Past puzzles / #6
Bonsaily #6
Friday, 6 November 2026 · the day’s tree: Japanese maple (Momiji, 紅葉)
1. Name a US president
Target: age on first taking office closest to 47 years. For scale: George Washington is 57 years.
Bullseye answers
- Barack Obama · 47 years — Took office in January 2009, aged 47.
- Grover Cleveland · 47 years — Took office in March 1885, aged 47. Served two non-consecutive terms.
- Bill Clinton · 46 years — Took office in January 1993, aged 46.
- Franklin Pierce · 48 years — Took office in March 1853, aged 48.
- Ulysses S. Grant · 46 years — Took office in March 1869, aged 46.
12 more answers scored Close (70–94). 45 answers were valid in all. Source: unitedstates/congress-legislators (executive.yaml) (2025).
2. Name a chemical element
Target: atomic number closest to 85. For scale: Tungsten is 74.
Bullseye answers
- Astatine · 85 — At, atomic number 85; most stable isotope mass number 210.
- Polonium · 84 — Po, atomic number 84; most stable isotope mass number 209.
- Radon · 86 — Rn, atomic number 86; most stable isotope mass number 222.
16 more answers scored Close (70–94). 118 answers were valid in all. Source: Periodic-Table-JSON (Bowserinator) (2024).
3. Name a moon in our Solar System
Target: the 8th largest by diameter. For scale: Ganymede is 1st.
Bullseye answers
- Titania · 8th — 8th largest moon: 1,578 km (981 mi) across, orbiting Uranus.
- Rhea · 9th — 9th largest moon: 1,529 km (950 mi) across, orbiting Saturn.
- Triton · 7th — 7th largest moon: 2,707 km (1,682 mi) across, orbiting Neptune.
10 more answers scored Close (70–94). 151 answers were valid in all. Source: NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics, Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters (via devstronomy/nasa-data-scraper) (2019).
4. Name a US state
Target: the 5th most populous. For scale: Virginia is 12th.
Bullseye answers
- Pennsylvania · 5th — 5th most populous state: 13.1 million people (2025 estimate).
- Illinois · 6th — 6th most populous state: 12.7 million people (2025 estimate).
- New York · 4th — 4th most populous state: 20 million people (2025 estimate).
8 more answers scored Close (70–94). 50 answers were valid in all. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, annual state population estimates (via FRED) (2025).
5. Name a Formula One Grand Prix
Target: first held as a World Championship race in a year closest to 2009. For scale: Qatar Grand Prix, 2021.
Bullseye answers
- Abu Dhabi Grand Prix · 2009 — First a World Championship race in 2009; held 17 times to the end of 2025.
- Korean Grand Prix · 2010 — First a World Championship race in 2010; held 4 times to the end of 2025.
- Singapore Grand Prix · 2008 — First a World Championship race in 2008; held 16 times to the end of 2025.
6 more answers scored Close (70–94). 53 answers were valid in all. Source: F1DB (Formula 1 database) (2025).
6. Name an actor who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor
Target: a winning film year closest to 1995. For scale: Christian Bale, 2010.
Bullseye answers
- Kevin Spacey · 1995 — Best Supporting Actor for The Usual Suspects (1995).
- Cuba Gooding Jr. · 1996 — Best Supporting Actor for Jerry Maguire (1996).
- Martin Landau · 1994 — Best Supporting Actor for Ed Wood (1994).
15 more answers scored Close (70–94). 81 answers were valid in all. Source: DLu/oscar_data (Academy Awards database) (2025).