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I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Gerald Ford Was a Michigan Wolverine

When there is a need for bar trivia, one of (Z)'s favorite questions to pose is: "Can you name the five universities that have graduated both a Super Bowl-winning quarterback AND a U.S. president?" Per the headline, one of them is the University of Michigan—Gerald Ford being the president and Tom Brady the Super Bowl-winning QB to count that school as their alma mater. For readers who would like to try for the other four, we'll put the answer at the end of this item.

Anyhow, for last week's theme, we gave only one hint, but it was a good one:

That's a rhombicuboctahedron, for those keeping score at home.

And here is the solution, courtesy of reader P.A. in Redwood City, CA:

Every headline has to do with the number 26:

Today in Diplomacy: So Much for the Theodore Roosevelt Approach—The 26th president

House Divided: For Many in MAGA, It's the Day after Christmas—December 26

What Just Happened?: First Lady Does Her Iron Lady Impression—Atomic number 26

Legal News: We're Not Quite to the Last Mile of the Marathon—The last mile of the marathon is the 26th mile

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: The Red Sox Did Not Retire 3B Wade Boggs' Number until 2016—Number 26

This Week in Schadenfreude: (Z) Sues Donald Trump—Z is the 26th letter of the English alphabet...

This Week in Freudenfreude: Ojala Y Te Animes—...and Y is the 26th letter of the Spanish alphabet

As for the clue, it's a picture of a rhombicuboctahedron, which has 26 faces.

Yes, indeed. And from this item's headline, Michigan was the 26th state.

Here are the first 60 readers to get it right:

J.S. in Huntington Station, NY
Z.K. in Albany, NY
G.W. in Avon, CT
M.W. in Altea, Spain
M.K. in Seattle, WA
P.L. in Skövde, Sweden
K.R. in Austin, TX
M.J. in Oakdale, MN
D.D. in Highland Park, IL
C.J.W. in Hamilton, NY
M.A. in Soquel, CA
J.T. in Providence, RI
H.B. in Santiago, Chile
R.N. in Cleveland, OH
P.A. in Redwood City
P.K in Marseille, France
K.G.W. in Lafayette, IN
C.D.K. in Yorkshire, England, UK
R.S. in Landing, NJ
M.T. in Simpsonville, SC
P.R. in Havertown, PA
P.R. in Kirksville, MO
J.E. in Gilbertsville, PA
E.S. in Providence, RI
D.B. in Pittsboro, NC
D.S. in Fort Collins, CO
R.S. in Landing, NJ
M.S. in Canton, NY
P.R. in Kirksville, MO
M.M. in Dunellen, NJ

D.E. in High Springs, FL
T.V. in Dinwiddie, VA
D.K. in Bethesda, MD
G.K. in Blue Island, IL
T.C. in Danby, NY
K.H. in Albuquerque, NM
G.M. in Arlington, VA
S.K. in Ardmore, PA
D.P. in Washington, DC
B.J.L. in Ann Arbor, MI
A.G. in Plano, TX
D.B. in Glendale, CA
G.M. in Arlington, VA
J.B. in Waukee, IA
B.L. in Ferndale, MI
J.W. in Folsom, CA
M.M. in Charlottesville, VA
K.H. in Golden, CO
P.C. in Austin, TX
G.S. in Basingstoke, England, UK
D.P. in Mt. Rainier, MD
S.S. in Lucerne, Switzerland
R.P.E.H. in London, England, UK
P.J. in Quakertown, PA
J.B. in Royston, England, UK
G.N. in West Windsor, NJ
J.N. in Zionsville, IN
G.M.K. in Mishawaka, IN
M.V. in Oak Park, IL
J.I. in San Francisco, CA

The 60th correct response was received at 9:30 a.m. PT on Friday.

For this week's theme, it relies on one word per headline, and it's in the category Literature. And Movies. For a hint, we'll give you this: ABCDFGHIJKLOPQRSTUVWYZ.

If you have a guess, send it to comments@electoral-vote.com with subject line "April 17 Headlines."

Oh, and the other four universities? The U.S. Naval Academy (Jimmy Carter and Roger Staubach), Stanford (Herbert Hoover and John Elway/Jim Plunkett), Miami of Ohio (Benjamin Harrison and Ben Roethlisberger) and Delaware (Joe Biden and Joe Flacco). It is presumably just a coincidence that all five of the presidents served only one term (or less, in Ford's case). (Z)

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