Harvard Ballooniversity
by Ian Tullis, Yar Woo
Answer: EVICTION
First, solve puzzles. Put their solutions by the appropriate balloons. Then, note which "class" discusses each solution.
CRIB Baby Care (2 units) |
MOB Medieval Revolts (1 unit) |
TORCH Intro to Welding: Supplies and Suppliers (2 units) |
VESSELS The Circulatory System (1 unit) |
WEDDED Marriage in Judaism (1 unit) |
DIRGES Survey of Singing (3 units) |
EQUINES Terrestrial Vertebrates, Past and Present (2 units) |
CORTES Western European World Changers (5 units) |
Now we apply "grade inflation" to the answers: BCDE letters become As. (At Harvard, bless their hearts, they don't have F grades, but Es.) E.g., CRIB becomes ARIA. But when we do this, the inflated-words are no longer with appropriate Ballooniverity courses; babies don't sing arias. But there are appropriate courses; ARIA goes well with "Survey of Singing". So move the inflated words:
Baby Care (2 units) WAAAAA |
Medieval Revolts (1 unit) VASSALS |
Intro to Welding: Supplies and Suppliers (2 units) AIRGAS |
The Circulatory System (1 unit) AORTAS |
Marriage in Judaism (1 unit) TORAH |
Survey of Singing (3 units) ARIA |
Terrestrial Vertebrates, Past and Present (2 units) MOA |
Western European World Changers (5 units) AQUINAS |
Next, use the # of units to index into the inflated-words:
Baby Care (2 units) WAAAAA A |
Medieval Revolts (1 unit) VASSALS V |
Intro to Welding: Supplies and Suppliers (2 units) AIRGAS I |
The Circulatory System (1 unit) AORTAS A |
Marriage in Judaism (1 unit) TORAH T |
Survey of Singing (3 units) ARIA I |
Terrestrial Vertebrates, Past and Present (2 units) MOA O |
Western European World Changers (5 units) AQUINAS N |
We've learned the salesman's intended major: AVIATION. But that's the result of grade-inflation; we need to deflate it. As clued by the flavortext of coming down to earth, "deflate" the two As to the corresponding letters in the original words (an E and a C) to get the problem the balloon seller is facing, EVICTION.