Jenny's Noodle

Here's the solution to last week's NPR Sunday Puzzle (June 5):

Answer: American Idol and Eric Idle

NPR Sunday Puzzle for June 12

This Hat Rack Puzzle by Sam Lloyd was published 100 years ago in Woman's Home Companion:

A hat room contains a wall with 49 pegs, arranged in a 7-by-7 square. The hat clerk has 20 hats that are to be hung on 20 different pegs. How many lines, containing four hats in a straight line, is it possible to produce?

A line can go in any direction: horizontally, vertically or obliquely. To explain your answer, number the pegs in order, from 1 in the upper left corner to 49 in the lower right corner; list which pegs you put the 20 hats on, and give the total number of lines containing four hats in a row.

Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!