Vol. 19: #24 • Tidbits Unscrambles Scrabble • (6-11-2023) Tidbits of Coachella Valley

by Janet Spencer

If you're among the millions of folks around the globe who love playing the fascinating game of Scrabble, this week’s issue of Tidbits is for you. And whether you’re a Scrabble fan or not, pull up a chair and join us as we unpack our tiles and spell out some interesting facts about this challenging word game that we’ll bet you never knew!

• Worldwide, Scrabble is the fifth most popular board game, coming in after chess, checkers, backgammon, and Monopoly. It’s the second most popular game In the U.S. after Monopoly, and in Britain it’s ranked number one. About a third of American homes own a Scrabble game, while more than half of all households in Great Britain do.

SCRABBLE FACTS

• Scrabble is sold in 121 countries and comes in 31 languages, including Welsh..

• English Scrabble comes with 100 tiles, but Portuguese and Italian have 120 tiles because

(Answers on page 16)

PEOPLE WORTH REMEMBERING

• As soon as he returned to his New York office, he ordered his buyers to immediately order the games by the caseload and stock their shelves with them. Macy's, at the time the largest retail store in the country, was soon moving 6,000 Scrabble sets per week. By 1954 Brunot and his new company had sold over 3.8 million sets.

1. MOVIES: Which actor voiced the character of Darth Vader in the first three “Star Wars” movies released?

2. TELEVISION: Which was the first TV show to react to the 9/11 attack on the United States?

3. LITERATURE: Who is the youngest person to win the Nobel Prize for literature?

4. HISTORY: Which city did Anne Frank and her family live in hiding before they were discovered?

5. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is the tallest breed of dog?

6. FOOD & DRINK: What is considered the national dish of Spain?

7. GEOGRAPHY: Which is the only city that also is the smallest country in the world?

8. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: Which holiday is considered the Jewish New Year?

9. ANATOMY: What are the bones in the fingers called?

10. ASTRONOMY: How many primary phases of the moon exist?

Answers

• Alfred Butts was born in Poughkeepsie, New York on April 13th, 1899. His father was a lawyer, and his mother a high school teacher. He graduated from Poughkeepsie High School in 1917, attended the Pratt Institute in New York City, and in 1924 went to the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a degree in Architecture.

• In October of 1925, at the age of 26, he married his high school biology teacher who was 42. They remained happily together until her death in 1979 at the age of 96.

• He found employment as a designer with an architectural firm and worked there from 1925 until 1931. As many businesses closed during the Great Depression, he was laid off his job and unable to find work anywhere. During his days with a lot of free time to spend, he pondered the idea of inventing some new sort of challenging table game, one that would require competing players to search their minds while having fun socializing at the same time..

• After studying the most popular games, he grouped them into three types: Games based on numbers, such as dice and card games; board games such as chess and checkers; and games based on words and letters. Unsure of which category to choose, he decided to create a game that used both numbers and alphabet letters.

• Each day, he carefully analyized and dissected news articles on the pages of the New York Times, keeping statistical track of which letters were used most frequently. He then assigned a numerical point value to each letter of the alphabet. The most commonly used letters were the vowels A, E, I, O, and U, with A and E used most frequently. So he assigned only a single point to each of them, while rarely used letters like Q and Z were worth ten points. Wooden letter tiles were positioned in a crossword style on the table top. He later fashioned a playing board with spaces marked for the individual letters to be placed by the player. He decided to name his game Lexico.

• By the time he decided to try marketing the game, he had changed the name to Criss-Cross Words. Every single manufacturer that he approached with his new game turned it down.

• Then Butts teamed up with a game aficionado named James Brunot, who had some savvy about marketing. It was Brunot who renamed the game “Scrabble” meaning “to scratch frantically.” Brunot bought the rights to the game, agreeing to pay Butts a royalty for every set sold. In 1949, his first year, only 2,400 Scrabble sets were sold. Meanwhile, Alfred Butts had returned to his career as an architect.

• Sales continued at a sluggish pace until a breakthrough in 1952. Jack Straus, president of Macy’s department store, vacationed at a resort that had a Scrabble game set in the lobby for guest use. He decided to play a game with his wife -- and was immediately hooked.

• By now Brunot was unable to keep up with demand, so the rights to the game hopscotched from one game manufacture to the next, with Brunot always staying true to his royalty agreement ensuring that Alfred Butts received the payments he was due. By the time the Hasbro corporation won the rights to the game, the number of sets being sold was into the millions.

• Butts estimated that his royalties came down to about three cents for each set sold. He later mused, “One-third went to taxes, I gave one third away, and the other third enabled me to have a happy and comfortable life.”

• He enjoyed a long and distinguished career as an architect. In his later years he designed a card game played with letter cards which he dubbed “Alfred’s Other Game,” It never took off. In his spare time, he became a prolific artist, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art still owns six of his paintings.

• Butts died in 1993, just before his 94th birthday, having lived long enough to see his Scrabble creation proudly rank among the most popular table games on the planet. □

1. James Earl Jones.

2. “The West Wing.”

3. Rudyard Kipling.

Scrabble: (from page one)

their languages are more complex.

• Experts say that French is the easiest language to play, because there are so many words that can be expanded by adding a single “E” or “S.” German is said to be the most difficult because it’s hard to turn a short word into a longer word. There was once a debate if Germans should be allowed to use eight tiles in their rack instead of the standard seven, but in the end they got stuck with the original seven.

• Spanish Scrabble has a tile with two Ls on it, pronounced as a “Y” sound. The Dutch have a tile with an “I” and a “J” side by side, and the Catalan language, spoken in areas of Spain, has a tile with two Ls with a dot in between.

a large portrait of Prince Charles was made solely from Scrabble tiles. It was created by artist Lizzie Sanders. She used different colored tiles from different types of games: white plastic tiles, black plastic tiles, and the classic wooden tiles.

• In 1992, Franklin Mint commissioned and produced a version of Scrabble featuring 24k gold-plated tiles.

• There is a Deluxe Scrabble with easy-to-see bold print for individuals with low vision.

• Underwater Scrabble was played in England in 1995 as a fundraiser. Special laminated boards were used and the tiles had lead weights attached.

ionship, the Youth Scrabble Tournament, the School Scrabble Tournament, and innumerable regional Scrabble championships.

