Geekdad Puzzle of the Week Solution – Presidential Anagrams

This week’s puzzle, as presented:

Ronald Reagan – “A Granola Nerd”

In honor of the upcoming debates, I thought it would be fun to get a little “Presidential” with this week’s puzzle. But as with anything in politics, it has multiple layers. Successfully decode the anagrams of the Presidents’ names, below, and when you look up each President’s ordinal value, you may just have a cypher to solve. Successfully decode that message, and it may just be a question!

Here are the Presidents, each slightly scrambled:
Worn Jade Snack
Renames Mojo
Rehash a Winy Minor Rill
Henna Scuba Jam
Jays Quondam Inch
Behead Short Furry

Cayman Squid John
Freshman Jots Foe
Jam Offshore Nets
Batman Rev In Urn

Major Hen Offsets
Mafia Jar Ledges

They Surf Harbored
Amber Ninja Rhinos
Threat Crusher
Clanged Revolver
Bent Rum Nirvana
Jam, Cry, Remit

Jets Form No Sheaf
No Jam Dash
Bathed Furry Horse

This puzzle turned out to be quite popular, and based upon the responses, a lot of fun.

Unscrambling each of the Presidents yields:
Worn Jade Snack – Andrew Jackson – 7
Renames Mojo – James Monroe – 5
Rehash a Winy Minor Rill – William Henry Harrison – 9
Henna Scuba Jam – James Buchanan – 15
Jays Quondam Inch – John Quincy Adams – 6
Behead Short Furry – Rutherford B. Hayes – 19

Cayman Squid John – John Quincy Adams – 6
Freshman Jots Foe – Thomas Jefferson – 3
Jam Offshore Nets – Thomas Jefferson – 3
Batman Rev In Urn – Martin Van Buren – 8

Major Hen Offsets – Thomas Jefferson – 3
Mafia Jar Ledges – James A. Garfield – 20

They Surf Harbored – Rutherford B. Hayes – 19
Amber Ninja Rhinos – Benjamin Harrison – 23
Threat Crusher – Chester Arthur – 21
Clanged Revolver – Grover Cleveland – 22
Bent Rum Nirvana – Martin Van Buren – 8
Jam, Cry, Remit – Jimmy Carter – 39

Jets Form No Sheaf – Thomas Jefferson – 3
No Jam Dash – John Adams – 2
Bathed Furry Horse – Rutherford B. Hayes – 19

Using a basic cypher, we can see that
7 5 9 15 6 19
S Q U A R E
6 3 3 8
R O O T
3 20
O F
19 23 21 22 8 39
E I G H T Y
3 2 19
O N E

Which is, of course, 9. Well, both +9 and -9, but any variation on 9 was accepted, especially that from Jennifer Tillett, the winner of this week’s $50 ThinkGeek Gift Certificate. For those of us that did not win, please feel free to use GEEKDAD23CD to receive $10 off an order of $50 or more.

Thanks to everyone that submitted as response!

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