News-Record.com

I thought it was just us.

From a question in Marilyn vos Savant's column in Parade today: I know you are not the only columnist guilty of doing this, but because you are so smart, can you please tell me why you state, "The answer appears at the end of the column," and then proceed to put it upside down -- every time, every week, week after week after week? This is so irritating. We are not imbeciles! If we are going to cheat, we are going to cheat no matter what you do.
-- Dale Zink, Belleville, Ill.

We get this, too. We print answers upside down at the end of the news quiz which runs on A2 most days. Perhaps it's just me -- like most reporters, I learned to read upside down in my first newspaper job -- but upside down answers have always seemed more of a convenience to quiz takers than an inconvenience to those searching for answers. Same with Marilyn, "listed in the Guinness Book of World Records Hall of Fame for 'Highest IQ.'"

Her answer: Agh. Another complaint about this practice. And I thought I was being helpful to puzzlers who want to make sure they don’t see the answer inadvertently. What do you think, readers? Should we publish answers right-side up? Upside down? Or what?

We also get complaints about where we print Sunday crossword answers. Not on the same page. Not on the facing page. Not on the back of the same page. Not in the same paper but run it the next day.

So, it's not that we ignore you. We just can't please everyone.