NPR Puzzle 3/13/11 - Midge: PA's Former First Lady, not the State Insect

Here's this week's puzzle:

Think of a five-letter girl's name that ends in a "J" sound. Change that to a CH sound to get a five-letter boy's name. What names are these?

The intended answers are MIDGE and MITCH.

There was some concern that "Midge" is not a particularly obvious girl's name.  Well, it is if you are a) a resident of Pennsylvania with either some knowledge of politics or federal appellate courts, or b) old enough and girly enough to have had a complete set of Barbies in the 1960s/70s.

Here's my Midge:

Marjorie "Midge" Rendell, current judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and former first lady of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  (Former in that Ed Rendell is no longer the governor, and former in that the Rendells announced in February -- to no one's great surprise -- that they are amicably living apart and it's fine if you want to invite them both to the same social events as that will embarrass neither one of them.)

Here's "midge" the insect (not Pennsylvania's state insect, which is the firefly):

Here's Midge the doll (a friend of Barbie's)











Finally, here's Ross's Midge:



(I set it up to start about 1 minute and 20 seconds into the clip because the beginning is ver-r-ry slow and lugubrious unless you're very young or veddy British.  And if you can't be bothered at all, Midge is the mouse.)

Ross would also like me to mention that the otter in Ring of Bright Water is Mij, pronounced "midge."

(There was another "midge" but if he wants that one included, he can damned well stick it in a comment.)

If you scroll down to Sunday's post, I have provided proper attributions for the animals.  But for quick reference, all the cats are Midges and all the dogs are Mitches.

Time for ...

P I C K   A   R A N G E

Fewer than 50        50 - 100 100 - 150 150 - 200 200 - 250 250 - 300 300 - 350 350 - 400 400 - 450 450 - 500 500 - 550 550 - 600 600 - 650 650 - 700 -- Ross 700 - 750 750 - 800 -- Tom 800 - 850 -- Phil  850 - 900 -- Mendo Jim 900 - 950 950 - 1,000

1,000 - 1,050 -- Dave       1,050 - 1,100 1,100 - 1,150 1,150 - 1,200 1,200 - 1,250 -- Kaleenam 1,250 - 1,300 1,300 - 1,350 1,350 - 1,400 1,400 - 1,450 -- David 1,450 - 1,500 -- Jimel 1,500 - 1,550 -- Magdalen 1,550 - 1,600 1,600 - 1,650 1,650 - 1,700 1,700 - 1,750 1,750 - 1,800 1,800 - 1,850 1,850 - 1,900 1,900 - 1,950-- Paul 1,950 - 2,000 -- Marie

2,000 - 2,050 -- Grace 2,050 - 2,100 2,100 - 2,150 2,150 - 2,200 2,200 - 2,250 2,250 - 2,300 2,300 - 2,350 2,350 - 2,400 2,400 - 2,450 2,450 - 2,500 2,500 - 2,750 2,750 - 3,000 3,000 - 3,250 3,250 - 3,500 3,500 - 4,000 4,000 - 4,500 4,500 - 5,000 More than 5,000 More than 5,000 and it sets a new record.

Our tie-break rule: 

In the event that a single round number is announced, AND two separate people picked the ranges leading up to and leading up from that round number, the prize will be awarded to whichever entrant had not already won a prize, or in the event that both entrants had won a prize already or neither had, then to the earlier of the two entries on the famous judicial principle of "First Come First Serve," (or in technical legal jargon, "You Snooze, You Lose").