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I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Little Lion Man

In addition to revealing that all the headlines contained song titles, we gave three hints last week. On Friday, it was an old-style McDonalds sign with "billions and billions served" at the bottom, as well as a somewhat inaccurate reference to the $64 billion question. On Saturday, it was a note to pay attention to the word that appeared 2-3 times in the hints (i.e., "billion"). On Sunday, we added: "Turn off your mind, relax and float down-stream."

And now, courtesy of reader T.K. in Half Moon Bay, St. Kitts, the solution:

All of the songs referenced in this week's headlines have generated over a billion streaming plays on Spotify: "Here Comes the Sun" was the very first song to reach that milestone.

Indeed. And "Little Lion Man," by Mumford & Sons, has just joined the club. In any event, we told you the clue "Billions and Billions Served" was pretty good.

Here are the first 50 readers to get it:

  1. T.K. in Half Moon Bay
  2. R.D. in Cheshire, CT
  3. H.B. in Toronto, ON, Canada
  4. S.R.G. in Grecia, Costa Rica
  5. J.N. in Zionsville, IN
  6. M.J. in Oakdale, MN
  7. T.F. in Craftsbury Common, VT
  8. P.Q. in Metuchen, NJ
  9. B.H. in Southborough, MA
  10. E.K. in Arlington, MA
  11. M.T. in Wheat Ridge, CO
  12. M.T. in Simpsonville, SC
  13. S.S. in Lucerne, Switzerland
  14. S.L. in St. Louis, MO
  15. M.G. in DuBois, PA
  16. S.C. in Tonawanda, NY
  17. R.K. in Bel Air, MD
  18. K.R. in Austin, TX
  19. K.P. in Tampa, FL
  20. G.K. in Calgary, AB, Canada
  21. M.H. in Ottawa, ON, Canada
  22. P.R. in Havertown, PA
  23. D.M. in Austin, TX
  24. L.D. in Bedford, MA
  25. S.W. in Winter Garden, FL
  1. S.R. in Robbinsville, NJ
  2. S.B. in Los Altos Hills, CA
  3. E.W. in Skaneateles, NY
  4. E.S. in Cincinnati, OH
  5. D.S. in Layton, UT
  6. K.L. in Sterling, VA
  7. T.T. in Conway, AR
  8. D.H. in Portland OR
  9. T.K. in Kirkwood, MO
  10. J.C. in Trenton, NJ
  11. M.N. in Washington, DC
  12. R.R. in Mountain View, CA
  13. J.K.P. in Springfield, IL
  14. M.O. in Dallas, TX
  15. C.W. in Fort Lauderdale, FL
  16. J.J. in Boston, MA
  17. O.B. in Los Angeles, CA
  18. D.U. in Atlanta, GA
  19. S.T. in Grants Pass, OR
  20. M.R. in Appleton, WI
  21. A.L. in San Diego, CA
  22. J.F. in El Paso, TX
  23. J.F. in Irvine, CA
  24. W.D. in Rome, Italy
  25. B.B. in Santa Monica, CA

D.S. in Layton adds: "And speaking as an artist with a CD that is on Spotify, I can report that the artists of each of those songs received from Spotify almost a dollar in royalties."

This week's theme is in the Trivial Pursuit category Cosmology (from Trivial Pursuit: Dungeons & Dragons Ultimate Edition), and involves one word in some headlines, two words in others. The very first item/headline are not part of the puzzle. As to a hint, we are reminded of our Shakespeare: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves."

If you think you've got it, send an e-mail to comments@electoral-vote.com with subject line "January 31 Headlines." (Z)



This item appeared on www.electoral-vote.com. Read it Monday through Friday for political and election news, Saturday for answers to reader's questions, and Sunday for letters from readers.

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