December 2, 2021
Rex Parker coined the term KEALOA:
I got hung up on and then stopped to document what I consider a paradigmatic kealoa*, which ironically involves not KEA v. LOA but …
*kealoa = routine short answer that you can’t just write in because there are multiple, equally routine, possibilities.
January 3, 2023
Brian Cimmet debuted the word game KEALOA on the Fill Me In podcast, naturally using the answers KEA and LOA. Ryan got 5 out of 10 clues right.
January 17, 2023
Two debuts in one round! First, the KEALOA segment theme music, and second, the first head-to-head competitive round of KEALOA, featuring Ryan vs. The Barnacle.
January 31, 2023
First competitive round of KEALOA that required a tie-breaker to resolve. Also, the first round to feature two words that have no letters in common. Shannon Rapp was the winner.
August 1, 2023
First three-way round of KEALOA, featuring Ryan along with special guests Will Eisenberg and Shannon Rapp. Will set a new standard in scoring.
August 22, 2023
First round of KEALOA featuring more than two answers: SO AM I, SO DO I, AS DO I, and AS AM I.
October 31, 2023
Ryan received an opportunity at redemption in a rematch against Will and Shannon.
December 19, 2023
A special “audio” round of KEALOA in which Brian played clips of the musical selections being clued.
January 30, 2024
First double-round of KEALOA in a single episode! Round one was played normally, while round two was played without giving Ryan the puzzle date and constructor.
April 23, 2024
Ryan almost ends KEALOA by getting all but the last answer right.
June 24, 2024
Two rounds of KEALOA for COLA and SODA: one using beverage clues, the other not so much.
October 8, 2024
Debut of the game KIRALAURA in which the answers were homophones of KIRA (or KEIRA or KYRA) and LAURA (or LORA or LARA).
April 1, 2025
First instance of ORSK and OREL. Strangely enough, the same words showed up again both one and two weeks later.
April 29, 2025
July 15, 2025
In honor of episode 500, a return to the classic conflict from the first run of Fill Me In: STICK vs. CANE.
February 10, 2026
Another variety round of KEALOA, this time asking Ryan to guess whether SCARF or SNARF was used more often as an answer to a particular clue.
June 30, 2026
The existence of KEALOA Reference is announced to the world on FMI Episode #544.