Tag Archives: The West Wing

Crosswords as Pop Culture Shorthand?

Posted on by
Reply

In television and movies, there are a lot of different techniques for revealing character traits. While some shows spend time developing their characters and slowly revealing their traits to the audience, other shows rely on visual shorthand. You often see a letterman’s jacket for a jock, or glasses for a nerdy boy or a mousy girl.

The act of solving a crossword puzzle has also become visual shorthand in pop culture. Crosswords often serve as a universal sign of intelligence.

In an episode of Jimmy Neutron, Sheen is shown solving a crossword puzzle in ink. This is an instantaneous sign that his brainpower has increased. (And when Cindy points out that her dad does the same thing, Sheen one-ups her by saying the puzzle is from The Beijing Times.)

It could have been math or organization or memorization, but instead, they went with crosswords.

In The Wire, the show uses a scene with a crossword to reveal that there’s more to street-smart Omar Little than meets the eye. Before testifying at Bird’s trial, he helps the bailiff with a crossword clue, identifying the Greek god of war as Ares. The scene immediately punches holes in several stereotypes both characters and viewers might have about the character.

This also happens on Mad Men, where one of the founders of the company is solving a crossword, only to be corrected by one of the secretaries. For that brief moment, the playing field has been levelled.

And because crosswords are seen as this visual shorthand for intelligence, they’re also used as a intellectual measuring stick, for better or for worse.

Rachel on Friends struggled with a crossword for an entire episode to prove she didn’t need anyone’s help, but still has to obliquely obtain information from others to finish the puzzle.

In an episode of House, M.D., House goes speed-dating, and is initially intrigued by a woman who brought a crossword puzzle with her. But when he notices she’s filled in random words instead of actually solving it — in order to pass herself off as someone she’s not — he quickly bursts her bubble in typically acerbic fashion.

P.G. Wodehouse loved to reveal the intelligence — or lack thereof — of characters through the use of crossword clues as fodder for banter. And that’s because it works. The audience draws conclusions based on these interactions.

In a fifth-season episode of Angel, a doctor is shown asking his receptionist for random crossword clues, only to fail at answering several. This immediately colors the audience’s opinion of him.

Crosswords can also be used as a mirror to reflect differences between characters. On The West Wing, President Bartlet couldn’t get past his own presuppositions and assumptions to properly complete the puzzle, while the First Lady had no problem navigating the same puzzle because of her own diplomatic skills.

Similarly, the parents in an episode of Phineas and Ferb show off their dynamic while solving a crossword. The father implies that every answer is obvious, and then waits for his wife to actually provide the answer. It says volumes about him, her, and the two of them as a pair.

But all of this raises the question: is this fair? Is the one-to-one association of crosswords and intelligence in pop culture valid?

[Check out this stock image from Deposit Photo.]

Crosswords are, essentially, piles of trivia and information, crisscrossing vocabulary locked behind clever or vague cluing. But are intelligence and access to information the same thing?

I mean, we’ve discussed the issue of crossword accessibility in the past. Many female constructors, constructors of color, and LGBTQIA+ constructors are helping to change the language used in crosswords, but plenty of people still see them as the domain of older white men. Which implies it’s not actually intelligence, just what older white men deem to be reflective of intelligence.

For a long time, pop culture clues were considered unwelcome or verboten. Beneath the crossword, even. Different editors bring different definitions of what’s appropriate for the puzzle.

And if people associate crosswords with intelligence because of this visual shorthand, and they don’t see themselves reflected in the puzzle, then they suffer from that jagged flip side of the pop culture coin. They’re excluded because of the measuring stick.

I realize most of the examples I cite above are intended to be humorous. Bartlet’s wrong answers are meant to be funny, as is Rachel’s struggle or the dad’s inability to answer on Phineas and Ferb.

But it’s worth mentioning that anyone who feels like they’ve been rapped across the knuckles by the measuring stick carries that with them. I’ve seen it plenty of times when I tell somebody that I work in puzzles. If they “can’t do them,” they look down when they say it. They already carry that visual shorthand with them.

