CITY GAMES PRESENTS THE SMUG REPORT

Know more. Gloat responsibly.

Saturday, October 24, 2026 | 5-minute read

Good morning. Today we’re investigating an appliance that takes more breaks than you realized, an Oscar winner hiding in a cartoon, and the deeply unfair accusations made against horses by the word “nightmare.” Your weekend just acquired footnotes. Fortunately, you won’t have to read them.

Select 50% power on many conventional microwave ovens and something wonderfully unimpressive happens: the microwave-generating magnetron runs at full power, switches off, then starts again. The oven delivers energy for roughly half the time instead of continuously delivering a weaker dose. Your microwave’s idea of moderation is alternating between intense commitment and doing absolutely nothing. Certain inverter models can supply reduced power continuously, so please identify your appliance before accusing it of professional misconduct.

Here’s what the machine is actually doing. The magnetron generates electromagnetic waves that bounce around the metal cooking compartment and transfer energy into food. Water molecules respond to the changing electric field, and that energy becomes heat. This is why “radiation” belongs in the explanation without requiring a comic-book origin story. Microwave energy does not make your dinner radioactive. It makes dinner hot, with varying levels of enthusiasm.

It also does not cook everything from the inside out. Microwaves penetrate food only so far, with USDA guidance giving a typical depth of about 1 to 1½ inches. In a thick portion, heat still has to spread into the center by conduction. Shape, composition, and starting temperature complicate matters further. Your lasagna’s molten perimeter and disappointing middle are not proof that physics has failed. They are evidence that you asked several different bits of dinner to finish at once.

Those pauses at lower power give heat time to spread without continually blasting the already-hot parts. The standing time printed on food packaging also lets temperatures equalize after microwave generation stops. It is part of the process, not a clerical delay before eating. The fact worth keeping: “half power” often means full power half the time, and “let stand” means the heat still has work to do. Your leftovers have been conducting a small physics demonstration while you stare at the countdown.

On October 24, 1945, the United Nations officially came into existence when its Charter entered into force.

The distinction worth knowing: the Charter had been signed in San Francisco on June 26. October 24 marks its entry into force after the required ratifications, including those of the five permanent Security Council members.

That makes today the U.N.’s 81st anniversary. Signing the paperwork and putting the institution into operation were separate events. Even a new world order had an administrative phase.

Kevin Kline was born October 24, 1947. Alongside his film and stage career, he voices Mr. Fischoeder, the wealthy, eye-patched landlord on Bob’s Burgers.

The role earned him an Emmy nomination for voice acting. Sometimes distinguished performers interpret Shakespeare. Sometimes they terrorize a man trying to sell hamburgers. Range is important.

Birthday question: Which film earned Kline his supporting-actor Oscar?

A) The Big Chill
B) A Fish Called Wanda
C) Dave

World Series Game 2 is scheduled for tonight in Milwaukee, with the Brewers facing the Tampa Bay Rays. First pitch is set for 8 p.m. Eastern.

This is an excellent opportunity to watch extraordinary athletic skill while someone on the couch explains what the professionals should have done.

Future trivia question: Which league did Milwaukee represent in the 2026 World Series?

A) American League
B) National League
C) Federal League

No predicted winner. We’re smug, not clairvoyant.

Today’s theme: Halloween vocabulary has a more interesting passport than you do.

SMUG: Poltergeist comes from German: poltern, to make noise, and Geist, ghost or spirit. Essentially, a noisy ghost. The supernatural equivalent of an upstairs neighbor moving furniture at midnight.

SMUGGER: Ghoul comes from Arabic ghūl, a creature of folklore associated with graveyards and consuming the dead. English did not invent every monster in its vocabulary. Sometimes it imported the talent.

SMUGGEST: The mare in nightmare originally referred to an evil spirit believed to oppress sleepers. It is a different word from mare, the female horse. Your bad dream does not contain a secret pony. The horses would appreciate the correction.

Three questions. One chance to discover whether your confidence has supporting documentation.

Element of Surprise: Which element has atomic number 6?

A) Boron
B) Nitrogen
C) Carbon

Persuasive Writing: Who wrote Persuasion?

A) Jane Austen
B) Charlotte Brontë
C) George Eliot

Unshore of Yourself: Which sea is defined by ocean currents rather than land boundaries?

A) Adriatic Sea
B) Sargasso Sea
C) Baltic Sea

Commit to your answers. A thoughtful expression is not a fourth option.

Birthday Bragging Rights: B) A Fish Called Wanda. Kline won at the 1989 Oscars. Comedic brilliance occasionally gets the paperwork it deserves.

Future Trivia: B) National League. Milwaukee represented the NL; Tampa Bay represented the AL.

Element of Surprise: C) Carbon. Atomic number counts protons, so a carbon atom has six.

Persuasive Writing: A) Jane Austen. Persuasion was published after her death, alongside Northanger Abbey.

Unshore of Yourself: B) Sargasso Sea. Its boundaries are currents in the North Atlantic. A sea that looked at coastlines and declined the convention.

Your standing:

3/3: Smuggest. Please allow the others to finish their sentences.
2/3: Smug. A respectable threat at the trivia table.
0–1/3: Newly informed. The system is working.

You now know more about microwaves, movie stars, and imaginary sleep demons. That should qualify you for something.

Start with City Games: daily puzzles and trivia, played directly on the website. No download required.

Bring your brain. Give everyone else a fighting chance.

Know more. Gloat responsibly.