Sorta — a free daily trivia game and ordering puzzle

Sorta Game puzzle #81 · September 29, 2026

Three rounds of five things, each with a hidden scale to sort them by — then one last guess at the theme tying all three together. Here’s what this puzzle asks.

1. Round 1

   Order these historical milestones involving sunlight from earliest to most recent.

   • The launch of NASA's Parker Solar Probe to study the Sun's outer corona at close range
   • Jan Ingenhousz's discovery that plants produce oxygen only when exposed to sunlight
   • New York City's passage of the 1916 Zoning Resolution mandating skyscraper setbacks to preserve street-level sunlight
   • Joseph Nicéphore Niépce capturing the first permanent photograph with an eight-hour sunlight exposure
   • The British commercial debut of Sunlight Soap in packaged bars

2. Round 2

   Order these cultural works and milestones associated with twilight from earliest to most recent.

   • Michelangelo completing his marble sculpture 'Twilight' for the Medici Chapel in Florence
   • The world premiere of Richard Wagner's opera 'Götterdämmerung' ('Twilight of the Gods') at Bayreuth
   • The hardcover publication of Stephenie Meyer's bestselling young adult novel 'Twilight'
   • The inaugural run of the luxury 'Twilight Express' overnight sleeper train in Japan
   • The broadcast television premiere of Rod Serling's anthology series 'The Twilight Zone'

3. Round 3

   Order these historical events and cultural milestones associated with midnight from earliest to most recent.

   • The publication of Salman Rushdie's acclaimed novel 'Midnight's Children'
   • The initial unveiling of the 'Doomsday Clock' using minutes to midnight to signal nuclear peril
   • Paul Revere's 'Midnight Ride' alerting colonial militias across Massachusetts
   • The midnight ceremony marking the handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese sovereignty
   • The theatrical release of the Oscar-winning drama 'Midnight Cowboy'

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