• Competitive games tend to be a lot faster than the games played at home with the family. In tournament play, each player only gets 25 minutes to make all of their moves combined—and chess clocks are used to keep time. Each side usually makes 11 to 13 moves

Scrabble: Turn to page 15

QUIZ BITS

2.What

• In English, the letter which occurs most frequently is “E” and therefore each Scrabble game contains 12 of them. In second place is the letter “A” with nine. But the Malaysian version contains 19 of the “A” tiles, which constitutes 20% of the total tiles used in the game. This is the most of any single letter used in any version of the game. In English Scrabble, 42 percent of the tiles are vowels, but that includes all five vowels.

• If all the Scrabble tiles ever produced were laid end to end, they would stretch around the world at the equator twice.

ADVERTISING PROOF

• By contrast, there is only one each of “J” “K” “Q” “X” and “Z” in the English version.

• Languages spoken in both China, and Japan do not translate into Scrabble tiles.

SCRABBLE-OIDS

• The world’s largest game of Scrabble as certified by Guinness World Records took place in Wembley Stadium, London, England to celebrate its 50th birthday in 1998. Each fiberglass tile measured six feet (1.8 m) square and took two strong men to lift.

• To celebrate Scrabble’s 60th birthday which coincided with Prince Charles’s 60th birthday,

• When the 52 American diplomats and citizens were held hostage in Iran in 1979, they made a Scrabble game out of paper and cardboard squares to help pass the time.

1. What is the only letter of the alphabet that cannot be part of a two-letter word?

2. How many two-letter words are there in the official Scrabble dictionary?

(Answers page 16)

1.VERNALEQUINOX

2.CROCUS

• During an expedition to Antarctica in 1985, Lieutenant Commander Waghorn fell down a crevasse, breaking a leg. He was successfully winched to the surface of the ice but could not travel. After his broken leg was set, Lance Corporal Terry Gill set up a small tent and kept him company while the rest of the crew went for help. The two men huddled together, entertaining themselves with a portable game of Scrabble while they waited. Five days later, they were both pulled from the ice by a helicopter during a brief break in the stormy weather. No word on who won most of the games.

SCRABBLE TOURNAMENTS

• Each year since 1973, the Scrabble Players Championship hosts a National Scrabble Championship in a major U.S. city. The tournament attracts more than 500 skilled adult players who compete in 31 rounds of one-onone play over a five day period.

• Today there are a variety of Scrabble tournaments, including the World Scrabble Champ-

NUGGETS OF KNOWLEDGE

The world record for the most number of Scrabble games being played simultaneously by a single player is held by Malaysian player Ganesh Asirvatham, who played 25 games at once against 25 different opponents in 2007. These took place over two and a half hours. He won 21 of the games.

By Lucie Winborne

* The “Guinness World Records” holds the world record for being the most stolen book from public libraries.

* Some New York City taxis are actually undercover cop cars.

* Nintendo was sued and found guilty because kids were getting blisters from playing too much Mario Party.

* A cow named Cincinnati Freedom lived up to her name when she evaded police officers for 11 days after jumping a 6-foot fence to escape a slaughterhouse. Once caught, she was given the key to the city by Cincinnati’s mayor and allowed to peacefully live out her remaining days in a New York sanctuary.

* Before he became the axman for Guns N’ Roses, Slash auditioned for the band Poison but decided not to join when he was asked about wearing makeup.

* Persian King Agha Mohammad Khan ordered the execution of two servants for being too loud. Since it was a holy day, he postponed the event for 24 hours and made the servants return to their duties. It turned out to be an unfortunate decision, as they murdered the ruler in his sleep that very night.

* When George Washington died, Napoleon Bonaparte gave a personal eulogy and ordered a 10-day mourning period for France.

* By 1930, doping had become so prevalent and even accepted in the Tour de France that its organizers felt compelled to inform cyclists in the official rulebook that drugs would not be provided.

* Onions are the only commodity banned from futures trading in America.

* The man for whom Mount Everest was named, George Everest, didn’t want the honor, pointing out that his name was difficult to write or pronounce in Hindi and that all previous Himalayan peaks were officially given indigenous names.

Thought for the Day: “Live deep instead of fast.”

-- Henry Seidel Canby

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

Everyday CHEAPSKATE®

by Mary Hunt

Ask Me Anything: Recycle Prescription Bottles, Help with Student Financial Aid

Everyday CHEAPSKATE®

Dear Cheapskate: Do you know of any place where I can donate empty plastic prescription bottles? It seems such a waste to throw them away. -- Susan H., Tennessee

by Mary Hunt

Dear Susan: Call your local veterinarian. Most vets are more than happy to receive cleaned prescription bottles with labels removed for dispensing medicines for animals. Humane societies need bottles to send medications home with newly adopted pets, too.

Medical missionaries doing outreach work in poor countries can always use prescription bottles to dispense the medications that come in large quantities. Check with your pharmacist or church to locate a collection program in your area.

The littlest plastic bottles are great for storing sewing machine needles, pins and buttons, for small makeup brushes and change for the laundromat and toll booths. They are also the perfect size to hold salad dressing in a packed lunch. They are great for keeping hooks and other items in a tackle box.

Prescription bottles are ideal for storing small beads, garden seeds, pushpins; for carrying aspirin and storing mixed paints for craft and ceramic projects, too.

***

Dear Cheapskate: I learn so much from your column. What can you tell me about the safety of cooking bags? I love them and find them effective. So, is there any danger of toxicity? -- Janet V., California

Dear Janet: There’s been a lot of inaccurate information floating around the Internet that microwave cooking in plastic wrap and cooking bags poses a health concern. But food scientist Dr. Jean Weese (Alabama Cooperative Extension) says that information has been proven to be completely untrue. It’s a hoax!

Dr. Weese advises that cooking food with microwave plastic wrap, in microwavable plastic containers and in cooking bags that have been manufactured for that purpose and labeled for use in the microwave, is perfectly safe.

She says we should avoid using plastic storage containers like margarine tubs, takeout containers and other one-time use containers because they can melt or warp, possibly causing chemicals to migrate into the food.

It was so good to hear from you, and many thanks for your kind words!

***

Dear Cheapskate: Our son is finishing up his college applications, and we’ve also begun investigating financial aid options to help us pay his tuition.

A co-worker suggested that we pay a financial planner or some other expert to fill out the forms for us, since they’d better understand the ins and outs of it all. It is a daunting task, but I’m wondering if it’s really worth the money. And where can we go

to find help even if we want to fill them out ourselves? -- Dolores C., Washington

Dear Dolores: You could hire someone but you would still have to do the hard work of gathering all of your specific financial information. I think you will be way ahead if you do it yourself. I highly recommend the book “Taming the Tuition Tiger” by Kathy Kristof (Bloomberg Press, 2003) to walk you through the process. Check the library.

