NYT Connections April 19, 2025 #678 Hints & Answers

The term 'lecture' originates from the Latin 'lectura,' meaning 'reading.' During medieval times, when books were rare and expensive, professors would read from an authoritative text while students took notes, giving us the modern concept of a lecture. This practice dates back to medieval universities where reading aloud was the primary method of transmitting knowledge.

While we often think of deserts as hot and sandy, they're primarily defined by their aridity—receiving less than 10 inches (250 mm) of precipitation annually. Surprisingly, the largest desert on Earth isn't the Sahara but Antarctica, which is classified as a 'cold desert' due to its minimal precipitation. The Sahara, meanwhile, has expanded by approximately 10% since 1920, partly due to climate change and human activities.

The Labrador Retriever has maintained its status as the most popular dog breed in the United States for an unprecedented 31 consecutive years according to American Kennel Club registrations. Interestingly, despite their name, Labrador Retrievers don't actually originate from Labrador, Canada—they were developed in Newfoundland during the 1500s and were originally called St. John's Water Dogs before being renamed by the Earl of Malmesbury in the 1800s.

The origin of '420' as cannabis culture slang has been widely debated, but the most credible explanation traces back to 1971, when a group of high school students in San Rafael, California—who called themselves 'the Waldos'—would meet at 4:20 pm to search for an abandoned cannabis crop based on a treasure map they had received. They would remind each other of their meeting time by saying '420' in the school hallways, and the code spread through Grateful Dead-associated communities throughout California, eventually becoming international slang.