Filed by KOSU News in Politics.
November 10, 2011

I would be willing to take a lie detector test to prove that this week’s ScuttleButton puzzle is more challenging than the last one.

For you, it’s much easier. Every Wednesday on this site I put up a vertical display of buttons. 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.)

For years, a correct answer chosen at random would get his or her name posted in this column, an incredible honor in itself. Now the stakes are even higher. Thanks to the efforts of the folks at Talk of the Nation, that person also hears their name mentioned on the Wednesday show and receives a Political Junkie t-shirt 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.

And, by adding your name to the Political Junkie mailing list, you will be among the first on your block to receive notice about the column and the puzzle. Sign up at politicaljunkie@npr.org. Or you can make sure to get an automatic RSS feed whenever a new Junkie post goes up by clicking here.

Good luck!

By the way, I usually reveal the answer — and announce the winner — on Wednesday’s Junkie segment on TOTN. So you should get your answer in by Tuesday.

Here’s the answer to last week’s puzzle:

Elect St. John to Congress — Jeffrey St. John, a radio commentator, was the Conservative Party nominee in New York’s 17th congressional district special election to replace John Lindsay (R) in 1966, who was elected mayor the year before. The seat was won by Theodore Kupferman (R).

Joe Louis — The great heavyweight boxing champion, who ruled from 1937-1949.

two buttons for Francis Cardinal Spellman — Spellman was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York from 1939 until his death in 1967.

So, when you combine St. + Louis + Cardinals, you kinda get (and yes, I should be embarrassed about this one) …

St. Louis Cardinals. The 2011 World Series champions, a series that was one of the most riveting in baseball history.

And the winner, chosen completely at random, is … Eric Dodge of Middleport, N.Y., who hit the answer out of the park. Eric gets a TOTN t-shirt. [Copyright 2011 National Public Radio]