Another excellent resource is the Federal Student Aid Handbook, a comprehensive resource on student financial aid from the U.S. Department of Education. Grants, loans and workstudy are the three major forms of aid available through the department’s Federal Student Aid office. Updated each award year, the handbook tells you about the programs and how to apply for them. It is available free online in English or Spanish. Go to http://www.studentaid.gov to download the handbook. Or call toll free 800433-3243 to request a copy by mail.

I hope that helps. And please give your son my best wishes as he embarks on this new phase of life!

* * *

Mary invites you to visit her at EverydayCheapskate.com, where this column is archived complete with links and resources for all recommended products and services. Mary invites questions and comments at https://www.everydaycheapskate. com/contact/, “Ask Mary.” This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of EverydayCheapskate.com, a frugal living blog, and the author of the book “Debt-Proof Living.”

COPYRIGHT

• Mount Toba is a supervolcano located on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It has erupted at least four times over the millenia, but it was the most recent event, a monumental, cataclysmic explosion that occured thousands of years ago, that interests researchers the most.

• Scientists are able to estimate the size of the eruption through several means, namely the size of the gaping caldera it left behind, the layer of ash, whose signature can be found worldwide, and the change to the global climate which can be gauged by ice core samples.

• The calderan crater left after the eruption of Mount Toba became what is now known as Lake Toba, which stretches 60 miles long by 20 miles wide.

• Enough lava blew out and flowed from the volcano to build two Mount Everests.

• In areas close to the volcano throughout what is now India and Pakistan, the resulting ash reached an astonishing depth of some 27 feet. No human or animal life could have survived; it would have been an immediate annihilation of all living things in the entire region.

• Nearly all of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Indian Ocean were covered with around six inches of heavy, smothering ash.

• All around the globe, there exists a thin telltale layer of potassium/argon crystals, which can be identified by mass spectrometers. Using a system similar to carbon dating, this layer can be traced back to the eruption of Mount Toba.

• Toba's event is believed to be one of the largest eruptions ever occuring on Earth. Its violent lava and ash expulsion lasted an estimated 14 days, with the concussion of its booming, thundering noise traveling around the globe several times. The massive blast was 100 times greater than Krakatoa and several thousand times greater than Mt. St. Helens.

• The explosion spewed millions of tons of sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide into the air in such huge amounts that its thickness blotted out the sun over most of the Earth.

• The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815, while being the largest eruption in recent history, was much smaller than Mount Toba, perhaps only onetenth the size. Yet it still led to untold thousands of deaths because the particulate matter in the atmosphere cooled the climate to such a degree that it was called “the year without summer.” Crops failed and people starved worldwide. The same would have certainly happened following the eruption of Mount Toba, occurring at a point when the worldwide population of humans was perhaps only 100,000.

• It’s been estimated that the temperature average dropped 5° to 9°F (3° to 5°C) creating winterlike conditions for up to ten years following the eruption. Ice core samples from Greenland indicate that the climate cooled off for a period of nearly a thousand years afterwards, contributing to an ice age.

• However, the climate change precipitated by this blast wasn’t equal all over the globe. Temperature changes were far worse in the northern regions than at the equator. Human populations of Neanderthals in what is now

Europe would have been devastated. But the archaeological record shows that the population of humans living in warm coastal areas of Africa were barely effected.

• Eruptions anywhere near the size of Toba are very rare, but understanding the climate consequences of such a massive event is critical to learning of the hazards posed by smaller ones. Eruptions, though much smaller than Toba, still have the potential to dramatically affect plants, animals and humans around the entire world.

• Seismologists closely monitoring the supervolcano that exists beneath Yellowstone National

Park agree that an eruption of this “ticking time bomb” would be a magnitude many hundreds of times larger and more powerful than that of Mount St. Helens. With a magma chamber of molten lava stretching 37 miles long, 20 miles wide, and five miles deep, a Yellowstone explosion would blow hundreds of cubic miles of rock, ash, magma sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide over 75,000 feet into the sky, and spew ash for thousands of miles southeast across the United States, destroying buildings, smothering crops, and shutting down power plants. And the occurance of this catastrophy is not a matter of “if,” they say -- but “when.” □

“Academic Champions”

by Dana Jackson

Q: Where have I seen the actress who stars in the HBO series “Somebody Somewhere?” Was she a stand-up comedian? -- J.J.

A: The acclaimed series “Somebody Somewhere” recently concluded its second season, with Bridget Everett as the star of her semi-autobiographical series. You might recognize her as a standup comedian, most notably doing her routine on comedy specials as well as the series “Inside Amy Schumer.”

Everett previously attended Arizona State University on a full scholarship to study music and opera. She got a standing ovation when she performed the song “Piece of My Heart” on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and later incorporated a performance of the same song on “Somebody Somewhere.”

Prior to landing a starring role in her own series, she guest-starred on shows like “2 Broke Girls” and “AJ and the Queen,” and she also had a dramatic role as a foster mom in the Netflix miniseries “Unbelievable.”

You can watch the first two seasons of the heartwarming dramedy “Somebody Somewhere” on the recently renamed streaming service Max (formerly HBO Max). ***

Q: I’ve gotten really hooked on “The Night Agent” on Netflix. There’s a character on the show named Diane Farr. I could have

sworn there is also an actress with that same name. Am I mistaken? -- D.E.

A: While Oscar-nominated actress Hong Chau (“The Whale”) plays a fictional character named Diane Farr in the Netflix series “The Night Agent,” there is indeed an actress with that same name. The actress Diane Farr currently stars on another hit show -- “Fire Country” -- and previously played an FBI agent on “Numb3rs.”

“The Night Agent” began as a novel by Matthew Quirk. The author originally named Chau’s future character Diane Carruthers, but changed it to the shorter surname of Farr before publication. He told TVLine that he never heard of the actress Diane Farr when he penned the book, but now that he’s aware of her, he said, “I recognize her from many shows I’ve seen -- and she’s great!”

Interestingly, according to Shawn Ryan, showrunner of “The Night Agent,” Farr actually auditioned for the role that bears her name, but didn’t get the part. “It’s tough to tell Diane Farr she can’t play Diane Farr,” Ryan added.

