The answers, explained
From the Declaration of Independence to Ghostbusters: puzzle #18, explained
Seven numbers, seven stories. Here is the thinking behind every answer in Range Squeeze #18, and where to read more.
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This article explains the answers to puzzle #18, so it unlocks once Saturday 24 October 2026 is over.
Play today’s puzzle Past answersIn what year was the US Declaration of Independence adopted?
1776
Adopted on the Fourth
The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776, announcing that the 13 American colonies were no longer part of Britain.
Who wrote it? Mostly Thomas Jefferson, then 33, with changes from Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and the rest of Congress. The vote for independence itself took place two days earlier, on 2 July.
Most delegates signed the famous handwritten copy on 2 August, not on the 4th. The original is kept at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
How many lines does a haiku have?
3 lines
Five, seven, five
A haiku has three lines. In English the traditional pattern is five, seven and five syllables, although Japanese haiku count sound units called on, which are shorter than syllables.
What makes it a haiku? Traditionally, a word that hints at the season, called a kigo, and a cut, or kireji, that sets two images side by side.
The best-known haiku is probably Matsuo Bashō‘s old pond: a frog jumps in, and there is the sound of water. He wrote it in 1686.
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How many dice are rolled in Yahtzee?
5 dice
Five of a kind
Yahtzee is played with five dice. On each turn you get up to three rolls, keeping any dice you like between them, then choose a box on your scorecard to fill.
What are the odds of a Yahtzee? Rolling five of a kind in a single throw is a 1 in 1,296 chance. With three rolls, and keeping the dice that match, it improves to roughly 1 in 22.
Edwin S. Lowe started selling the game in the US in 1956. He bought the idea from a couple who had played it on their yacht, which is where the name came from.
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How many stomach compartments does a cow have?
4 compartments
One stomach, four rooms
A cow’s stomach has four compartments: the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum and the abomasum. The rumen is by far the biggest, holding well over 100 litres.
Why chew twice? Grass is hard to digest. Microbes in the rumen start breaking it down, and the cow brings softened lumps, called cud, back up into its mouth to chew again.
Sheep, goats, deer and giraffes digest food the same way. Animals with this kind of stomach are called ruminants.
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In what year was Bitcoin launched?
2009
A founder nobody has found
Bitcoin went live on 3 January 2009, when its creator mined the first block of transactions, known as the genesis block.
Who made it? Someone using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. They published a paper describing Bitcoin in 2008, worked on the software for about two years, then stopped posting. Their real identity is still unknown.
The first known purchase with bitcoin was two pizzas, bought in May 2010 for 10,000 bitcoins. Fans still mark 22 May as Bitcoin Pizza Day.
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In what year did the Sydney Opera House open?
1973
Sails over the harbour
The Sydney Opera House opened in October 1973, 14 years after building began. Queen Elizabeth II opened it.
Who designed it? Jørn Utzon, a Danish architect whose design won an international competition in 1957. He left the project in 1966 after disputes over cost and never returned to see it finished.
The curved shells were the hardest part to build. Utzon’s team solved them by cutting every shell from the surface of the same imaginary sphere, so the parts could be made in a factory.
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How many Ghostbusters were there in the original 1984 film?
4 Ghostbusters
Who you gonna call?
The original Ghostbusters, released in 1984, has four of them: Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler and Winston Zeddemore.
Whose idea was it? Dan Aykroyd, who played Ray. His family had a long interest in the paranormal, and he wrote the script with Harold Ramis, who played Egon.
Ray Parker Jr.‘s theme song went to number one in the US. The team’s headquarters was a real working firehouse in New York, Hook & Ladder 8, still a favourite stop for fans.
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A new puzzle arrives at midnight. Bring your best guesses.
Play Range SqueezeMore past answersPhotos are credited under each picture and used under their open licences or public-domain status. Links go to Wikipedia, which is written and maintained by volunteers.