August 3, 2022

Title: TRIPLE DARE

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

PANDA RESERVE (19A: Sanctuary for some giant bears)

PROTECTED AREA (33A: 19-Across, for example)

HOW OLD ARE YOU (51A: "Grow up!")

Theme synopsis: Each of the three theme answers contains the letters D-A-R-E, meaning the puzzle as a whole contains a TRIPLE DARE.

Things I learned:

• ELI (30A: Lani's husband on "Days") Although the NBC soap opera, Days of Our Lives, has been airing on weekdays since 1965 - making it the same age as I am - I'm not sure I've ever seen it. (I've possibly caught glimpses of it in hospital waiting rooms...) In fact, I did not immediately realize that the soap opera, sometimes referred to simply as Days or DOOL, was the show this clue was referring to. Fortunately, crossing answers enabled me to fill in ELI as the answer. Here's what I've learned about Lani and ELI. Lani Price, played by Sal Stowers, was introduced as a character on Days in 2015. In classic soap opera fashion, she was revealed to be the daughter of another character on the show. ELI Grant, played by Lamon Archey, made his first appearance on Days in 2017. Lani and ELI married in 2020. (This is a soap opera, so their relationship has been complicated...) Lani and ELI were the first Black couple to be married on screen in the history of Days of Our Lives.
• GLEE (55A: TV show that featured a tracksuit-dress self-wedding) Speaking of TV weddings... It's possible that I did know the answer to this clue at one time, as my daughter went through a period of watching Glee, the musical TV series centered around a show choir. I didn't remember enough about Glee to get this answer without the help of crossing answers. The clue refers to an episode of Glee  (this link will give you a recap of the entire episode) that featured not one, but two weddings. Spoiler alert... One of them was Sue Sylvester's wedding. The sharp-tongued cheerleading coach, played by Jane Lynch, tried online dating, and decided she was her own best match, so she married herself, while wearing a gown made out of a blue tracksuit.
• SAKE SETS (7D: San-san-kudo drinkware) "San-san-kudo" translates to "three, three, nine times," and refers to a ceremony that is part of traditional Japanese weddings. Using a special SAKE SET, the bride and groom take turns taking three sips each from three different bowls of SAKE. The bowls increase in size as the ceremony progresses.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• HALAL (13A: Not haram) In Islam, HALAL refers to foods that are permissible to eat, and haram refers to those that are forbidden. Although the terms are often used in reference to Islamic dietary laws, their meaning can be expanded to be used to refer to actions or the use of other items such as pharmaceuticals.
• PANDA RESERVE (19A: Sanctuary for some giant bears) and PROTECTED AREA (33A: 19-Across, for example) The bear species known as the Giant PANDA is endemic to China. Following years of conservation efforts that have included the establishment of PANDA RESERVEs, just last year the status of giant PANDAs was updated from "endangered" to "vulnerable." The PROTECTED AREA known as the Sichuan Giant PANDA Sanctuaries is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is currently home to 30% of the world's Giant PANDA population. It was fun to see these two theme answers linked together.
• OREOS (24A: Cookies irresistible to rats) In a 2013 study, scientists found that for rats, OREOS are just as addictive as cocaine. OREOS were chosen for the study as a representative high-fat/high sugar food, thus the finding may not be specific to OREOS. The scientist in me is fascinated with studies, so here are few interesting things about this study: 1. OREOS were chosen for the study as a representative high-fat/high sugar food, thus the finding may not be specific to OREOS. 2. In the study, the rats were given a choice between OREOS and rice cakes. Who wouldn't choose OREOS? 3. The rats ate the OREOS as many humans do, taking them apart and eating the middle first. Anyway, the results of this study are being put to use in New York City. A high-tech, Italian-made rat trap is being utilized by some restaurants in the city, and the bait being used is OREOS; peanut butter OREOS apparently work the best.
• MAKO (36A: Type of mackerel shark) I have previously written about MAKO sharks. 
• DEKES (61A: Ice hockey feints) I learned about DEKES from the July 3, 2020 puzzle. 
• LANDMARKS (4D: Angkor and Tokyo Tower, for two) Angkor was the capital city of the Khmer Empire, and is now an important archaeological site. It is located in Cambodia. I wrote about Tokyo Tower a couple of months ago when we saw it as a theme answer.
• ELSA (5D: Disney character born on the winter solstice) and OCEAN (26D: What Moana means in English) Here we have a couple of clues for the Disney princess fans. ELSA, who was appropriately born on the winter solstice, is from the 2013 movie, Frozen. Moana, whose name means OCEAN, is the title character of the 2016 movie, Moana.
• PAPER (9D: Kirigami need) Kirigami is a Japanese PAPER-folding art. It is similar to origami, but in kirigami, PAPER is cut as well as folded.
• LEO (56D: Zodiac feline) LEO is the zodiac sign for those born between July 22 and August 23, which means we're currently in LEO season. Happy birthday, fellow LEOs!

  

  Willow perching on the back of my chair

  Perhaps the reason Willow and I get along so well is because she recognizes I am a LEO.

Geography review:

• FSU (6D: College in Tallahassee, for short) Florida State University (FSU, for short) is located in Tallahassee, Florida. FSU alumni include businesswoman Sara Blakely (the founder of Spanx), actor Burt Reynolds, and fitness guru Richard Simmons.
• YEN (40A: Currency in Honshu) and ASIA (35D: Honshu's continent) Honshu is the largest and most populous of the islands of Japan. The island country of Japan is located in East ASIA, and its currency is the Japanese YEN.
• RIO (43D: Ipanema Beach's city) Ipanema is a neighborhood of RIO de Janeiro, Brazil. Ipanema Beach became famous in the 1960s with the song, "The Girl From Ipanema." I have previously written about the interesting history of this song. 
• EAST (54D: Michigan-to-Vermont direction) The New England state of Vermont is indeed EAST of the upper-Midwestern state of Michigan. If you wanted to drive EAST from Michigan to Vermont, you would need to navigate around the Great Lakes, as the state of Michigan consists of two peninsulas that border four of the five Great Lakes (all but Lake Ontario).

When was the last time you were involved in a TRIPLE DARE? This is a fun hidden word theme, and I especially liked the appropriateness of "HOW OLD ARE YOU?" as a theme answer. Other great answers: EARL GREY TEA and BREAK EVEN. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this puzzle that was a wonderful way to start my Wednesday.