“The Night Agent” has been a big hit for Netflix, earning a renewal for a second season not long after its premiere. ***

Q: When is “Stranger Things” returning with its final season? I’ve read conflicting information. -- L.S.

A: According to “Variety” magazine, the supernatural hit Netflix series “Stranger Things” has halted production of its fifth and final season due to the writer’s strike. Even if all the episodes’ scripts are written for a show, writing doesn’t stop once filming begins. Therefore, since the WGA (Writers Guild of America) strike is still in progress, showrunners Ross and Matt Duffer have ceased filming until negotiations reach a satisfactory conclusion.

Send me your questions at NewCelebrityExtra@gmail.com, or write me at KFWS, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803.

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

1. Split ................................ (PG-13) James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy

1. The Little Mermaid (PG) Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King

2. Rings (PG-13) Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, Alex Roe

2. Fast X (PG-13) Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez

3. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 (PG-13) Chris Pratt, Chukwudi Iwuji

3. A Dog’s Purpose (PG) Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid

4. Hidden Figures ....................(PG) Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer

4. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (PG) Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy

5. La La Land (PG-13) Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

5. The Machine (R) Bert Kreischer, Mark Hamill

6. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (R) Milla Jovovich, Iain Glen

6. About My Father (PG-13) Robert De Niro, Sebastian Maniscalco

7. Kandahar (R) Gerard Butler, Navid Negahban

7. Sing .......................................(PG) animated

8. You Hurt My Feelings (R) Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobias Menzies

8. Lion ................................ (PG-13) Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman

9. The Space Between Us (PG-13) Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield

9. Evil Dead Rise (R) Mirabai Pease, Richard Crouchley

10. xXx: Return of Xander Cage .................................... (PG-13) Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen

10. Book Club:

© 2017 King Features Synd., Inc.

The Next Chapter (PG-13) Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda

© 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

Bridget Everett stars in the HBO series “Somebody Somewhere.”

Good Recipes from The Right Way to Grill Chicken

* Grease your grill: Chances are you won’t have a sticking problem if your chicken has skin, or if it’s marinated or rubbed with some oil. But play it safe. Before you light the grill, spray the rack with nonstick cooking spray or brush it with oil.

* Close the Top: If your grill has a cover, always cook your chicken with the cover down. It will make your grill more ovenlike, your food will cook more evenly, and it will enhance the summery barbeque flavor. Also, because the cover cuts off some of the oxygen, you’ll have fewer flare-ups.

* Be Patient: Resist the urge to continuously move the chicken around while it cooks. The chicken will cook more evenly (and more quickly!) if you follow the recipe cooking instructions or turn it over only once, midway through grilling.

* Use the Right Utensil: Use long-handled tongs or a wide metal spatula to move the chicken. Poking it with a fork will cause precious juices to escape.

* Test for Doneness: Don’t risk serving undercooked chicken. When in doubt, make a small cut into the thickest part so you can be positive that it’s no longer pink inside. You can also use a meat thermometer to check if your meat has reached a safe internal temperature: 180 F for whole chicken and 170 F for breasts.

* Be sure to clean up: Scrape your grill rack after each use; otherwise, the chicken will pick up dirty charred bits from your last barbecue. Chicken also has a tendency to stick to a dirty grill.

Spiced Kielbasa and Fruit

Kabobs

Break the barbecue mold with this fast and fabulous summer weeknight dinner.

1 package (16 ounces) light kielbasa or other smoked sausage, cut into 1-inch chunks

3 apricots, pitted and each cut into quarters

2 ripe plums or peaches, pitted and cut into 1-inch chunks

3 tablespoons sweet orange marmalade 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

1. Prepare outdoor grill for covered direct grilling over medium heat.

2. Meanwhile, alternately thread kielbasa, apricots and plums onto 4 to 6 long metal skewers. In cup, combine marmalade and five-spice powder.

3. Place skewers on hot grill rack. Cover grill and cook 5 minutes or until kielbasa browns and fruit chars slightly, turning skewers occasionally. Uncover grill. Brush marmalade mixture all over kielbasa and fruit. Cook 1 to 2 minutes longer, turning occasionally. Makes 4 main-dish servings

 Each individual serving: About 340 calories, 22g total fat (8g saturated), 17g protein, 22g carb., 2g fiber, 76mg cholesterol, 1,032mg sodium.

* * *

For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our Web site at www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/.

(c) 2019 Hearst Communications, Inc.

GOOD NEWS FOR BUSINESS OWNERS!

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CLAIM YOUR ERC CREDIT

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NEXT WEEK in TIDBITS TAKES A NUPTIAL LOOK AT and

Marriage Love

Cody’s

Corner

Dog Talk with Uncle Matty

By Matthew Margolis Creators News Service

Canine Homewreckers

It’s one thing to battle over who gets the dog once divorce is imminent. It’s another to argue about the dog until divorce is imminent. This is a real problem -- poorly behaved dogs that destroy marriages and deflate budding romance. What to do about these canine homewreckers?

Heed the following letter from a reader:

“My dog will not let my fiancé kiss me without growling or barking the whole time, and it is impossible to be intimate without my dog wanting to be on the bed with us. I have tried removing him from the room, but the barking only gets worse. It has become very awkward and uncomfortable. Please help.”

It’s clear who’s wearing the pants in this relationship -- and that someone else would prefer to be wearing less of them. But the dog’s running the show, and he’s determined to drown out the competition.

Since we can’t sit our pups down in front of an after-school special on the birds and the bees, we’re left with only one solution: training. Basic obedience training is an education all dogs should receive. It’s like sending your child to school: nonnegotiable.

Simple commands like “come,” “down” and “stay” are powerful tools in thwarting a canine homewrecker. And the appropriate supplies are essential. Provide your pup with a crate or doggie bed, and teach him to retreat to it on command. Adorn it with soft blankets and favorite chew toys to make it a desirable place to visit. If he resists, stand firm. You want your dog to love his resting place -- never banish him to his bed as punishment -- but he doesn’t get a say in when and whether to retire. Your “bedtime” is his bedtime. But your bed is not his.

(CryptoQuip Solution on page 14)

No pup should have the run of the house before the age of two. When you are home, confine the dog in an area of the house where you can at all times see him and quickly reach him to correct problem behaviors. Baby gates work great.

