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Spellements: Wednesday, November 20, 2024 | Scientific American

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class="article_hed-9vUZD"><p>Spellements: Wednesday, November 20, 2024</p></h1><div class="article_dek-bmjfm"></div><p class="article_authors-s5nSV">By <a class="article_authors__link--mMFB" href="/author/sarah-lewin-frasier/">Sarah Lewin Frasier</a></p><div class="article_eyebrows-BqeOV"><div class="eyebrows_container-QeE5W eyebrows_container__margin_top-8RQXq"></div></div></div><div class="breakoutContainer-8fsaw"><gpt-ad class="ad-G8iDN" id-format="gpt-bumper-{}" sizes-from-0="300x50,320x50" sizes-from-745="728x90,300x50,320x50" sizes-from-1000="970x350,970x250,970x90,728x90,fluid" unitpath="injector" style="--margin:0;--ad-background-color:transparent" targeting-pos="game-top-1"></gpt-ad></div><div class="game_embed-mUE3G"></div><div class="breakoutContainer-8fsaw"><gpt-ad class="ad-G8iDN" id-format="gpt-bumper-{}" sizes-from-0="300x50,320x50" sizes-from-745="728x90,300x50,320x50" sizes-from-1000="970x350,970x250,970x90,728x90,fluid" unitpath="injector" style="--margin:0;--ad-background-color:transparent" targeting-pos="game-top-2"></gpt-ad></div><div class="body-n28ll prose-Yw0x0 prose-v4bYC article__body-ivA3W"><div class="reveal__container-3b5UZ"><button class="reveal__button-2RLC0">Reveal hint for science-related word<span class="reveal__caret-iRsnA"><svg id="Layer_1" data-name="Layer 1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 77.89 50.41" class="caret-Dj2qj"><polygon class="cls-1" points="38.95 50.41 50.41 38.95 50.4 38.94 77.89 11.46 66.43 0 38.94 27.49 11.46 0 0 11.46 27.49 38.94 27.48 38.95 38.94 50.41 38.94 50.4 38.95 50.41"></polygon></svg></span></button><div class="prose-Yw0x0 prose-v4bYC reveal__block-rcJ90 closed-5Bx9f"><p class="" data-block="sciam/paragraph">Practitioners of this discipline might have indulged in October&rsquo;s Spooky Lake Month, describing strange and interesting effects seen in lakes and the reasons they happen. (<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/celebrating-spooky-lake-month-with-its-creator-geo-rutherford/">Read the article here</a>.)</p></div></div><h2 id="how-to-play" class="" data-block="sciam/heading">How to Play</h2><p class="" data-block="sciam/paragraph">The objective of the game is to find words that can be made with the given letters such that all the words include the letter in the center. You can enter letters by clicking on them or typing them in. Press Enter to submit a word. Letters can be used multiple times in a single word, and words must contain four letters or more for this size layout. Select the Play Together icon in the navigation bar to invite a friend to work together on this puzzle. Pangrams, words which incorporate all the letters available, appear in bold and receive bonus points. One such word is always drawn from a recent <i>Scientific American</i> article, with a hint and link available in the dropdown above this explanation. You can also get hints to other words in the puzzle by hitting the life preserver icon in the game display.</p><p class="" data-block="sciam/paragraph"><i>The dictionary we use for this game misses a lot of science words, such as apatite and coati. Let us know at </i><a href="mailto:games@sciam.com"><i>games@sciam.com</i></a><i> any extra science terms you found,</i><b><i> </i></b><i>along with your name and place of residence,</i><b><i> </i></b><i>and we might give you a shout out in our daily newsletter!</i></p></div><footer class="footer-u1I4n"><div class="divide-L7a-x"><div class="rights-Y0o9k"></div></div><div class="divide-L7a-x"></div><div class="divide-L7a-x"><div class="subdivide-5Zp4J"><div class="bio-LnT3Q"><p><b><a class="bioLink-kqdDv" href="/author/sarah-lewin-frasier/">Sarah Lewin Frasier</a></b> is&nbsp;<i>Scientific American</i>'s assistant news editor. She plans, assigns and edits the Advances section of the monthly magazine, as well as editing online news. Before joining&nbsp;<i>Scientific American</i>&nbsp;in 2019, she chronicled humanity's journey to the stars as associate editor at&nbsp;Space.com. (And even earlier, she was a print intern at&nbsp;<i>Scientific American</i>.) Frasier holds an A.B. in mathematics from Brown University and an M.A. in journalism from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She enjoys musical theater and mathematical paper craft.</p></div><a href="/author/sarah-lewin-frasier/">More by <span>Sarah Lewin Frasier</span></a></div></div><div class="divide-L7a-x"></div></footer><div class="breakoutContainer-8fsaw"><gpt-ad class="ad-G8iDN" unitpath="injector" style="--margin:0.25rem 0 1.25rem" id-format="gpt-unit-{}" sizes-from-0="320x450,300x250,300x50,320x50,fluid" sizes-from-745="320x450,728x90,300x250,fluid" sizes-from-1000="970x350,970x250,970x90,728x90,300x250,fluid" targeting-pos="article-footer"></gpt-ad></div></article>0</main><footer class="footer-VfsmT"><div class="footerContainer-pfbjC"><h2 class="footerMainText-wQ3og">Expand Your World with Science</h2></div><div class="footerFlexContainer-XKe5g footerContainer-pfbjC"><div class="footerLinks-m1THn"><p class="footerText-PzHcy">Learn and share the most exciting discoveries, innovations and ideas shaping our world today.</p><a class="footerLink-uRzI4" 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