Spectrum #18: Order these TV milestones by year — the solution
The Spectrum puzzle from September 1, 2026: six things on one hidden scale, earliest to latest, with every figure and where the checks were best spent.
The puzzle
Order these TV milestones by year, earliest at the top and latest at the bottom. The board opened in this order:
- TiVo
- Wireless remote
- First plasma flat screen
- 4K TVs arrive
- Color TV sets go on sale
- First home VCR
Wireless remote was already in place; TiVo opened 4 places from home.
The walkthrough
The ends first. Color TV sets go on sale is the earliest of the six at 1954 and 4K TVs arrive the latest at 2012. Anchor those and the middle four are what is left to place.
Where the scale splits. The widest gap is between First home VCR (1975) and First plasma flat screen (1997) — 22 years apart. Everything above that line belongs on the earliest side and everything below it on the latest side, so sorting the six into those two groups is most of the puzzle.
The closest call. Color TV sets go on sale (1954) and Wireless remote (1955) are only 1 year apart — the pair that is a coin flip without the figures, and the place to spend a check: a check locks whatever is already right and leaves only the wrong tiles to swap.
The answer
| # | Earliest to Latest | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Color TV sets go on sale | 1954 |
| 2 | Wireless remote | 1955 |
| 3 | First home VCR | 1975 |
| 4 | First plasma flat screen | 1997 |
| 5 | TiVo | 1999 |
| 6 | 4K TVs arrive | 2012 |
Previous: Spectrum #17 (Mon, Aug 31) · Next: Spectrum #19 (Wed, Sep 2)
About Spectrum
Spectrum is Noggin’s daily ordering puzzle: six things, one hidden scale, three checks. Tiles in the right place lock green; the figures turn over when the board is done. How to play Spectrum, or play today’s.