When you are not home, leave your dog in

Cody's Corner: Turn to Page 11

3. The Weekly “Brain Breaker”

YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY

by Tom Margenau

What a Divorced Woman Needs to Know About Social Security

My wife and I are celebrating our 49th wedding anniversary this week. (Although at our age, “celebrating” means maybe an extra scoop of ice cream on our next trip to Dairy Queen!)

I know we are fortunate to be reaching almost five decades of wedded bliss because I get a lot of questions from divorced women who want to know what kind of benefits they might be due on an ex-husband’s Social Security record. So, I thought I’d use today’s column to address the issues faced by divorced couples -- primarily divorced women.

Some may ask: “What about divorced men?” Well, I’m addressing this column to women because 95% of the time, it is a woman who is eligible for benefits from an ex-husband’s record. But if you are a man who was in one of those less-common marriages where your wife made more money than you did, and had a longer working career than you did, and therefore gets a bigger Social Security check than you do, then simply reverse genders as you read this. Divorced men who were dependent on their wives are due the very same benefits as divorced women.

To be truthful, I really could simply call this column a married or divorced woman’s guide to Social Security because with just a couple exceptions, a divorced woman is due the same kind of Social Security benefits as a married woman.

So, what kind of benefits are we talking about? Well, first of all, there would be her own Social Security retirement benefits. And she would be due those benefits whether she is single, married, or divorced. Her marital status means nothing when it comes to her own benefits.

But let’s go over the rules that apply specifically to divorced women. The law says if she was married to a guy for at least 10 years, she is potentially due benefits on his Social Security account. If she has several ex-husbands, she doesn’t get benefits from all of them. She will only get spousal benefits on the record of the guy with the highest

benefit rate.

And just as with a married woman, a divorced woman will always be paid her own Social Security benefit first. Only after she is getting whatever she is due on her own account will they look to her ex-husband’s record to see if she can get any additional spousal benefits from him. And because the spousal rate is between about 33% and 50%, there is usually a pretty good chance that her own benefit exceeds any of these smaller percentage benefits she might be due as a divorced spouse. At least while her ex is alive, that is. Once he dies, it’s a whole different story. More about that in a minute.

But first, I need to point out one important distinction between benefits paid to a divorced woman versus a married woman. A married woman cannot get any benefits on her husband’s account until he has signed up for Social Security himself. But a divorced woman has a bit of an advantage when it comes to that rule. The law says a divorcee can get benefits from her ex even if he isn’t getting anything himself. He has to be old enough to be eligible for benefits, which essentially means he has to be at least 62 years old. But again, he doesn’t have to be on Social Security’s books as a current beneficiary.

As I alluded to earlier, if a woman has worked any decent amount of time, it’s a pretty good bet that her own Social Security benefit will exceed anything she might be due on a living ex-husband’s record. But if he dies, then things change. If she is over her full retirement age when that happens, her own benefit can be supplemented up to 100% of the ex’s full benefit rate.

cial Security benefit at FRA, or even wait until 70 and switch to about 130% of her own full retirement rate.

To further clarify the rules, I will answer a few questions from divorced women.

Q: My ex-husband recently died. I am 58. When can I claim divorced widow’s benefits, and how much can I get?

A: At your full retirement age, you could get 100% of your ex’s Social Security -- less any benefits you are getting off your own account. The rate is reduced roughly one-half of 1% for each month benefits are taken before then, down to about 71% at age 60. In rare cases, a disabled widow can get the 71% rate as early as age 50.

Q: I am 62 and thinking of signing up for Social Security. My husband, whom I’ve been married to for 22 years, is 60. But my first husband, to whom I was married for 15 years, is 68. Can I apply for benefits from his record?

A: No. As long as you are married to husband No. 2, you can’t get any Social Security from number one.

Q: My husband and I divorced many years ago. I have not remarried. I don’t know if he has. In fact, I don’t know anything about him except where he lives. Will Social Security notify me when he dies so that I can file for widow’s benefits on his record?

A: Probably not. There is simply no way the Social Security Administration can keep track of every person in this country and notify them when they might be eligible for any kind of Social Security benefit. And for years, I’ve been only halfjokingly telling divorced women in your situation this: subscribe to the online version of the newspaper in the town where he lives -- and check the obituaries every day!

* * *

1. The book of Darius is in the a) Old Testament b) New Testament c) Neither

2. Which prophet and his donkey were stopped by an angel with a drawn sword? a) Jeremiah b) Balaam c) Nathaniel d) Isaiah

3. In Proverbs 21:17, he that loveth wine and oil shall not be ...? a) Pure b) Wise c) Respected d) Rich

4. From Genesis 37:3, who had a coat of many colors? a) Abraham b) Goliath c) Joseph d) Lot

5. Which Hebrew woman became Queen of Persia? a) Esther b) Deborah c) Dorcas d) Jezebel

6. In Acts 1:26, who was chosen as the apostle to replace Judas Escariot? a) Paul b) Ananias c) Barnabus d) Matthias

Sharpen your understanding of scripture with Wilson Casey's latest book, "Test Your Bible Knowledge," now available in stores and online.

If the ex dies when she is under FRA, she could employ the same “widow’s option” that would be available for a currently married woman. That option lets her start benefits on one record and later switch to higher benefits on the other record. For example, assuming she is not working, a woman could take divorced widow’s benefits as early as age 60. She’d get about 71% of her ex’s full benefit rate. Then she could switch to 100% of her own So(Answers on page 16)

For comments or more Bible Trivia go to www.TriviaGuy.com

If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has two books with all the answers. One is called “Social Security -- Simple and Smart: 10 Easyto-Understand Fact Sheets That Will Answer All Your Questions About Social Security.” The other is “Social Security: 100 Myths and 100 Facts.” You can find the books at Amazon.com or other book outlets. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

SENIOR NEWS LINE

by Matilda Charles

Tips and Fees Eating Into Our Money

Just when so many of us are struggling financially with the rising cost of everything, along comes yet another way to separate us from our dollars: Many businesses are now charging a fee to return items we’ve purchased online from them.

I’m not going to name names or point fingers here, but suffice to say I know firsthand that it’s the big name companies that are doing this, and it's called gouging.

The return fees seem to range from $5 to nearly $10 per return. And you don’t have much choice because they already have your money (when you paid them for the item) and will neatly deduct their fee from the refund amount they charge back to your credit card. And there's not a thing you can do about it.

So, beware what you purchase online. Try to be sure that you’ll want to keep it. And check your state’s consumer protection office to see if it’s even legal to charge a restocking fee (www.usa.gov/state-consumer). There might be a question about whether you were notified of such a fee at the time of purchase.

