Pathway 5, Subject 6

The Magic Words

Solution: THANKS

This is a metapuzzle that requires the solutions to the previous five puzzles of this pathway.

Inserting the puzzle solutions give:

Subject 1	DR ROBINSON	... stays alive after encountering this titular character...	HUCKLEBERRY
Subject 2	HENRIETTA LACKS	... is a ____ of modern medicine...	MAMA
Subject 3	THE BEST	... defines this hyphenated phrase...	TIP-TOP
Subject 4	DWIGHT GOODEN	...is an example of a...	BASEBALL PLAYER
Subject 5	ZERO	...is equal to...	FIFTY-FIFTY

The right column doesn't seem to have much connection to them... so just chuck all five into a Google search. This should reveal that they are all words from the NIHSS dysarthria assessment. The only missing word is THANKS.

Author's notes

Author: Dan

This was actually the first puzzle set that I’d conceived and the background behind this puzzle set came from my stroke rotation during my internship. During the initial stroke assessment, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (or NIHSS) would be used. One of the components of the NIHSS is to test for dysarthria, and a set of standardised words (conceived by some unknown person that supposedly tests the full range of articulation for English speakers) was devised. Despite quite some digging, I actually have no idea where this list of words came from — if anyone manages to come across this information, they are more than welcome to email in!

Feedback

Guess log

Frequency	Guess
17	THANKS
4	PLEASE
2	HAPPY
2	THANK
1	ABRACADABRA
1	ALAKAZAM
1	CARCINOGENIC
1	CHARM
1	CURSE
1	ELECTRONIC
1	HEPEH
1	HERPE
1	HERPES
1	HEXES
1	METALLURGIC
1	NIHSS
1	NONMETALLIC
1	OPENSESAME
1	RADIOGRAPHIC
1	RADIOISOTOPIC
1	RADIONUCLIDIC
1	SADLY
1	SCINTIGRAPHIC
1	SHAZAM
1	SORRY
1	SPECIFIC
1	SPECIFICITY
1	SPELL
1	TADA
1	TAKERS
1	YLDAS