Open the puzzle pod

[tzachs]

Spoiler

pixel?

[close]

Correct!

[Mandle]

TA, RC, PE, DR, CO, JO.

[cat]

They are neither top level domains nor language codes.

[Mandle]

They are neither top level domains nor language codes.

Correct, and I am going to give a hint here...

Spoiler

Each is the first two letters of longer word(s)...

[close]

[Mandle]

One of my students (Junior High) solved this today with only the one hint I have given so far. 

[lorenzo]

Your students are smarter than me. Is that a school for codebreakers à la Bletchley Park?

[Stupot]

Not a guess but a theory about how to approach it.

Spoiler

I’m not sure if it’s possible (in English at least) to have a word that starts with ‘RC’. So with that in mind, plus the fact they’re presented in upper case, I’m guessing we’re talking about incomplete acronyms.

[close]

[tzachs]

Spoiler

And I would guess that RC stands for RC Cola, and I also see Pepsi, Coca Cola and Dr Pepper...
So I'm guessing "drink" or "fuzzy"?

[close]

[Mandle]

Spoiler

And I would guess that RC stands for RC Cola, and I also see Pepsi, Coca Cola and Dr Pepper...
So I'm guessing "drink" or "fuzzy"?

[close]

Spoiler

The answer is slightly more specific.

[close]

[cat]

Spoiler

I also thought of Dr Pepper when reading DR although I never drank it before. I think I've been watching too much Steins;Gate recently 

[close]

[Stupot]

Piggybacking off of Tzachs.

Spoiler

Not sure about TA but I found the existence of a JOlt Cola

Could the answer simply be "colas"?

[close]

[lorenzo]

Spoiler

Not sure about TA

[close]

Spoiler

I didn't even know so many colas existed...
For TA, it appears that there's a drink called Tab: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tab_(drink)

[close]

[Mandle]

Piggybacking off of Tzachs.

Spoiler

Not sure about TA but I found the existence of a JOlt Cola

Could the answer simply be "colas"?

[close]

That's the one, and, also all the

Spoiler

brands have been successfully identified:

CO=Coke/Coca-Cola
PE=Pepsi
RC=RC Cola
TA=TAB
DR=Dr Pepper
JO=Jolt

[close]

So next is Stu, or Tzachs if Stu wants to pass.

[Mandle]

Your students are smarter than me. Is that a school for codebreakers à la Bletchley Park?

Spoiler

My student even guessed it from just CO, PE, and DR because he didn't know about the other 3 brands, so pretty damn good!

[close]

[Laura Hunt]

Piggybacking off of Tzachs.

Spoiler

Not sure about TA but I found the existence of a JOlt Cola

Could the answer simply be "colas"?

[close]

That's the one, and, also all the

Spoiler

brands have been successfully identified:

CO=Coke/Coca-Cola
PE=Pepsi
RC=RC Cola
TA=TAB
DR=Dr Pepper
JO=Jolt

[close]

So next is Stu, or Tzachs if Stu wants to pass.

Spoiler

I've never heard of Jolt Cola or RC Cola. I don't think it's fair to have such culturally-specific riddles

[close]

[Mandle]

Piggybacking off of Tzachs.

Spoiler

Not sure about TA but I found the existence of a JOlt Cola

Could the answer simply be "colas"?

[close]

That's the one, and, also all the

Spoiler

brands have been successfully identified:

CO=Coke/Coca-Cola
PE=Pepsi
RC=RC Cola
TA=TAB
DR=Dr Pepper
JO=Jolt

[close]

So next is Stu, or Tzachs if Stu wants to pass.

Spoiler

I've never heard of Jolt Cola or RC Cola. I don't think it's fair to have such culturally-specific riddles

[close]

Spoiler

There are no "Do not google" rules specific to this contest, and I also made sure that three of the colas were worldwide brands and my junior high school student who only knew those three figured it out without knowing about Jolt, RC Cola, or TAB.

So, I think it was a pretty fair puzzle.

[close]

[milkanannan]

I think this belongs here. 

Spoiler

[close]

[dayowlron]

So is the specific word were looking for:

Spoiler

colas, sodas, drink?

[close]

[Mandle]

So is the specific word were looking for:

Spoiler

colas, sodas, drink?

[close]

It was Stu's answer, which was

Spoiler

COLAS

[close]

[Mandle]

So, no new puzzle from either winners for a bit.

Hope no one minds me butting in with a new one...

KEY<NPSTF