The kids went back to school yesterday for their first day of 8th and 11th grade respectively. I had almost forgotten how lovely a day home alone can be. I love my kids, but being able to just focus on work without interruption is amazing. Even though they’re mostly self-sufficient now, there’s always that sense that my attention is divided.
I love being needed, of course. I am a caretaker at heart. I’m still not sure what I’ll do when they leave the house and I’m here good and truly alone. A part of me thinks that sounds relaxing; another part, lonesome. The truth lies somewhere in the middle, I’m sure, as it always does.
In any case, yesterday I gave you all a pretty challenging numbers puzzle for Wordle Wednesday. Let’s take a look.
Yesterday’s puzzle was courtesy of Martin Gardener, author of The Colossal Book of Short Puzzles and Problems:
A number’s persistence is the number of steps required to reduce it to a single digit by multiplying all its digits to obtain a second number, then multiplying all the digits of that number to obtain a third number, and so on until a one-digit number is obtained. For example, 77 has a persistence of four because it requires four steps to reduce it to one digit: 77-49-36-18-8. The smallest number of persistence one is 10, the smallest of persistence two is 25, the smallest of persistence three is 39, and the smaller of persistence four is 77. What is the smallest number of persistence five?
I explained this in a bit more depth in yesterday’s post, and now I will give you the answer: 679. Here’s how it works. 6 x 7 x 9 = 378 (1); 3 x 7 x 8 = 168 (2); 1 x 6 x 8 = 48 (3); 4 x 8 = 24 (4); 2 x 4 = 8 (5). There is no smaller number that has a persistence of five.
Yeah, that was a tough one, I know.
Alright, let’s do this Wordle!
How To Solve Today’s Wordle
The Hint: Vacant.
The Clue: This word begins with a vowel.
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See yesterday’s Wordle #781 right here.
Wordle Bot Analysis
This is a great example of turning lemons into lemonade. My first guess evoked the word itself in me when I turned up all grey boxes. Groan was just not a great starter today. Still, having zero letters come up in yellow or green is liberating in its own way. I chose all new letters, including two new vowels, with spite (as if to spite my first guess!) and that narrowed things down considerably.
With two yellow boxes and one green box (and only three remaining possible solutions) I decided to just make a guess and hope and pray. Thankfully, my prayers were answered and I came up empty, but in a good way.
Today’s Score
1 point for guessing in three; 0 points for tying Wordle Bot. Grand total: 1 point. Huzzah!
Today’s Wordle Etymology
The word “empty” has its origins in the Old English word “ǣmettig,” which meant “unoccupied” or “vacant.” Over time, this word evolved and underwent changes in pronunciation and spelling to eventually become the modern English word “empty.” The term “empty” is used to describe a lack or absence of something, such as contents or substance. Its etymology traces back to the Germanic language family and is related to words in other Germanic languages with similar meanings.
Play Competitive Wordle Against Me!
I’ve been playing a cutthroat game of PvP Wordle against my nemesis Wordle But. Now you should play against me! I can be your nemesis! (And your helpful Wordle guide, of course). You can also play against the Bot if you have a New York Times subscription.
- Here are the rules:1 point for getting the Wordle in 3 guesses.
- 2 points for getting it in 2 guesses.
- 3 points for getting it in 1 guess.
- 1 point for beating Erik
- 0 points for getting it in 4 guesses.
- -1 point for getting it in 5 guesses.
- -2 points for getting it in 6 guesses.
- -3 points for losing.
- -1 point for losing to Erik
You can either keep a running tally of your score if that’s your jam or just play day-to-day if you prefer.
I’d love it if you gave me a follow on Twitter or Facebook dearest Wordlers. Have a lovely day!
As always, I’d love it if you’d follow me here on this blog and subscribe to my YouTube channel and my Substack so you can stay up-to-date on all my TV, movie and video game reviews and coverage. Thanks!
Read the full article here