While it’s fascinating that crosswords are part of that immediately recognizable pop culture lexicon, I also kinda wish that they weren’t.

dailypopwsicon

Well, summer’s over, but we still have deals galore for you to check out. You can find them on the Home Screen for Daily POP Crosswords and Daily POP Word Search! Check them out!

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

The WORST Puzzle Solvers in Pop Culture

Posted on by
1

We celebrate puzzles here at PuzzleNation, and for the most part, we really try to keep the mood light and the overall tone a positive one. Because puzzles are great, and the people who make them are creative, brilliant, innovative, funny wordsmiths who labor for hours just to bring us some delightful challenges in black-and-white grid form.

As part of the general spirit of PuzzleNation Blog, we’ve been doing a series of posts where we shout-out the best puzzle solvers from the realms of fiction, be it horror movies, classic literature, television, YA novels, and children’s books.

But in all fairness, for some reason, a lot of not-so-great puzzle solvers have also been featured in pop culture. Sometimes, a crossword puzzle is the perfect prop for a bit of comic relief. Other times, the crossword serves as a lens for the character, providing valuable insight into their personality.

And if it’s true that you can’t truly enjoy the sunshine without having experienced a little bit of rain now and then, well, let’s rain on a few characters for the sake of fun, shall we?

Here’s a quick look at some of the worst puzzlers in pop culture.

President Jed Bartlet, The West Wing

Bartlet is an incredibly intelligent and well-read individual, which makes it all the more entertaining to watch him struggle with a crossword during the third-season episode “Dead Irish Writers.” He overthinks one entry, is outwitted by another — coming up with TEA for the clue “It may be bitter” instead of END — and even coloring in a square when an answer doesn’t fit the grid.

That’s not the point of the scene, of course. It’s a showcase of Bartlet’s relationship with his wife and how they’re both confronting a crisis in different ways.

But still… Jed, you’re bad at crosswords.

Bertram Cooper (Robert Morse) – Mad Men _ Season 7, Gallery – Photo Credit: Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC

Bert Cooper, Mad Men

I haven’t seen all of Mad Men, so I can’t be certain, but I only recall one character with a deft hand when it comes to crosswords: Don Draper’s secretary Miss Blankenship. And she serves as the perfect foil for Mad Men‘s worst puzzle solver, Bert Cooper.

One of the top brass at advertising agency Sterling Cooper, Bert is solving a crossword and asks for “a three-letter word for a flightless bird.” Anyone with crossword experience will answer as Miss Blankenship does, with “emu.” Cooper replies, “Nope, it starts with an L,” to which Miss Blankenship responds, “The hell it does.” Clearly Mr. Cooper has already gone astray with this solve.

It’s a funny juxtaposition to have someone in a lower position speak so bluntly to a higher-up, and it also fits perfectly with Miss Blankenship’s abrupt style.

[Image courtesy of SyFy Wire.]

Marjory the Trash Heap, Fraggle Rock

Also known as Madame Trash Heap, this sentient compost heap claims to have all wisdom, and serves as a strange oracle for the nearby Fraggles. Although she possesses some magical powers and her advice usually turns out okay, this doesn’t prevent her from making some pretty silly mistakes. And that includes working on crosswords.

In one episode, Marjory needed an 11-letter word for “life of the party.” Proving both her faulty reasoning and her egocentric view of the world, she confidently claims the answer is her uncle, MAXIMILIAN. (It’s spelled with a silent Q, of course.)

Yes, this is a kids show, and yes, it’s not meant to be taken seriously, but it does make you question her view of the world, no matter how good her intentions are.

[Image courtesy of Screenrant.]

Eugene H. Krabs, Spongebob Squarepants

Mr. Krabs, owner of the Krusty Krab restaurant, is obsessed with money and views pretty much everyone and everything around him in terms of monetary value. This even extends to his recreational activities, as we see in one episode of the show where he is solving a crossword puzzle — well, a crisscross, but this happens in TV all the time — and puts the word “money” as the answer to every single five-letter space in the grid.

Unfortunately for Mr. Krabs, there’s one place in the grid where it wouldn’t work, spoiling the solve. (It is convenient for him that MONEY fits in so many of the five-letter spaces in the grid, though.)

