Topical puzzle of the week
May. 10th, 2010 01:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhuSo of course the word-puzzle world is abuzz about the fact that Pres. Obama (VCVCV) nominated Elena Kagan (VCVCV CVCVC) to the Supreme Court. That got me wondering how many previous presidents and justices had family names that alternated vowels and consonants.
I found four presidents (including Pres. Obama) and five justices (Kagan has not yet been confirmed, so she's not on my list), using a realistic assessment of 'y': when it acts like a vowel, I count it as a vowel; when it acts like a consonant, I count it as a consonant; when it acts like the second half of a diphthong, I count it as a vowel --- so the following don't count: Pres. Hayes and Justices John Jay, Roger Taney, and William Day.
And of course the HCHS alumae list is abuzz with the same news. How many previous presidents and justices are HCHS alumnae? OK, that's a bit easier. :-)
I found four presidents (including Pres. Obama) and five justices (Kagan has not yet been confirmed, so she's not on my list), using a realistic assessment of 'y': when it acts like a vowel, I count it as a vowel; when it acts like a consonant, I count it as a consonant; when it acts like the second half of a diphthong, I count it as a vowel --- so the following don't count: Pres. Hayes and Justices John Jay, Roger Taney, and William Day.
And of course the HCHS alumae list is abuzz with the same news. How many previous presidents and justices are HCHS alumnae? OK, that's a bit easier. :-)