File This Under: A Five-Letter Word For Possible Nerd Bias
So Gawker has a great post about whether the frequent mentions of Obama in the New York Times Crossword puzzle is bias or short-sweet-and-heavily-vowelled convenience:
While “Obama” has appeared as an answer several times, the Republican candidate hasn’t been honored once. What’s the Times’ excuse? “It is because ‘Obama’ is a five-letter name that alternates vowels and consonants,” a spokeswoman tells Politico. “It’s got three vowels out of five letters, starting and ending in vowels. So it is much more crossword-friendly than ‘McCain,’ which is a harder word to put in a crossword.”
I’m going to give the NYT the benefit of the doubt here, but the story really tickles my nerd bone. Read the full Gawker article here.
What’s a six-letter word for my feelings on the upcoming election? Answers in the comments.
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