And it’s not just online vendors we buy from that want to snatch extra money from us; it’s also a growing number of brick and mortar places where we actually go to pick things up, such as fast-food carryout locations when we grab up a cup of coffee on the way home. It’s called “tip creeping,” a sneaky surcharge that's quietly slipped into your bill -- and it’s spreading everywhere.

Be cautious when you check out with your credit card at a restaurant. In increasing numbers, the establishment might have an automatic tip amount pre-programmed, and if you click too quickly you could unknowingly be saying "yes," and automatically paying a far larger tip than you normally ever would.

I’ve even heard -- and this is disturbing -- that some people who either can't afford to tip or leave what they can are subjected to rude and embarrassing comments from the wait staff, intentnionally trying to guilt more money out of us. Don’t give in! Stand your ground. If you feel pressured to give a tip for carryout service when no one has really waited on you, and you simply don't want to pay for service you never received, then don’t. Tip creeping in my opinion is borderline theft.

If enough of us complain about this greedy practice maybe merchants will eventually figure out that if they make enough of us uncomfortable, we’ll spend our dwindling dollars elsewhere ... or not spend them at all.

* * *

Matilda Charles regrets that she cannot personally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into her column whenever possible. Send email to columnreply2@ gmail.com.

(c) KingFeaturesSyndicate

Cody’s Corner (from page 9) a comfortable crate with good visibility or confine him in a small area of the house. This is a necessary element of training and will help to establish you as the head of household, to keep him safe, and to give him time to learn the house rules and prove himself trustworthy.

Finally, if it’s all that incessant barking that’s coming between you and true love:

-- Keep a shake can nearby -- a tin can with a few coins inside will do. When your pup barks, give the can a firm shake. The sudden loud noise will immediately divert his attention and eventually deter his barking.

-- Another approach is to use a squirt bottle instead of a shake can. The sudden spray of water to the face will startle and distract him.

-- There are also safe and effective anti-

barking products on the market -- not recommended in lieu of training, but in tandem with training. Citronella collars release a nontoxic yet irritating spritz of citronella around your pup’s face whenever he barks. Sonar collars work by emitting a high-pitched sound that is annoying to the dog and inaudible to the dog owner.

A belligerent dog should not mean the end of an otherwise sound romance. In cases such as these, don’t get rid of the dog or the engagement -- get rid of the problem.

Woof!

* * *

Dog trainer Matthew “Uncle Matty” Margolis is the co-author of 18 books about dogs, a behaviorist, a popular radio and television guest, and the host of the PBS series “WOOF! It’s a Dog’s Life!” Read all

of Uncle Matty’s columns at www.creators.com, and visit him at www.unclematty.com.

COPYRIGHT 2012 CREATORS.COM

Do Companies Advertise Ineffective Supplements?

DEAR DR. ROACH: I see supplements advertised on television that are supposed to clear “brain fog” and do many other beneficial things. Are these any good, and can they actually do the things that they claim? If they are effective, why aren’t they sold at drugstores? If not, how is it that companies are allowed to make these false claims and advertise these supplements on national television? -- J.L.P.

ANSWER: I believe that there are overthe-counter supplements that are effective for treating some medical conditions, and there are a few instances in which there is strong evidence of benefit, such as a vitamin and mineral formula to slow progression of macular degeneration. Very often, there isn’t enough data to be sure a supplement is either effective or ineffective.

It is certainly true that supplement companies sometimes make claims that they cannot support. By law, supplement advertising can claim to support a body part or function (which is why you see claims like “supports heart health”), but these claims must be followed by: “This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.”

Often, the advertising for a supplement is at odds with that statement, and there are many instances of supplement manufacturers having to pay fines or change their advertising message. A supplement that is found to be unsafe can be removed from the market by the FDA. In addition, any substance can be toxic if taken at a high enough dose. Vitamin A supplements are a good example.

The U.S. FDA does not regulate supplements the way they do prescription drugs, and supplement manufacturers do not need to prove that their products are effective. Further, there is strong evidence that some supplements sold in the U.S. do not contain as much (or any!) of the supplement they claim to provide.

I always recommend getting a supplement that is verified by a third party, such as the U.S. Pharmacopeia or the National Science Foundation, if possible.

There are very few supplements proven to prevent problems, so I generally recommend against supplements in people who are healthy and have no symptoms. This definitely includes vitamin supplements. Supplements may have benefit in relieving symptoms for some less-serious medical conditions, and physicians should be (or get) familiar with more common supplements, their potential benefits and their toxicities.

***

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read your recent article on lichen planus. I have suffered with this for over two years. After doing a lot of research, I found that many people, like me, have diabetes. Nothing helped it, and the last treatment was too dangerous for me, although it did help me to lose 35 pounds and my sugar levels are now healthy. I under-

stand that I can never get rid of lichen planus and that it’s just in remission now. -- N.T.

ANSWER: Most studies show that people with diabetes are somewhat more likely to develop lichen planus (an itchy skin condition). About 1.5% of people with diabetes will develop lichen planus, compared to 0.75% of people without diabetes.

Unfortunately, I could not confirm that either weight loss or better diabetes control improves the symptoms of lichen planus. Sometimes lichen planus becomes inactive on its own. However, there are many good reasons to keep diabetes under control, and I am publishing your letter in the hope that it helps someone else.

Dr.

Grandfather CloCk repair

VETERANS POST  

by Freddie Groves

Volunteer Drivers

Needed for Veteran Patients

Have you considered how much of a problem it would be if you needed to go to a medical appointment and had no way to get there? If you have spare time or if you’re retired, there is a task you could take on that would benefit other veterans: Become a volunteer driver.

The Volunteer Transportation Network, supported by the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) group, coordinates drivers to get veterans to medical appointments and home again. For disabled or elderly vets or those without transportation, this service can in every sense of the word be lifesaving.

Feb.

March

And you certainly won’t be alone in this task if you join up. Last year alone, DAV volunteer drivers took more than 156,000 veterans to appointments. Drivers use government vehicles and can fill up the tank using a purchase card. The DAV has spent over $80 million to purchase 3,000 vehicles to transport veterans to their medical appointments.

April

Your eligibility requirements: a valid license and a physical at the VA (it’s free and won’t cost you a cent). You don’t need to be a DAV member to volunteer with them.