I’m fairly certain Mr. Krabs doesn’t care, but hey, if you’re solving a crossword or a crisscross, you should care. A little. (At least he doesn’t color in grid squares like Jed Bartlet.)

[Image courtesy of Bill Watterson.]

Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes

There’s no denying that Calvin is a very clever boy. He creates games like Calvinball, builds some hilariously morbid snowmen, examines the world with a unique perspective that flummoxes and surprises in equal measure. But one Calvin and Hobbes comic strip reveals that he’s not necessarily a good crossword solver.

In response to the incredibly vague clue “bird,” Calvin says, “I’ve got it! ‘Yellow-bellied sapsucker!'” When Hobbes points out that there are only five boxes, Calvin brushes him off with a casual, “I know. These idiots make you write real small.”

On the one hand, Calvin would have no problem with rebus-style crosswords that put more than one letter into the grid. But on the other hand, no sane constructor would jam twenty letters into five boxes. (Hopefully.)

Walt Tenor, Stuck on You

A pair of conjoined twins in this comedy film from 2003, Bob is the quiet shy brother and Walt is the outgoing one driven to seek success in Hollywood. To further illustrate the differences between the two brothers and the central personality conflict between them, crosswords are mentioned twice in the film.

In both cases, the obvious correct answer — provided by the more timid and thoughtful Bob — comes as a surprise to Walt, who has come up with more inappropriate potential answers. I can’t share either of them with you, fellow puzzler, because we try to keep it family-friendly here on PN Blog, but sufficed to say, the answers tell you what’s on Walt’s mind most of the time, to the detriment of both his relationship with his brother and his ability to actually complete a crossword.

By ignoring the common sense answers and always twisting the clues to suit what he’s thinking about, Walt shares several of the bad qualities seen in other people on this list. He might just be the worst puzzle solver in pop culture.

Can you think of any bad solvers in popular culture that we missed? Let us know in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

Puzzles in Pop Culture: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Plus Will Shortz!)

Posted on by
6

[Image courtesy of FOX.com.]

In our Puzzles in Pop Culture series, we’ve featured shows as diverse as Gilmore Girls, NCIS: New Orleans, The West Wing, Hell’s Kitchen, and Parks and Recreation.

But oddly enough, the puzzliest show in the series has proven to be Brooklyn Nine-Nine, FOX’s hit sitcom about a New York precinct and its oddball collection of detectives. Not only did they pose a diabolical seesaw brain teaser in one episode, but crosswords were at the heart of another key moment in the show just last year.

And today’s post marks the show’s third appearance. Join us as we delve into “The Puzzle Master,” episode 15 of season 5.

The episode opens with detective Amy Santiago passing the sergeant’s exam and doing a dorky dance. Good start.

[Image courtesy of Spoiler TV.]

Her fiance, fellow detective Jake Peralta, has a doozy of a last case for he and Amy to solve as detectives. He presents her with a serial arson case that seem to be connected to the Saturday crossword puzzle. Amy, as a crossword fiend, is overjoyed.

Two different buildings have been set ablaze on two consecutive Saturdays, each with a puzzle left at the crime scene. The only other clue is a note sent to the puzzle’s “author” — not constructor, oddly — Melvin Stermley.

Amy immediately geeks out, mentioning that Stermley once created a puzzle where every word in the grid was the word “puzzle” in a different language. Jake then mentions that Stermley himself is coming in to help them with the case.

[Image courtesy of Brooklyn Nine-Nine Wiki.]

While Jake expects Melvin Stermley to be “a massive dork,” he turns out to be a handsome Hollywood tough guy type. Jake is instantly jealous. (For a nice bit of insider fun, Stermley is played by David Fumero, the husband of Melissa Fumero, who plays Amy Santiago.)

Amy has set up a display with both of Stermley’s puzzles connected to the fires, and the trio begin searching for leads. When Jake asks if he has the typical physique of a puzzler, he mentions that each puzzle only pays a couple hundred bucks, so he makes most of his money modeling. (No doubt a common response you’d get from any top constructor, right, folks?)

They read over the arsonist’s letter again: “Your clues I discombulate, to teach you to conjugate. The fool who fails to validate will watch as I conflagrate.”

