June 3, 2023

Title: AFTER THE BELL

Constructor: Matthew Stock

Editor: Anna Gundlach

Theme Answers:

BOTTOMS UP (17A: "Let's drink!")

TOWER OF HANOI (36A: Math puzzle of stacked disks on rods)

PEPPER STEAK (59A: Spicy beef dish originating from Fujian cuisine)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each theme answer can be placed AFTER THE word BELL, giving us BELL BOTTOMS, a BELL TOWER, and a BELL PEPPER.

Things I learned:

• COSMIC (56A: ___ Brownies (Little Debbie dessert) Apparently I haven't eaten enough Little Debbie desserts, because COSMIC Brownies was not ringing a BELL today. (See what I did there?) Little Debbie is a brand of desserts made by the McKee Foods Corporation. The snack line is named after the granddaughter of O.D. and Ruth McKee, the company's founders, who was four years old in 1960 when the first Little Debbie products were introduced. COSMIC Brownies - chewy brownies topped with fudge icing and a sprinkling of colorful, candy-coated chocolate candies - were introduced in 1999. Do you remember COSMIC Bowling? Introduced in 1997, COSMIC Bowling refers to an event offered by some bowling alleys. Lights are dimmed, and black lights and colored laser lights are added to give the bowling alley an "outer space" feel. Why am I bringing up COSMIC Bowling? It turns out that COSMIC Brownies were created because of the COSMIC Bowling trend. How's that for an out-of-this-world fun fact?

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• UBE (14A: Root used as a boba tea flavor) and TARO (31A: Root used as a boba tea flavor) If you are a fan of root-flavored boba tea, this puzzle is for you! Boba tea, also known as bubble tea, is a tea drink (with or without milk) accompanied by chewy tapioca balls. UBE is a purple yam, and its use as a boba tea flavoring results in a fun purple-colored beverage. TARO is a root vegetable that is a staple food in many countries. TARO is also purple, though its color tends to be a bit lighter than UBE. Boba tea flavored with TARO is often a light purple color.
• AREPA (16A: Cornmeal cake similar to a pupusa) AREPA is made of ground maize dough. Associated with the cuisines of Columbia, Venezuela, and Bolivia, AREPA may be served with cheese and meats, and can be split to make sandwiches. A pupusa is a flatbread from El Salvador and Honduras. The griddle cakes, which are made of corn masa flour, are stuffed with cheese or other ingredients.
• TOWER OF HANOI (36A: Math puzzle of stacked disks on rods) The TOWER OF HANOI is a classic math puzzle. It consists of three rods and a number of disks of various sizes that can slide onto the rods. The puzzle begins with all of the disks stacked on one of the outer rods, in order of decreasing size, to resemble a pyramid. The goal is to move all the disks to the opposite outer rod while only moving one disk at a time, and at no time placing a disk on top of a disk that is smaller than it. The complexity of the puzzle is increased as the number of disks is increased. If you don't have a physical TOWER OF HANOI handy, you can try your hand at a computer version. 
• DNA (49A: Molecule studied by Rosalind Franklin) Hooray for science in crosswords! Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958) was a British chemist and x-ray crystallographer. Her work played a key role in understanding the double helix structure of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). DNA molecules carry genetic information important in the development, function, growth, and reproduction of organisms.
• PEPPER STEAK (59A: Spicy beef dish originating from Fujian cuisine) Fujian cuisine is derived from the cooking style in China's Fujian Province (located on China's southeastern coast). PEPPER STEAK consist of sliced beef STEAK stir-fried with sliced BELL PEPPERS and bamboo shoots. 
• TENNIS MATCH (28D: Competition for Coco Gauff) Hey, a sports answer I knew! Coco Gauff won her first singles TENNIS title in 2019 at the age of 15. We saw COCO GAUFF as a theme answer in September of last year.

Do any of these theme answers ring a BELL? It occurs to me that today's theme answers would be a pretty good prescription for a day. Let's enjoy some PEPPER STEAK, solve a TOWER OF HANOI puzzle, and then ... "BOTTOMS UP!" In addition to the theme, I enjoyed the answers ROUGH DRAFT, THEATER, and EXACT SAME. Thank you, Matthew, for this puzzle that was a wonderful way to start my Saturday.