ADVERTISING PROOF

Take a look at the VA’s volunteer website (www.volunteer.va.gov) and click on “Volunteer Drivers.” You’ll go to a five-minute YouTube video. Or see the DAV site (www.dav.org) and click on “Medical Transportation” for more info.

And then there’s the Veterans Transportation Service. Working in conjunction with the individual VA facilities, drivers transport elderly, disabled or mobility-challenged vets to their health appointments, whether it’s at a VA facility or a nonVA health site.

July

Find their participating locations (as well as phone number and contact person) at www. va.gov/healthbenefits/vtp/map.asp, or call Voluntary Services at your local VA medical facility.

Sept.

VOLUNTEER DRIVERS NEEDED

American Veterans (AMVETS) Post 66 in Palm Springs is seeking volunteer drivers. The drivers will drive a 9 passenger van known as the “AMVETS Express” from Cathedral City and Palm Springs to the Loma Linda VA Hospital and then return to the desert.

The driver will work one day per week. The van departs Cathedral City about 6:30 AM and returns to the desert in the afternoon of the same day. The van operates Monday through Friday.

Applicants for the position of driver do not have to be veterans. Applicants are required to study a training manual and pass a complete physical exam. The drivers cannot be over age 70. The drivers are volunteers and are not paid a salary.

Sept.

Oct.

Consider, too, all the volunteer slots at your local VA Voluntary Services Office: parking lot shuttle driver, office assistant, info desk help, book cart, mailroom help, visitors guide ... and so much more. No matter your skill, there’s sure to be a place for you -- and you are definitely needed.

* * *

Freddy Groves regrets that he cannot personally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into his column whenever possible. Send email to columnreply2@gmail.com.

The AMVETS Express has operated since 2004 and it is the only free van transportation from the desert to the VA Hospital. Drivers are not permitted to accept tips from the passengers. The AMVETS Express takes homeless veterans and veterans who are having a mental health crisis to the hospital. We also transport many disabled veterans who cannot drive a car. For many veterans the AMVETS Express is the only way for them to receive their medical care. We transport about 22 veterans per month. Because we only have three drivers right now on some days we cannot operate for lack of a driver. To apply please call

* * *

Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu.

-- by Jim Miller

Health Insurance Options After a Spouse Retires

DEAR SAVVY SENIOR: My 63-yearold wife, who’s doesn’t work, is on my health insurance plan through my employer. When I retire next month and go on Medicare, what are our options for getting her health coverage until she turns 65? Is there some kind of Medicare coverage for dependent spouses?

Concerned About Coverage

Dear Concerned: Unfortunately, Medicare does not provide family coverage to younger spouses or dependent children when you qualify for Medicare. Nobody can obtain Medicare benefits before age 65, unless eligible at a younger age because of disability. With that said, here are your best options for covering your wife.

Affordable Care Act:

In most cases, your best choice is to get your wife an individual health insurance policy through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance Marketplace (a.k.a. Obamacare). The Marketplace offers comprehensive health coverage, and she won’t be denied coverage or charged extra for preexisting health conditions.

And thanks to the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act, the Mar ketplace now provides enhanced subsidies through 2025. If your income falls below the 400 percent poverty level after you retire – anything below $73,240 for a couple or $54,360 for a single in 2023 – your wife will be eligible for a tax credit that will reduce the amount you’ll have to pay for her policy. The Marketplace also ensures that households with incomes above that 400 percent poverty level will not have to pay more than 8.5 per cent of their income for a benchmark policy.

To see how much subsidy you may be eligible for, use Kaiser Family Foundation calculator at KFF.org/interactive/subsidycalculator

To shop for Marketplace plans in your state, visit HealthCare.gov or call 800-3182596. Or, if you want some extra help, contact a Marketplace-certified agent or broker at HealthCare.gov/find-assistance

COBRA:

Another option is the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), which is a federal law that would allow your wife to remain with your company insurance plan for at least 18 months after you make the switch to Medicare. But not every employer plan is COBRA eligible. Contact

your employer benefits administrator to find out if yours is one of them.

You also need to be aware that COBRA is not cheap, requiring you to pay the full monthly premium yourself. But, if you’ve already met or nearly met your employer plan’s deductible or out-of-pocket maximum for the year, and don’t want your wife to start over with a new plan; or if you find your employer’s health plan to be more affordable than the Marketplace plans, it makes sense for your wife to keep her current coverage under COBRA.

Short-Term Health Insurance:

If you can’t find an affordable Marketplace plan and COBRA is too expensive, the next option is short-term health insurance. These plans, which are not available in every state, are cheaper, bare-bones health plans that provide coverage for one to 12 months and may be renewed for up to three years in some states. But be aware that short-term plans don’t comply with the ACA so they can deny sick people coverage, they don’t cover preexisting conditions, and they can exclude coverage essentials like prescription drugs.

To find and compare short-term health plans, try sites like eHealthInsurance.com or PivotHealth.com.

Healthcare sharing ministries: One other coverage option you should know about is healthcare sharing ministries

(HCSM). These are cost-sharing health plans in which members – who typically share a religious belief – make monthly payments to cover expenses of other members, including themselves.

HCSM’s are cheaper than paying full out-of-pocket costs for traditional health insurance but be aware that HCSM’s are not health insurance. They don’t have to comply with the consumer protections of the ACA. They can also reject or limit coverage for having pre-existing health issues and can limit how much you’ll be reimbursed for your medical costs.

To look for HCSM plans, comparison shop at the three largest providers: SamaritanMinistries.org, MyChristianCare.org and Chministries.org

Singing Cowboy Inspired Artist

Q: This is a photo of a pair of plaster figurines that my aunt gave my husband years ago. She told him to take good care of them, so we did. Marked on the front of the horse are the words “Old Paint” and on the singing cowboy, “Tex.” The horse measures 10 by two inches, and the singing cowboy stands 11 inches tall. Both my aunt and husband have passed away, and now I would like to know more about these figurines.

Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

balt blue gown with a white overskirt, and the male is wearing a cobalt blue jacket and pants with a white weskit. They both have powdered gray hair and silver shoes trimmed in gold. I don’t know anything about the maker, vintage or value of this piece. Any information you can provide will be appreciated.

A: Dux Porcelain Manufactory made your Royal Dux figurine. The company was founded by E. Eichler in 1860 in Bohemia. The pink triangle mark was applied to the base and it was used from 1900 to 1918. They produced elegant dinnerware, figurines and busts. Most of the figurines were inspired by Art Nouveau designs and Art Deco designs.