Stermley suggests that they look at the answer grids of his puzzles for clues. Amy then jumps to anagramming some of the answer words. (The puzzler notes that Amy Santiago anagrams to “o, nasty amiga” and Jake Peralta to “eat a jerk, pal.”) Amy and Vin decide to split up the odd and even clues, leaving Jake out.

[Image courtesy of Spoiler TV.]

Getting nowhere with the anagrams, they wonder if “conjugate” in the arsonist’s letter means they should focus on the verbs, “the second best form of speech, after prepositions.” Jake suggests a different path, starting with possible suspects who don’t like Stermley, and the puzzler mentions the crossword night he’s hosting at a local bar. “It’s a total puz-hang,” according to Amy, and a good place to start looking.

While waiting in line outside the bar, Jake is disappointed no one is dressed like The Riddler. Amy points out someone wearing crossword-patterned pants. (Again, a common sight at the ACPT.) They chat with one of the other people in line, a woman who jokingly refers to Stermley as her future husband.

[Image courtesy of Spoiler TV.]

Before anyone can enter, they have to solve one of Stermley’s puzzles. Amy is tasked with anagramming the phrase “MEET A BRAINIER STUD, A” into the name of a place in the world. (Jake’s jealousy is piqued by the anagrammed message, of course.)

She quickly solves it — UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — and heads inside. But when Jake tries to follow, he discovers he has to solve a puzzle of his own to get in. The phrase “SAD ANUS LOSER, I GO IN” must be anagrammed into a film based on a classic book. Cut to Jake sneaking into the bathroom, because he couldn’t solve the anagram.

(It was DANGEROUS LIAISONS, by the way.)

While Jake waits in the bathroom for his pants to dry — he stepped into the toilet while climbing down from the window — two puzzle fans come in, discussing Stermley’s mad puzzle skills and how “Sam” must be pissed, as Stermley replaced him doing the Saturday crossword, bumping him down to work in Parade Magazine.

They mention Sam’s toughest clue, “a 5-letter word for a game popular in nursing homes,” to which Jake replies “BINGO.”

[Image courtesy of AV Club.]

Jake mentions it to Stermley, who says Sam Jepson is one of his best friends and has been out of town for weeks. Jake still thinks Jepson is a solid lead.

Amy and Stermley, meanwhile, have realized that both targeted buildings were at the intersection of numbered streets, and those numbered intersections also point to letters in Stermley’s puzzles: M and A. They plan to build a trap into Stermley’s next puzzle to catch the arsonist.

When given a choice between Jake’s approach and Stermley’s, Amy opts to go with the puzzle trap.

Back at the precinct, Amy has determined that the most common letters in people’s names that follow MA are L, X, R, and T — Malcolm, Max, Mark, and Matthew, for example — so Stermley constructs a puzzle using only one of each of those letters. (A pretty daunting challenge, but definitely doable — especially if the cryptic-style crossword grid on the board behind Amy is the puzzle in question. It would have fewer intersections.)

Amy plans to stake out the intersections for each of those four letters, assigning one of them to Jake. (Jake, meanwhile, makes a secret plan to have Charles stake out Sam Jepson’s apartment.)

[Image courtesy of Spoiler TV.]

Charles spots Sam on the move — played by crossword guru Will Shortz, no less! — and Jake leaves his assignment to intercept. He and Charles follow Sam, who sits at a corner and eats soup, then calls his Mom. It turns out he has been out of town, only having returned tonight — and his marriage proposal was rejected. Bummer.

Jake returns to his assigned intersection, and the building is on fire. He has missed the arsonist.

Amy is understandably upset with Jake when they’re back at the office. Jake confesses he’s jealous of Stermley and doesn’t want Amy to wake up one day, regretting not marrying someone as smart as her. She reassures him that he’s a brilliant detective and that’s why she wants to marry him.

[Image courtesy of FOX.com.]

Jake has a epiphany, realizing that the arsonist’s name isn’t what’s being spelled out, it’s the word MARRY. (The word “conjugate” in the letter also pointed to marriage.)

And who wants to marry Stermley?

