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Extrasensory

by Holly Sipek and Sebastian Cordova

Answer:
DEODORANT

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We start with a set of crossword clues alongside a grid and a series of odd images. Some of the images can be identified, such as the DHL and PETA logos, but as the images are not numbered like the grid sections and crossword clues are, we cannot do much with that yet.


Solving the crossword clues is the place to start, and we notice that the answers tend to be rather long. We notice each is longer than the correspondingly-numbered set of squares in the grid. By comparing our answer lengths to the number of spaces in the grid, we find that the differences are either 5 or 7 characters.


The answers are also in alphabetical order, which aids some of the trickier clues.


#ClueAnswerAnswer LengthGrid LengthDifference
1A popular course at MIT is an introduction to theseALGORITHMS1055
2One will knock you outANESTHESIOLOGIST16115
3Paradigm that looks to address cross-cutting concernsASPECT ORIENTED1495
4Area of achievement for JFK, Gandhi, Joan of Arc, and Bonnie and Clyde (all are Best Cinematography Academy Award winners)CINEMATOGRAPHY1477
5Key part of a crane or elevatorCOUNTERWEIGHT1385
6Houdini, for exampleESCAPE ARTIST1275
7Tract that makes you a torus (topologically, humans are giant donut-shaped beings)GASTROINTESTINAL16115
8Larger body led by the NasiGREAT SANHEDRIN1477
9Like an experience you might have after consuming some fungiHALLUCINATORY1385
10It had five movies and several series even though there can only be oneHIGHLANDER1037
11Object of ridiculeLAUGHINGSTOCK1385
12It's represented by the left side of a certain compassLIBERALISM1055
13Nice missMADEMOISELLE1275
14It's often called the language of the universeMATHEMATICS1165
15What we are doing to privelegeMISSPELLING1165
16It might be called Course 9-5 at MITNEUROCHEMISTRY1495
17Male who looks off-duty, but is notPLAINCLOTHESMAN15105
18Reward for being the "first loser"SILVER MEDAL1165
19Type of WesternSPAGHETTI945
20It's often overshadowed by ChristmasTHANKSGIVING1275

We see that the answers have either 5 or 7 letters too many in order to fit in the grid, and alongside the title of “Extrasensory”, we realize that each of the five senses has either 5 or 7 letters: HEARING, SIGHT, SMELL, TASTE, and TOUCH. Specifically, each of these answers contains an extra sense. If we remove the letters in HEARING from HIGHLANDER, we get HLD, which anagrams to match one of our images, DHL. The next-shortest grid space has 4 letters, and removing SIGHT from SPAGHETTI yields PAET, which anagrams to PETA.


In image order, the IDs are:


ImagePhraseSenseMatching clue
BI AIRSMELLLIBERALISM
DHLHEARINGHIGHLANDER
EMO IDEASMELLMADEMOISELLE
GIRL NATIONSTASTEGASTROINTESTINAL
GOKU CLANSIGHTLAUGHINGSTOCK
HAM MICTASTEMATHEMATICS
IVADERSMELLSILVER MEDAL
MARLOSIGHTALGORITHMS
OHIO SINGLESTASTEANESTHESIOLOGIST
PETASIGHTSPAGHETTI
PIANO CHANTSMELLPLAINCLOTHESMAN
PIONEER CDTASTEASPECT ORIENTED
PI SIGNSMELLMISSPELLING
PRAISE CTASTEESCAPE ARTIST
RAIN ALLYTOUCHHALLUCINATORY
RYE MINERSTOUCHNEUROCHEMISTRY
STERN ADHEARINGGREAT SANHEDRIN
VAN KINGSIGHTTHANKSGIVING
WING TREETOUCHCOUNTERWEIGHT
YMCA POTHEARINGCINEMATOGRAPHY


For each clue, we add the image-corresponding anagram to the matching numbered space in the grid.


A
T
E
19
P
A
N
O
K
N
A
I
S
L
R
I
7
G
H
T
11
G
U
A
R
D
E
N
4
Y
M
C
C
17
P
Y
C
L
6
P
A
C
A
S
T
A
O
I
L
O
L
R
N
R
T
N
O
P
N
A
L
A
N
A
1
M
E
I
O
N
G
I
10
D
H
L
I
A
9
R
T
D
A
V
I
S
2
O
H
I
O
S
I
8
S
E
R
18
I
15
P
A
20
V
E
A
16
R
Y
N
12
B
G
N
I
K
N
E
D
M
M
E
G
I
R
C
3
P
T
R
E
I
A
I
M
L
A
E
D
I
G
5
W
M
O
14
H
C
I
E
I
E
N
O
N
I
13
E
S
R
E
N
S
R

The completed grid makes a word search. Hidden within it are the six highlighted words:

  • ARM AND HAMMER
  • DEGREE
  • DOVE
  • OLD SPICE
  • RIGHT GUARD
  • SECRET
These are all brands of something else that gets rid of smell: DEODORANT.