The New York Times was quick to change Monday’s answer to its daily Wordle puzzle out of fear that it would be seen as some sort of editorial on the debate over abortion rights.
The game, which became a sensation late last year and was bought by the paper in January, gives users six tries to guess a different five-letter word each day.
Yet The Times scrambled when it discovered that Monday’s word, which had been entered into Wordle’s computer program last year, was “fetus”.
The timing could be seen as less than random given last week’s leaked report of a draft US Supreme Court decision that would strike down a 50-year-old ruling governing the ability of women to receive abortions.
The appearance of “fetus” was “entirely unintentional and a coincidence,” the newspaper said in a message to readers on Monday.
“At New York Times Games, we take our role seriously as a place to entertain and escape, and we want Wordle to remain distinct from the news,” the message said.
The Times changed Monday’s answer to a different word, and a spokesman said that a “vast majority” of users saw that. But some people who had not refreshed their browsers saw “fetus” instead, spokesman Jordan Cohen said.
He would not say whether The Times had received any complaints about “fetus”.
The puzzle was invented by Josh Wardle, a software engineer in Brooklyn, as a gift and took off when he began posting it online. Players guess words and home in on the correct answer as the game tells them if their guesses contain letters in the word of the day.
The Times bought his invention for more than $1 million and is revamping the technology to make sure every user sees the same word every day, the newspaper said.
Mr Cohen said millions of people play Wordle each day.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Madrid Open schedule
Men's semi-finals
Novak Djokovic (1) v Dominic Thiem (5) from 6pm
Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) v Rafael Nadal (2) from 11pm
Women's final
Simona Halep (3) v Kiki Bertens (7) from 8.30pm
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
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Where to Find Me by Alba Arikha
Alma Books
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers Henderson, Pickford, Pope.
Defenders Alexander-Arnold, Chilwell, Coady, Dier, Gomez, Keane, Maguire, Maitland-Niles, Mings, Saka, Trippier, Walker.
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