The woman in line at the bar on crossword night.

Jake and Amy bring the woman in, and it turns out the full message she intended to spell out with her fires was “MARRY ME OR ELSE I WILL KILL YOU, YOURS FOREVER, HELEN GERBELSON.”

That would take SO MANY FIRES. (I imagine she’d have to burn down several buildings more than once, given the sheer repetition of letters and the relatively few options for numbered streets.)

But, in the end, the arsonist has been caught, thanks to the power of puzzles and good police work.

[Image courtesy of Lauren Leti’s Twitter.]

Overall, I thought this was a very fun episode of the show. The anagram gags were the puzzly highlight, though I confess, I thought they’d do more with the Will Shortz cameo.

Here’s hoping there’s a crime at the Brooklyn Nine-Nine equivalent of the ACPT next year!

Also, as someone who has seen ARSON in a thousand grids, it is funny to see someone finally link the word and the act in a puzzly way.

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

Consider the Pencil…

Posted on by
Reply

We spend a lot of time talking about pencil-and-paper puzzles here on the blog, but it’s rare for us to focus on the “pencil” part of that pairing.

Whether you prefer a regular pencil or a mechanical pencil for your puzzling, there’s no denying that having an eraser is a pretty comforting feature. (Although there is a certain confidence exuded by solving in pen.)

But how much do you actually know about everything that goes into making that classic solving tool?

Well, The New York Times has you covered. They recently posted an in-depth look behind the scenes of the production process at the General Pencil Company, and the photographs alone, like the one featured above, are fascinating.

From the article:

Such radical simplicity is surprisingly complicated to produce. Since 1889, the General Pencil Company has been converting huge quantities of raw materials (wax, paint, cedar planks, graphite) into products you can find, neatly boxed and labeled, in art and office-supply stores across the nation: watercolor pencils, editing pencils, sticks of charcoal, pastel chalks. Even as other factories have chased higher profit margins overseas, General Pencil has stayed put, cranking out thousands upon thousands of writing instruments in the middle of Jersey City.

The vivid, full-color photos in the gallery are accompanied by thoughtful musings on the writing process itself, making the article a quick, thoughtful read that’s worth your time.

Here’s one more snippet that stuck with me:

In an era of infinite screens, the humble pencil feels revolutionarily direct: It does exactly what it does, when it does it, right in front of you. Pencils eschew digital jujitsu. They are pure analog, absolute presence. They help to rescue us from oblivion… When you hold a pencil, your quietest little hand-dances are mapped exactly, from the loops and slashes to the final dot at the very end of a sentence.

That excerpt about simplicity reminds me of a classic exchange from The West Wing:

Leo McGarry: We spent millions of dollars developing a pen for the astronauts that would work in zero gravity. Know what the Russians did?
Toby Ziegler: Used a pencil?
Leo McGarry: They used a pencil.

And although that story about millions spent on a space pen has been thoroughly debunked, the point remains.

Pencils get the job done.

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

Puzzly Romance Strikes Again!

Posted on by
2

For some reason, people simply do not associate puzzles with romance. And that’s ridiculous.

In this blog alone, we’ve documented several examples of puzzly romance, including several proposals delivered with the help of our friends at Penny Dell Puzzles.

Pop culture also has its fair share of romantic moments where puzzles play a huge part. The West Wing shared a moment of hilarious, quiet domesticity between the president and the first lady where a crossword was involved. Parks and Rec celebrated Valentine’s Day with a puzzle-filled scavenger hunt.

And last week Brooklyn Nine-Nine — already familiar to PuzzleNationers for their seesaw puzzle episode — added its own unforgettable moment of puzzly romance to the pile of evidence.

[Image courtesy of Indiewire.]

The episode in question, entitled “HalloVeen,” has the officers and detectives of the 99th Precinct engaging in their annual Halloween heist to determine who is the craftiest and most brilliant member of the squad.

As the players double-cross, triple-cross, and outmaneuver each other with increasingly ridiculous and circuitous plans to acquire this year’s MacGuffin — a championship belt in the style of pro wrestling — both the players and the viewers are surprised by one player’s long con…

Jake has used the heist to propose to his girlfriend, fellow detective Amy.

