PETER SAGAL, HOST:
Now, on to our final game, Lightning Fill In The Blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which to answer as many fill in the blank questions as he or she can, each correct answer now worth two points. Carl, can you give us the scores?
CARL KASELL: Faith Salie has the lead, Peter. She has four points. Tom Bodett and Paula Poundstone are tied for second. They both have two points.
SAGAL: All right. We have flipped a coin and Tom has elected to go first. So the clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. One year after it hit, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that Washington was responsible for the delay in getting aid to victims of blank.
TOM BODETT: Hurricane Sandy?
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: International chemical weapons inspectors announced Thursday that blank met the deadline for destroying its production sites.
BODETT: Syria.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: The chief of police in Toronto confirmed that his office has a video showing the mayor using blank.
BODETT: Oh, crack cocaine.
SAGAL: Yep.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Chinese officials are investigating to determine whether a car that crashed in blank was a terrorist attack.
BODETT: Tiananmen Square.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: A woman pulled over for speeding in California was cited for wearing blank while driving.
BODETT: I always get this question, you know, and it's just like for wearing, you know, two chickens and a duck on her head.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: I mean, how can you possibly know the answer to that?
Well, it got some press. It was Google Glass. An Ohio man risked his life...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...to go back into his burning home to rescue his blank.
BODETT: His go cup for his drunken streets...
SAGAL: It's actually he ran back into the burning house heroically to rescue his beer.
BODETT: Yeah, see. No, that - I get that.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: I don't know. Carl, do you think he should get that?
KASELL: He does, um-hum.
SAGAL: Oh, well.
PAULA POUNDSTONE: All right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
(APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: Who's going to argue with Carl. Firefighters were able to rescue the family inside the house but couldn't stop Walter Serpit from going back inside for his beer. Serpit explained, I told them to get the kids out and everything, and me myself, I was trying to get my beer out. I went back into the house like a dummy. Serpit successfully saved his beer from the fire, but in a tragic twist, killed the six pack just a short time later.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Carl, how did Tom do on our quiz?
KASELL: Tom had five correct answers for ten more points. He now has 12 points and Tom has taken the lead.
SAGAL: Well done, Tom.
(APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: Paula, you're up next. Fill in the blank. On Thursday, the FAA announced that it would now allow many blanks to be used during takeoffs and landings.
POUNDSTONE: Electronics like the Nook and the readers.
SAGAL: Yeah, yeah, electronic devices of all kinds.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Three journalists at the News of the World pled guilty to blanking before the beginning of this week's trial.
POUNDSTONE: Phone tapping.
SAGAL: Yeah, phone hacking.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Rock legend and Velvet Underground singer and guitarist blank died this week at age 71.
POUNDSTONE: Lou Reed.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Residents of Arizona and Hawaii were the only ones not reminded to set their clocks back on Nov. 3 because of blank.
POUNDSTONE: Daylight Savings Time.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: During a powerful storm this week, drivers in London had to deal with high winds, driving rain, and blank.
POUNDSTONE: Nannies in the air.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: No. A giant 30' beach ball bouncing around in traffic.
POUNDSTONE: Wow.
SAGAL: On Thursday a Southern California town failed in its attempt to shut down a blank factory because the fumes hurt people's eyes.
POUNDSTONE: Like a - it's a condiment.
SAGAL: Yeah, it's hot sauce. I'll give that to you.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Police in Pennsylvania were able to...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...apprehend a man accused of an assault at an Arby's restaurant by blanking.
POUNDSTONE: By - oh, I don't know how he assaulted - they followed the fries.
SAGAL: Exactly right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
(LAUGHTER)
POUNDSTONE: Wow.
SAGAL: Very good. They followed a trail of curly fries. Arby's employees called police after the man robbed the Arby's, and just like Fat Hansel and Gretel, they were able to follow the man's trail of curly fries to his secret lair in a car parked nearby.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Police said they questioned him as to whether he had stolen any French fries, and he said, Mmmmphhh.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Carl, how did Paula do on our quiz?
KASELL: Paula had six correct answers for 12 more points. She now has 14 points and Paula has taken the lead.
SAGAL: All right. Well done.
(APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: Paula, did you know the answer to that last one or did you guess, the curly fries?
POUNDSTONE: I knew it, Peter.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: All right then, Carl. How many does Faith Salie need to win?
KASELL: Five to tie, six to win outright.
SAGAL: Here we go, Faith. This is for the game. Fill in the blank.
POUNDSTONE: This is very stressful.
SAGAL: On Thursday, lawyers for NSA leaker blank announced that he'd gotten job with a Russian website.
FAITH SALIE: Edward Snowden.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: During a speech at the Vatican, a little boy wandered onto the stage and hugged blanks legs.
SALIE: Pope Francis.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Corey Booker was sworn in on Thursday as the new Senator from blank.
SALIE: New Jersey.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Wednesday, the City Council in New York voted to raise the blanking age from 18 to 21.
SALIE: Oh, buying cigarettes.
SAGAL: Yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Wednesday, companies in New York were able to order blank.
SALIE: Human cheese.
SAGAL: No.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Free workplace cat delivery.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: True fact. Forbes announced this week that Vladimir Putin had knocked blank off of the top spot on Forbes 2013 Most Powerful People List.
SALIE: Barack Obama.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Not only is the music of Britney Spears...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...good for making you get up and groove, according to the US Navy it is great for blank.
SALIE: Torturing?
SAGAL: No.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Repelling pirate attacks. Merchant ships are blaring Britney Spears songs like "Oops! I Did it Again" and "Hit Me Baby (One More Time)" and "Get Out of Here, You Mean Nasty Pirates!" to ward off Somali pirates. The pirates hate western pop music, proving that though they may be merciless kidnappers, at least they have good taste.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Carl, did Faith do well enough to win?
KASELL: She had five correct answers for ten more points. She now has 14 points and that's enough to be tied for first place with Paula Poundstone.
SAGAL: Well done, a tie.
(APPLAUSE)
POUNDSTONE: Oh, there you have it.
SALIE: Right on.
SAGAL: In just a minute, we're going to ask our panelists to predict who will be revealed to be the one person the NSA is not spying on and why? But first let me tell you that... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.