August 1, 2025

Title: HUBCAPS

Constructor: Jake Halperin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• HUBBLE TELESCOPE (6D: One of NASA's Great Observatories)
• HUBBARD SQUASH (16D: Large, bumpy gourd)
• HUBBA BUBBA (23D: "Big bubbles, no troubles" gum brand)

HUBCAPS: Each vertical theme answer begins with (has a CAP of) the letters HUB: HUBBLE TELESCOPE, HUBBARD SQUASH, and HUBBA BUBBA.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• MAY (14A: Revenge of the Fifth month) Many Star Wars fans celebrate MAY 4 as a holiday. This tradition began because "MAY the fourth" sounds similar to the start of the Star Wars phrase "May the force be with you." I am familiar with Star Wars Day, but Revenge of the Fifth day, celebrated on MAY 5, is new to me. This day is a play on Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, and is an opportunity to celebrate Star Wars villains.
• CON AIR (5D: Action film that takes place on a plane) CON AIR is a 1997 thriller movie starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, and John Malkovich. The movie's plot centers on a prison break aboard a Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS) flight. The film's title refers to a nickname of JPATS, "CON AIR." 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• UTAH (15A: Bonneville Salt Flats state) The Bonneville Salt Flats are a salt pan in northwestern UTAH. A salt pan is a flat area covered with salt and other minerals. The Bonneville Salt Flats cover an area about 12 miles long and 5 miles wide, and are estimated to hold 147 million tons of salt. UTAH's Bonneville Salt Flats are home to the Bonneville Speedway, an area marked out for motor sports, where several land speed records have been set.
• OPI (19A: "Full of Glambition" nail polish brand) I always enjoy the names OPI gives to their nail polish colors. In case you're wondering, the color of OPI's "Full of Glambition" nail polish is candy apple red.
• KEURIG (26A: Pioneer in single-serving coffee makers) This clue made me wonder how long K-cups, KEURIG's single-serve pods have been on the market. The first KEURIG brewers and pods were introduced 27 years ago, in 1998. 
• TRIBE (27A: The Chickasaw, e.g.) The Chickasaw TRIBE has its headquarters in Oklahoma. Historically, the Chickasaw lived in the area that is now the southeastern part of the United States.
• ABBA (42A: "Dancing Queen" group) ABBA released "Dancing Queen" in 1976. "You can dance, you can jive / Having the time of your life..." 
• HAL (44A: AI character in "2001: A Space Odyssey") The 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey was produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, who won an Academy Award for Best Special Visual Effects. HAL 9000 is the name of the sentient supercomputer in the movie.
• BASE (58A: Number below an exponent) and ACID (64A: LSD) Although neither BASE nor ACID was clued as a substance measured by the pH scale, the scientist in me enjoyed seeing these two answers together in the grid.
• NINA SIMONE (62A: "I Put a Spell on You" artist) "I Put a Spell on You" is the title track from NINA SIMONE's 1965 studio album. Her 1992 autobiography is also titled I Put a Spell on You.
• SASH (68A: Suffragette's accessory) A suffragette is one advocating for women's right to vote. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, SASHes were worn by suffragettes attending rallies and parades. One of the popular slogans on SASHes was "Votes for Women." I'm grateful for the work of suffragettes such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
• FOUR (1D: Number of chambers in the human heart) The human heart's FOUR chambers are the left and right atria (the upper chambers) and the left and right ventricles (the lower chambers)
• HUBBLE TELESCOPE (6D: One of NASA's Great Observatories) HUBBLE TELESCOPE has been in orbit since its launch in 1990. As the clue informs us, it is one of NASA's Great Observatories, four space-based telescopes built with differing technologies that allow the observance of different energy regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The HUBBLE TELESCOPE observes primarily visible light. I recommend taking a few minutes to look at some images from the HUBBLE TELESCOPE's first 35 years. They are truly amazing.
• ORES (7D: Contents of some veins?) This clue is not talking about veins that transport blood back to the heart, but rather it is referencing veins of minerals, which are composed of ORES.
• CAPRI (10D: Island home to the Blue Grotto) The Italian Isle of CAPRI is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean. The Blue Grotto is a sea cave on the coast of CAPRI, which is so-named because sunlight from an underwater cavity shines through the seawater and illuminates the cave with a blue reflection. The Blue Grotto is only accessible when the tide is low and the sea is calm. Even then, because the opening of the cave is not large, visitors must lie flat on the bottom of a four-person rowboat to get inside the grotto.
• HUBBA BUBBA (23D: "Big bubbles, no troubles" gum brand) It has been ages since I had a piece of HUBBA BUBBA bubble gum, but I knew this answer right away and it brought back bubble-blowing memories. HUBBA BUBBA was introduced in 1979, which means I was 14 years old when it first came on the market.
• IDOL (29D: "The Voice" rival, casually) The Voice and American IDOL (casually referred to as IDOL) are reality TV singing competitions. 
• TAHOE (33D: Lake fed by Sierra Nevada snowmelt) Lake TAHOE is in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and straddles the state lines of California and Nevada.
• APU (46D: "The World of ___") The World of APU (1959) is part of The APU Trilogy, a series of Indian Bengali language films directed by Satyajit Ray. The APU Trilogy won awards at the Cannes, Berlin, and Venice Film Festivals, and the movies are frequently listed among the greatest films of all time.
• I, TINA (52D: 1986 Turner autobiography) We saw I, TINA in the puzzle just six days ago, clued as [1986 autobiography of the "Queen of Rock 'n Roll"].

This is an enjoyable set of theme answers, all with a HUBCAP. As a science geek at heart, it's especially great to see HUBBLE TELESCOPE down the center of the grid. Thank you, Jake, for this excellent puzzle.