NPR Puzzle 2/12/12 -- Yes, Virginia, There Is a Will Shortz!

Here's this week's NPR puzzle:

Name two fictional characters — the first one good, the second one bad. Each is a one-word name. Drop the last letter of the name of the first character. Read the remaining letters in order from left to right. The result will be a world capital. What is it?

All you need is a list of world capitals (Wiki has this nice one here; I swear there are countries on here I've never heard of!) and a good eye. I had to read the list twice before I found it:

SANTA - A + IAGO = SANTIAGO (Chile)

Poor Jim. His granddaughter must be confused about Santa being allegedly "fictional." But c'mon, Jim, what do you tell her at the mall when she sees a Santa in the big chair taking requests from other little kids and then, half a mall away, there's another Santa ringing a bell and taking change for the United Way? I'm guessing you tell her a story about how the REAL Santa has helpers in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Well, tell her that mean ol' Will Shortz was talking about one of the fictional Santas in the mall.

Photos. I wonder if any of you guessed: all the places pictured have "Santa" in their name. I avoided the obvious Santa Monica Pier and went for more obscure places, but this does explain the rather Hispanic quality to the architecture.

The Sanctuary of Santa Lucia in Viana de Castelo, Portugal. Here's the Wiki page in Portuguese, I assume.

Santa Maria Cay, Cuba (the missing railing was, perhaps, a clue)

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands

Santa Lucia, in the Basque Region of Northern Spain

Santa fe de Antioquia, Colombia

The Monastery of Santa Maria de Lebeña, Spain

Time for...

Here are this week's picks:

Fewer than 50  51 - 100 101 - 150 151 - 200 201 - 250 251 - 300 301 - 350 351 - 400 -- Curtis 401 - 450 451 - 500   501 - 550 -- Marie 551 - 600 -- Henry BW 601 - 650 651 - 700 -- Skydiveboy 701 - 750 751 - 800 801 - 850 -- Magdalen 851 - 900 901 - 950 -- Dave 951 - 1,000

1,001 - 1,050 -- David 1,051 - 1,100 1,101 - 1,150 -- Ross 1,151 - 1,200 1,201 - 1,250 1,251 - 1,300 1,301 - 1,350 1,351 - 1,400 1,401 - 1,450 1,451 - 1,500 1,501 - 1,550 1,551 - 1,600 1,601 - 1,650 1,651 - 1,700 -- Tobias 1,701 - 1,750 1,751 - 1,800 1,801 - 1,850 1,851 - 1,900 1,901 - 1,950 1,951 - 2,000

2,001 - 2,050 2,051 - 2,100 2,101 - 2,150 2,151 - 2,200 2,201 - 2,250 2,251 - 2,300 2,301 - 2,350 2,351 - 2,400 2,401 - 2,450 2,451 - 2,500 2,501 - 2,750 2,751 - 3,000 3,001 - 3,250 3,251 - 3,500 3,501 - 4,000 4,001 - 4,500 4,501 - 5,000 More than 5,000 -- Jim of Mendo fame 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").