Royal Dux figurines values are not what they were in the 1990s and early 2000s. Figurines similar to yours were selling in the range of $1000 to $2000. Today collectors are just not as interested in Royal Dux pieces and their value has fallen to several hundred dollars.

* On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution, which determined that the U.S. flag would consist of 13 alternating red and white stripes and 13 white, five-pointed stars on a blue background.

* On June 12, 1817, the earliest form of bicycle -- known as the Laufmaschine in German and in English by the derogatory term “dandy horse” -- was demonstrated by its inventor, Karl Drais.

* On June 16, 1903, Pepsi-Cola became an official trademark. The Pepsi Cola Company had launched just the year before, to immediate success, and by 1910, boasted more than 200 franchises in 24 states.

* On June 18, 1978, American serial killer and sex offender Jeffrey Dahmer murdered his first victim just three weeks after his high school graduation. Dahmer had lured 18-year-old hitchhiker Steven Mark Hicks to his house with the promise of a few beers.

* * *

Antiques expert and columnist Anne McCollam has recently retired and no longer receives inquiries nor answers reader letters. Due to the popularity of her column, this publication will continue to reprint previous columns of interest to our readers.

To find out more about Anne McCollam and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

* On June 13, 1981, Queen Elizabeth II was shot at with six blank rounds by Marcus Sarjeant while she was riding a horse. The queen managed to keep her horse under control and was not injured. When police questioned Sarjeant about his motives, he said: “I wanted to be famous. I wanted to be a somebody.”

Anderson’s chalk ware figurines were inspired by his woodcarvings.

A: Your figurines are good examples of chalk ware, and they were inspired by the woodcarvings by H. S. “Andy” Anderson. He was born in 1893 and died in 1960.

The cowpoke is a caricature of a cowboy that Anderson saw when he was in Wyoming. Anderson was so amused with the rough and ready cowboy he decided to carve his likeness. From that time on, he created caricatures of people and horses.

*

* *

Puzzle Solutions

FIGURE

SOLUTION

* On June 17, 1985, fighter pilot and Saudi prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud became the first Arab, the first Muslim and the first member of a royal family to fly into space, on NASA’s Discovery Space Shuttle, as a payload specialist. He chose not to fast for Ramadan while he was training and in space, but brought a small Koran along for the trip, with a prayer from his mother asking God to protect travelers, and tied his feet to the shuttle floor to prostrate himself while weightless in prayer as best he could.

* On June 15, 2019, Babe Ruth’s baseball jersey became the most expensive sports memorabilia in history when it sold for a staggering $5.6 million. According to Hunt Auctions, the jersey dated to between 1928 and 1930 and broke the previous record of $4.4 million set by a 1920 Ruth jersey.

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

c

“I drew a picture of the ball I lost. If you find it, it belongs to me.”

"I drew a picture of the ball I lost. If you find it, it belongs to me."

Royal Dux porcelain was made in Bohemia.

ANTIQUE -- OR -JUNQUE

Scrabble (from page 3)

in a tournament game, which equals about two minutes per play. Exceed your allotted time and you’re penalized ten points for each minute over 25.

SNEAKY SCRABBLER

• One player who regularly entered Scrabble tournaments came under suspicion when he seemed to almost always produce a blank tile in every game. The blank tiles – two supplied in each game – are the most valuable because they can be used as any letter in the alphabet. While under close scrutiny in the next tournament, he was observed secretly sneaking pilfered blank tiles which he had hidden under his leg. He was promptly ejected and banned from any further competitive play.

SCORING RECORDS

• The highest Scrabble score ever received on a single turn is 1,782, achieved by adding tiles to words already in place to form the word “oxyphenbutazone” (an anti-inflammatory drug). Player Benjamin Woo played it across the top of the board, hitting three Triple Word Score squares while making seven crosswords downward. He also scored an extra 50 points for using up all seven of his tiles in a single turn.

• Benjamin Woo’s 1,782 points eclipsed the previous record-holder. Karl Khoshnaw from Manchester, England held the record for the highest word score achieved in a competition, scoring 392 points with “caziques” which is the plural form of a word denoting a West Indian Chief.

• The highest score possible on the first round is 128 points with the word “muzjiks” meaning a Russian peasant

EMBIGGENING THE LEXICON

• In November of 2022, the 7th edition of the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary added about 500 new words now allowed in play. Some of the news words included: adulting (behaving like an adult); embiggen (to make larger); fauxhawk (a fake Mohawk hairstyle); dumpster (now no longer trademarked); torrented and torrenting (downloading files); bae (slang for babe); covid and vax; along with yeehaw, vibing, welp, thingie, hangry, spork, swole, skeezy, pageview, and unmute. □

STAN SMITH’S TENNIS CLASS

Play Better Golf with JACK NICKLAUS

Soft Toe Spinner

Watching televised golf, you may hear a commentator mention that a player has “short sided” themselves, meaning they’ve missed the green on the same side as the pin. This usually creates a difficult situation in the pitching game.

Yet, the player then plays a soft landing, spinning shot that finishes a few feet away. While this shot seems like only the kind that tour players can produce, there are a few simple keys that may allow you to produce effective shots when you’ve missed the green on the “short side.”

club in the bag (typically a lob wedge), and allow the face to be opened slightly at address. Turn clubface then take a normal grip.

2. The real trick is to place the ball of the toe side of the club, and attempt to strike the grass slightly first so the ball will hit the toe area. By hitting the high, toe area of the clubface, you’ll be more apt to produce a spinning, softer soft.

3. It helps to use a softer covered ball and newer wedges as well. Tour players have the advantage of both each week.

23DOHC8927_4NewDocs_TidBits_Ad_10.5x13.indd

in the fingers called?

GO FIGURE!

10. ASTRONOMY: How many primary phases of the moon exist? Answers

by Linda Thistle

TRIVIA TEST Answers Answers

1. James Earl Jones.

2. “The West Wing.”

3. Rudyard Kipling.

4. Amsterdam.

5. Great Dane.

6. Paella.

The idea of Go Figure is to arrive at the figures given at the bottom and right-hand columns of the diagram by following the arithmetic signs in the order they are given (that is, from left to right and top to bottom). Use only the numbers below the diagram to complete its blank squares and use each of the nine numbers only once.

7. Vatican City.

8. Rosh Hashanah.

9. Phalanges.

10. Four.

1. The letter "V"