New Scientist - UK (2022-05-14)

14 May 2022 | New Scientist | 53

The back pages Puzzles

Quick quiz #151

1 Which type of electromagnetic wave

has the shortest wavelength?

2 In which organ would you find

the loop of Henle?

3 What is the hibernation-like state entered

by animals such as hummingbirds?

4 Which element was long considered to be

the heaviest stable element in the periodic

table, until it was discovered to be weakly

radioactive in 2003?

5 Hydrocortisone is a synthetic,

medicinal version of which naturally

produced hormone?

Answers on page 55

Puzzle

set by Brian Hobbs

#167 This escalated quickly

At the shopping mall, while their mother’s

attention is conveniently fixed on a window

display, Jill furtively approaches her brother.

“Hey, what do you say to a race up to

the next floor and back? Winner does

the other one’s chores.”

“You’re on,” says Jack.

There are two escalators that move at the

same speed, one going up and one going

down, and also a regular set of stairs.

The children decide that each will choose

on which of the three they want to race,

but whatever they pick, they will have

to run both up and down on that choice.

Jack knows he can run upwards and

downwards at about the same speed

(and much faster than the escalator).

Which of the three methods should

he choose for the race: the up escalator,

the down escalator or the stairs?

Solution next week

Cryptic crossword #83 Set by Wingding

Scribble

zone

Answers and

the next quick

crossword

next week

ACROSS

1 Explorer’s bed in road (5)

4 Snow vehicle murder reported (6)

7 Sea creature returned phenomenal

sample (7)

8 Secure inhabitant of 9 (4)

10 Bag final rock and sleep by fire (8)

11 Maybe cancer is evil overcoming good (4)

13 Send out old wine (6)

15 American Medical Association accepts

priest’s birth anomaly (6)

17 Sound from farmyard gets

zero publicity (4)

18 Awfully thin copy that’ll put you to sleep (8)

21 Bird in valley finally lost (4)

22 New Jersey investigator starts

trailing bad dog (7)

23 Deduces how Neanderthals might have

dressed, according to speaker (6)

24 Seaweed beside a water wheel (5)

DOWN

1 Explorer showing restraint

by not going north (10)

2 Round, large and kind of fat (5)

3 You might wear these to tango

on stimulants? (8)

4 Fish is behind sulphur smell (6)

5 Fragment of C-type asteroid at

a bearing of 90 degrees (4)

6 Rearranged gala infiltrated by spies

moving slowly (7)

9 Train cat to dance around

somewhere chilly (10)

12 Surprisingly, nude man’s first

to reach the pole (8)

14 Writer with weapon captures

one inhabitant of 9 (7)

16 Shrubland where boys play with

nitrogen south of France (6)

19 Singer is content (5)

20 Look in empty fridge for ice (4)

Our crosswords are now solvable online

newscientist.com/crosswords