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Puzzling with us today: writer, podcaster, and host of "X-Ray Vision", Jason Concepcion!
Join host A.J. Jacobs and his guests as they puzzle–and laugh–their way through new spins on old favorites, like anagrams and palindromes, as well as quirky originals such as “Ask Chat GPT” and audio rebuses.
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"The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs" is distributed by iHeartPodcasts and is a co-production with Neuhaus Ideas.
Our executive producers are Neely Lohmann and Adam Neuhaus of Neuhaus Ideas, and Lindsay Hoffman of iHeart Podcasts.
The show is produced by Jody Avirgan and Brittani Brown of Roulette Productions.
Our Chief Puzzle Officer is Greg Pliska. Our associate producer is Andrea Schoenberg.
Hello, Puzzlers, Welcome to the Puzzler Podcast, the celebratory yule Log at your puzzle Christmas Party. I'm your host, AJ Jacobs, and today's guest is the amazing Jason Concepsion, co host of the podcast Six Trophies and X ray Vision right here on iHeart. Welcome Jason.
Thank you for having me. It's wonderful to be here. Now.
Jason, I know you're a super fan, but are you a fan of months? Do you like the months of the year?
I do?
Are you?
That's good because I wanted to let you know this interesting fact. If you take the first letter of every month in order, so say you have Jay for January, f for February, M so it stars JFM. Now look what happens when you get to the it'll when you get to summer, and you get to July, August, September, October, November. Take the first letters of those and what do you get?
Well, we do. You know. I'm not ont to toot my own horn, but I do believe we get my first name. And I want to thank Julius Caesar for the reforms that he put in place so many years ago to make that.
That's it you get Jason July, August, September, October, November. Thank you, Julius Caesar. Did you know? I did not know that until like three days ago when a friend of mine pointed it out. Did you know that I did?
Only because yeah, I mean, you see your known name and you and you recognize it immediately, so I have seen it.
Yes, Okay, good, well, congratulations, I'm jealous.
Thank you very much, Thank you very much.
Well. I love this fact so much that we basically built an entire puzzle around it. Uh, just an excuse for me to bring it up to you. So this puzzle is about the months, not just the first letter, but the first three letters of months. And I'm going to give you a hint, and the answer, the one word answer to that hint, is going to contain the first three letters of a month. So, for instance, if I said this is a person who works in a school who is also known as a custodian, the answer is janitor, because January it's got j ant it. And I'm not going to do February next. I'm going to mix them all up. Okay, but I think you're up for it. Are you ready?
I'm ready?
All right, this is what you might spread on a BLT on the bread on a BLT.
This is a tricky one. If what I'm thinking is correct, I think one might spread mayonnaise excellent BLT containing all of the letters of the month of May.
That is true. Yes, you're right. We did start with a one that had three letters and only three letters, but the other ones that's the end. I think that's the only month with three letters.
Right, I believe so.
I felt you were ready to take on May right at the start. That's that's how much confidence I have in you. All Right, this is a gasoline rating. Something that is exciting as high this.
Gossip. A gasoline rating something is.
The person it resides in Los Angeles who's drive a lot. Alright, I'd make myself aware of these particular details. I'm going to guess that this word is octins in high.
Octane, exactly octane as in October October teen. All right, you're ready for the next one. Coffee that has no kick might be called this for sure.
Coffee with no kick. And woe to those who misrepresent whether they're coffee that they're serving people has kick or not. Believe we are referring to decaf as indec December exactly.
And by the way, I once wrote a book about uh where I thanked a thousand people who had anything to do with my cup of coffee. And the barista told me, if you are rude to her, she will sometimes slip in decaf instead of calf. So be nice to your barista's people.
I yes, be nice to them. Wonderful, what wonderful little petty revenge from that particular grease exactly.
You know, I want to take it back because she said other people did it. I'm now remembering she said she never did it, because she's very all right. What about the soccer player who scored the hand of God goal, the famous hand of God goal.
The soccer player who he played for Argentina. Right, this goal I believe took place in the nineteen eighty six Wow World Cup.
You get extra points.
Well, you see Adre, I'm stumbling on his name. And so now I'm going through all the all the the most.
Oh, that's a good strategy, all right, you don't know need to go through all that many. That's a little hint and a January.
And I'm gonna feel so dumb when you say it. Because I should know it, and they always say MESSI needed to win a World Cup in order to supplant this gentleman.
He kind of his name sounds very similar to the the singer Holiday Ray of Light, like a virgin.
Oh oh, oh, oh my gosh, how could I diego? Maradonna? You got sorry to Argentina. You're so sorry to Napoli. I'm so sorry to all the all the fans, mister Madonna.
I'm so sorry to God.
I think I'm start of God in the hand of God, to uh, the fans of English football. We're richemized by that hand of God.
Well, you got everything around it, so I give you all right to have a two more sure this one. This one's actually a little tricky too, because if you don't know the brand name, it's uh, it's gonna be hard. But it is a brand of air fraw a brand of air freshener.
Brand.
And now use your strategy of going through the months, because that's a little hint you got, you got January's done.
But okay, it's uh oh interesting, Okay, I think because of your helpful hint, I like to think I would have gotten there, but maybe I wouldn't have. I'm going to guess feb February for Breeze.
Exactly for Breeze. You got it nicely done. All right, you did well. You know what, maybe we have time for one last one.
Yeah, let's go.
This is the color of old photographs, sort of old browned photographs.
I know that, I know the look.
Well.
You see it often at at Old West Roadside.
Attractionally, That's right, you do. You see it often? You see it often.
I'm going to say this is Cepia for September exactly.
You got it beautifully well, Jason, you have been a delightful guest. We've loved having you here. Where can people find more of you?
Oh? Gosh?
In the calendar for is one place.
That is one place starting in July and going consecutively forward. You could also watch the movie I co wrote with four time New York Times bestselling author Cha Serrano called Miguel Wants to Fight on the Hulu streaming platform. You can watch the show that I wrote on called Primo executive produced by television's Mike Shure, of The Good Place and the Office and other fantastic things. And then you can google me and see all the podcasts that I also host, and you could if one strikes that's your fancy, go ahead and listen to it.
I recommend them. Actually I haven't listened to all of them because they're too many, but I recommend the ones I have listened to. Before we wrap up, a quick extra credit for those at home, this is a Canadian province whose capitalist Halifax. Then that is the first three letters are the same as the first three letters of a month. Come back tomorrow to get the answer to that extra credit. And please, if you like the show, rate us. That really helps people find it. If you don't like the show, please forget that I mentioned that, and we will meet here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Hey puzzlers, it's Greg Pliska, your chief puzzle Officer, here from the lab with the extra credit answer from our previous EP episode. We did some earbusses with our favorite Malika Andrews, and we gave you two as your extra credit. One of them was Charlie and the other one was that's right, that's Charlie horse. Since I was saying it with a hoarse voice and soft ball since I said the word ball very softly. Come on back again for more puzzling puzzles that will puzzle you puzzlingly.