Updated

Updated · Lifehacker · Oct 11

NYT Strands Reveals 5 Theme Words for October 11 Puzzle as OLDFASHIONED Spangram Leads

Updated

Updated · Lifehacker · Oct 11

NYT Strands Reveals 5 Theme Words for October 11 Puzzle as OLDFASHIONED Spangram Leads

Q: Which supposedly obsolete device from the latest word game is actually still secretly running modern hospital communications?

The device is the **pager**. Though treated in the Strands puzzle as old-fashioned tech, pagers are still used in modern hospitals and emergency settings because they remain reliable where cell service can fail. They work on radio networks, can penetrate thick hospital walls and elevators, and often keep working during outages or heavy mobile-network congestion. That is why some health systems have continued using them even in 2026. Recent reporting on the UK’s NHS showed just how current that use still is: **NHS Blood and Transplant** admitted sensitive transplant-related information had been sent over an **unencrypted pager network** to hospital teams. The case underscored both why pagers persist in clinical operations and why they are increasingly controversial. Experts say pagers were never designed for privacy. Traditional one-way pager messages can be intercepted by anyone monitoring the right frequency, and they do not reliably confirm receipt. So while pagers still survive in hospitals because of coverage, battery life, and resilience, the NHS case showed the risks of relying on legacy systems for confidential patient communication. In short, the “obsolete” puzzle answer that is still quietly powering hospital communications is the **pager**.

3 articles · Updated · Lifehacker · Oct 11

October 11’s Strands puzzle, themed “They don’t make ’em like they used to,” uses OLDFASHIONED as its spangram and centers on outdated devices and objects.
Five theme words complete the board: TELEGRAM, PAGER, INKWELL, ICEBOX and TYPEWRITER, matching the puzzle’s retro-technology clue.
The walkthrough says finding PAGER and ICEBOX helped expose the spangram, which then made the remaining answers easier to identify.
The article also recaps gameplay: players search connected letters for theme words, can earn hints by submitting three non-theme words, and finish only after using every letter on the board.