Show #9626 - Monday, September 28, 2026 FORMER CURRENCIES

Introduced in 1663, this unit of currency got its name because the gold it was first minted with was from Africa's west coast. Answer: Guinea

George W. Bush

43rd President of the United States, whose Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas houses Café 43.

Martin Luther

German priest and key figure in the Protestant Reformation, excommunicated by the Catholic Church in 1521.

Tina Fey

American comedian, writer, and actress who created "30 Rock" and wrote the screenplay for the 2004 film "Mean Girls".

Harley-Davidson

Iconic American motorcycle manufacturer known for classic touring models like the Electra Glide, introduced with an electric starter in 1965.

spoonfeed

To feed an infant using a spoon, or idiomatically, to present information in a simplified way that requires minimal critical thinking.

Yellowstone

First U.S. National Park, established in 1872 and known for geothermal features like Old Faithful, as well as the historic Old Faithful Inn.

Idaho

The 43rd U.S. state, bordered in part by Oregon along the Snake River and famous for its mountainous wilderness and agriculture.

Lightning

A natural electrostatic discharge; also the model designation (F-35 Lightning II) for an advanced stealth fighter jet used by the U.S. military.

Dead Poets Society

1989 drama film starring Robin Williams as an inspirational English teacher at a prep school who inspires students through poetry.

Australia

Island continent and country that hosts the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, a biennial solar car race across 1,800 miles of its interior.

a Swiss Army knife

Multi-tool pocketknife produced by Victorinox; also used metaphorically for a person or object with versatile capabilities.

Alaska

Largest U.S. state by area, home to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the historic Kennicott copper mining ghost town, and Kennicott Glacier Lodge.

Austria

Landlocked Central European nation with international calling code +43, known for its classical music heritage and Alpine landscape.

Gone with the Wind

1936 Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War novel by Margaret Mitchell centered on Scarlett O'Hara and the American South.

School of Rock

2003 comedy film starring Jack Black as a struggling rock musician who poses as a substitute teacher and forms a band with fifth graders.

Mail

Postal delivery service; the letter "M" in the nautical designation "RMS" stands for Royal Mail Ship.

a forklift

Industrial powered vehicle equipped with heavy-duty prongs used to lift and transport heavy materials over short distances.

Mount Rainier

Active stratovolcano and highest peak in Washington State, featuring the historic Paradise Inn designed in the National Park Service rustic style.

"How do I love thee?"

Famous opening line of Sonnet 43 from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's 1850 collection "Sonnets from the Portuguese".

the Mayflower

English merchant ship that transported English Families known as Pilgrims to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620.

Kindergarten Cop

1990 action-comedy film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as an undercover detective posing as an elementary school teacher.

the Suez Canal

Artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, with Port Said at its northern entrance.

a spoonerism

Speech error in which initial sounds or letters of two or more words are transposed, named after Reverend William Archibald Spooner.

a chalet

Traditional wooden Alpine building style characterized by sloping roofs and wide eaves, which inspired the architecture of lodges like Grand Canyon's El Tovar.

Paganini

19th-century Italian violin virtuoso and composer whose Caprice No. 24 inspired Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" (Opus 43).

the London Zoo

World's oldest scientific zoo, opened in Regent's Park in 1828, historical home to famous animals like Obaysch the hippopotamus.

Edward James Olmos

American actor who received an Oscar nomination for playing calculus teacher Jaime Escalante in "Stand and Deliver" before starring in "Battlestar Galactica".

Carnival

Major international cruise line company operating a large fleet of passenger ships including the Sunshine, Horizon, and Jubilee.

Yellowknife

Capital and largest city of Canada's Northwest Territories, located on Great Slave Lake and historically built around gold and diamond mining.

Shenandoah

U.S. National Park in Virginia along the Blue Ridge Mountains, featuring Skyline Drive and the historic Skyland resort.

Vietnam

Southeast Asian country where the Tay Son dynasty was established in the late 18th century following a rebellion led by three Nguyen brothers.

semi

Prefix meaning "half" or "partially"; also an informal noun referring to a large articulated tractor-trailer truck.

the telegraph

19th-century point-to-point text messaging system that transmitted electrical signals over wires, co-developed by Samuel Morse.

Zootopia

2016 animated Disney film set in a metropolis of anthropomorphic mammals, following police officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde.

Rushdie

British-Indian author Salman Rushdie, acclaimed for magical realist novels such as "Midnight's Children", "The Satanic Verses", and "Victory City".

sea lion

Eared seal marine mammal characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, and the ability to walk on all four limbs on land.

Salieri

18th-century Italian classical composer and Viennese court chapelmaster who composed the opera "L'Europa riconosciuta" for La Scala's opening.

super

Prefix meaning "above", "beyond", or "over"; also an informal term for a residential building superintendent.

(Clint) Eastwood

American actor and director famous for Western and action roles, who served as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California in the late 1980s.

Ted Lasso

Title character of an Apple TV+ comedy-drama series, depicting an optimistic American football coach hired to manage a British soccer club.

Roald Dahl

British author famous for children's books such as "Matilda", who also wrote screenplays for films like "You Only Live Twice" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".

sea urchins

Small, spiny, globular echinoderms found in ocean waters worldwide, lacking brains and hearts but protected by sharp spines.

Peru

South American country where indigenous leader Túpac Amaru II led a major rebellion against Spanish colonial rule in 1780.

meta

Prefix denoting a secondary or self-referential level, or an adjective describing creative works that explicitly refer to their own form or genre.

Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao, world-champion professional boxer across eight division titles who simultaneously served as a Senator of the Philippines.

Avengers: Endgame

2019 superhero film by Marvel Studios resolving the storyline following Thanos's snap, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of all time.

(Zora Neale) Hurston

Harlem Renaissance author and anthropologist who studied under Franz Boas and wrote the 1937 novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God".

Sea-Monkeys

Novelty pet brand created in the 1960s consisting of artificial hybrid brine shrimp sold as mail-order novelties.

the Illuminati

Enlightenment-era secret society founded in Bavaria in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt, frequently cited in modern conspiracy theories.

a uni

Prefix meaning "one"; also a common informal abbreviation for a sports uniform worn by athletes.

Shackleton

Ernest Shackleton, Anglo-Irish polar explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic, including the legendary 1914 "Endurance" expedition.

"Oops!… I Did It Again"

Hit 2000 pop single by Britney Spears featuring a Mars-themed music video.

Fredrik Backman

Contemporary Swedish author and columnist known for international bestselling novels including "A Man Called Ove" and "Beartown".

a sea pig

Small deep-sea sea cucumber of the genus Scotoplanes, growing up to six inches long and walking along the abyssal plain on soft feet.

The Wealth of Nations

Foundational 1776 economic book written by Scottish philosopher Adam Smith outlining market economics and the division of labor.

counter

Prefix or word meaning "against", "opposite", or "contrary", often used to denote an opposing move or response.

Rousseau

Henri Rousseau, French Post-Impressionist painter celebrated for naive, vivid jungle scenes, who worked for decades as a customs tax collector.

Mel Robbins

American motivational speaker, author, and media personality known for "The 5 Second Rule" and top-charting podcasts.

García Márquez

Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian author and pioneer of magical realism who won the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature.

a sea anemone

Marine predatory animal of the order Actiniaria, named for its resemblance to the flowering terrestrial anemone plant.