, and this article about how to make a professional puzzle.
ACROSS
1: Science Friday guest who said that “the brain is the most complex object in the known universe”
Solution: (Christof) KOCH
5: Network that featured Ira in a popular TV sitcom
Solution: CBS
23: It launched the Space Age
Solution: SPUTNIK
25: Ira’s recent co-host
Solution: (Bill) NYE
34: Kay’s of Scotland shapes a fine one for curling, according to Science Friday article
Solution: STONE
52: Fox dad who attempted a counterexample to Fermat’s Last Theorem, mentioned on Science Friday
Solution: HOMER (Simpson)
53: Science Friday guest, and potent Musk?
Solution: ELON (Musk)
76: Richard Holmes’s airy subject, discussed on SciFri
Solution: BALLOON
78: Space crooner and SciFri guest ___ Hadfield
Solution: CHRIS (Hadfield)
DOWN
1: German graphic designer who compared the body to a factory, portrayed in Science Friday SciArts article
Solution: (Fritz) KAHN
2: Tear-jerker, discussed in a Science Friday segment on alliums
Solution: ONION
4: Science Friday guest Al Gore is familiar with the ___ seat
Solution: HOT
5: Science Friday guest who’s a Darwin relative
Solution: (Matthew) CHAPMAN
More at SciFri: A Year of Darwin 8: Physics can explain his holiday feats, according to SciFri segment
Solution: SANTA
10: Science Friday-friendly cubist
Solution: (Erno) RUBIK
14: The robot was the brainchild of Czech playwrght ___ Capek, according to SciFri segment
Solution: KAREL (Capek)
28: Science Friday guest Michael Sims wrote about this author’s experiences in nature
Solution: (E.B.) WHITE
34: First Ride into space?
Solution: SALLY (Ride)
37: Science Friday guest known as “her deepness”
Solution: (Sylvia) EARLE
40: Will.i.am’s nerdy buddy, and Science Friday guest
Solution: (Dean) KAMEN
47: Science Friday carrier starting in 2014
Solution: PRI
61: Theme for Science Friday’s inaugural Science Club challenge: ___ art
Solution: MACHINE (Art)
68: Science Friday “You Do What” subject who brings voices back from the dead
Solution: (Carl) HABER
70: Dan Durda, ___ portraitist and SciFri “You Do What?” subject
Solution: PLUTO
72: He told Science Friday that science doesn’t disprove God
Solution: (Amir) ACZEL
74: Walter White cribs notes from ___ Nelson, according to SciFri article
Solution: DONNA (Nelson)
75: Giant squid-loving psychiatrist and repeat SciFri guest Oliver ___
Solution: (Oliver) SACKS
81: Bonobos seem to have a French version, according to SciFri segment
Solution: KISS