Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Sortie! answer for September 30, 2026

Sep 30’s Sortie! hints

Hint 1

The six prompts today cover geography, science and nature, history and movies. One well-known name per prompt is all you need.

Hint 2

Read the rule under each prompt: 3 reward the bigger number today, 3 reward the smaller or closer one.

Hint 3

For the first prompt, the best answer starts with “H” and beats the runner-up by 1,782 mi from Omaha.

Reveal the answer

1. Name a capital in the U.S.A. — Best: Honolulu (3,821 mi from Omaha); also strong: Juneau (2,039 mi from Omaha).
2. Name a European city with at least 1 million people. — Best: Odessa (10,000 Δ from 1M pop); also strong: Volgograd (10,000 Δ from 1M pop).
3. Name a bird. — Best: Great White Pelican (360 wingspan cm); also strong: Wandering Albatross (350 wingspan cm).
4. Name a chemical element. — Best: Rhenium (0 Δ from 75); also strong: Tungsten (1 Δ from 75).
5. Name a U.S. president. — Best: Abraham Lincoln (76 height in); also strong: Lyndon B Johnson (75.5 height in).
6. Name a Best Actor/Actress Academy Award Winner. — Best: Emil Jannings (101 era); also strong: Janet Gaynor (101 era).

Why this is the answer (spoilers)

This daily ran six prompts, each scored by a measured rule rather than by rarity. On “Name a capital in the U.S.A.”, the winning answer was Honolulu at 3,821 mi from Omaha, ahead of Juneau at 2,039 mi from Omaha. On “Name a European city with at least 1 million people.”, the winning answer was Odessa at 10,000 Δ from 1M pop, ahead of Volgograd at 10,000 Δ from 1M pop. On “Name a bird.”, the winning answer was Great White Pelican at 360 wingspan cm, ahead of Wandering Albatross at 350 wingspan cm. Naming mattered too: Honolulu is also accepted as Honolulu HI, Honolulu, Hawaii, which helps if you only know the short form. The counterintuitive one was “Name a European city with at least 1 million people.”, where closer to 1 million propel you farther — so Odessa outscored the more famous picks. Magnitudes and sources are the game's own, as listed in its archive notes for this date.

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