Although there’s a lot of clever plotting in this episode, that’s not the puzzly moment. That comes later, as the characters each share a story explaining when they planted the idea of proposing in Jake’s head.

Jake replies that none of them are correct. It turns out, it was a quiet moment at home with Amy that convinced him:

[Image courtesy of Heroes and Heartbreakers.]

It’s not dramatic or overscripted or full of fireworks. It’s an everyday moment with the woman he loves. It’s nerdy and funny and silly and idiosyncratic. It’s simple. It feels genuine.

All thanks to a typo in a crossword.

Ain’t love grand?

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

Puzzles in Pop Culture: Square One TV

Posted on by
Reply

Puzzles in Pop Culture is all about chronicling those moments in TV, film, literature, art, and elsewhere in which puzzles play a key role. In previous installments, we’ve tackled everything from The West Wing, The Simpsons, and M*A*S*H to MacGyver, Gilmore Girls, and various incarnations of Sherlock Holmes.

And in today’s edition, we’re jumping into the Wayback Machine and looking back at the math-fueled equivalent of Sesame Street: Square One TV!

[The intro to Square One TV, looking more than a little dated these days.]

This PBS show ran from 1987 to 1994 (although reruns took over in 1992), airing five days a week and featuring all sorts of math-themed programming. Armed with a small recurring group of actors, the writers and producers of Square One TV offered many clever (if slightly cheesy) ideas for presenting different mathematical concepts to its intended audience.

Whether they were explaining pie charts and percentages with a game show parody or employing math-related magic tricks with the aid of magician Harry Blackstone, Jr., the sketches were simple enough for younger viewers, but funny enough for older viewers.

In addition to musical parodies performed by the cast, several famous musicians contributed to the show as well. “Weird Al” Yankovic, Bobby McFerrin, The Fat Boys, and Kid ‘n’ Play were among the guests helped explain fractions, tessellations, and other topics.

[One of the many math-themed songs featured on the show.]

Two of the most famous recurring segments on Square One TV were Mathman and Mathcourt. (Sensing a theme here?)

Mathman was a Pac-Man ripoff who would eat his way around an arcade grid until he reached a number or a question mark (depending on this particular segment’s subject).

For instance, if he came to a question mark and it revealed “3 > 2”, he could eat the ratio, because it’s mathematically correct, and then move onward. But if he ate the ratio “3 < 2”, he would be pursued by Mr. Glitch, the tornado antagonist of the game. (The announcer would always introduce Mr. Glitch with an unflattering adjective like contemptible, inconsiderate, devious, reckless, insidious, inflated, ill-tempered, shallow, or surreptitious.)

Mathcourt, on the other hand, gave us a word problem in the form of a court case, leaving the less-than-impressed district attorney and judge to establish whether the accused (usually someone much savvier at math than them) was correct or incorrect. As a sucker for The People’s Court-style shenanigans, this recurring segment was a personal favorite of mine.

But from a puzzle-solving standpoint, MathNet was easily the puzzliest part of the program. Detectives George Frankly and Kate Tuesday would use math to solve baffling crimes. Whether it was a missing house, a parrot theft, or a Broadway performer’s kidnapping, George and Kate could rely on math to help them save the day.

These segments were told in five parts (one per day for a full week), using the Dragnet formula to tackle all sorts of mathematical concepts, from the Fibonacci sequence to calculating angles of reflection and refraction.

These were essentially word problems, logic problems, and other puzzles involving logic or deduction, but with a criminal twist. Think more Law & Order: LCD than Law & Order: SVU.

Granted, given all the robberies and kidnappings the MathNet team faced, these segments weren’t aiming as young or as silly as much of Square One TV‘s usual fare, but they are easily the most fondly remembered aspect of the show for fans and casual viewers alike.

Given the topic of Tuesday’s post — the value of recreational math — it seemed only fitting to use today’s post to discuss one of the best examples of math-made-fun in television history.

Square One TV may not have been nearly as successful or as long-lasting as its Muppet-friendly counterpart, but its legacy lives on in the hearts and memories of many puzzlers these days.

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!