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Smarter than the average X
[Times photo: Patty Yablonski]
(Smart) AleX and Tyler Cauthen, 7, are two wise guys. |
By Times staff writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 14, 2001
Xpress readers, you are an eXceptional bunch.
You know lots of words with X in them, and you came up with some really clever suggestions for what to call our trusty mascot, the X who presides over this page every week and also recently began making appearances at Times-sponsored community events.
Choosing the winner was tough!
In the X family, we liked Xavier, Xander, Xtreme and Xanadude, among others. (If this were a test, extra points would be awarded for the suggestion of Xerography, which is a process of reproducing printed material.)
We especially enjoyed Marks-the-Spot, Scribble and Scoop, too.
In the math category we considered Ten and Variable. A couple of you took a literal route and suggested Two as the name, because "X" had appeared in an equation (3+
5)-X=(13-7) as part of the artwork announcing the contest, and X=2.
You also intrigued us with these choices and reasons: Art; Fred ("He looks like a Fred."); Wilson ("Wilson is a cute, yet funny name."); Sam; Keoasha ("It is a pretty name . . . it sounds Asian."); Dan; Alferd; Googenheim.
Googenheim!
So out of 101 suggestions from readers ages 6 to 72, we finally came to a decision. One name was particularly fitting: Smart AleX.
We like Smart AleX for several reasons. We want Xpress to be smart, sharp and full of interesting information, and we try to make it so every week. We want it to be funny, too, so the play on "smart aleck" is perfect. Then there's the nice fact that Alex can be either a boy's or a girl's name.
"I looked at the X, and he's smart! And I chose Alex because it has an X in it," says Tyler Cauthen, 7, the contest winner.
Tyler, who is in the second grade at Annsworth Montessori School in Clearwater, is a smart guy himself. He likes math and science, mystery stories and dodge ball in PE. He has a penchant for pets, sharing his home with a turtle, a hamster, a cat, some frogs and some fish.
He got to meet Smart AleX last week, and they shook hands. Tyler got a T-shirt. X got a name.
Thank you to all who submitted your ideas.
Here's the rest of today's Xpress
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