If you visit the official website of the Pulitzer Prizes, you will find out that their namesake was "born in Mako, Hungary, the son of a wealthy grain merchant of Magyar-Jewish origin and a German mother who was a devout Roman Catholic."

Well, this one is gonna be easy. Half Jewish by birth, but not exactly a practicing Jew, great newspaper man (although he is the father of "yellow journalism"), the lasting legacy of the Prizes... so, a high K, a low O, and the I is simple, right? Half Jews by birth pretty much always get a 3, so all that's left is to link this profile to some Pulitzer-winning writers, and we're done.

Or are we?

For recent research has questioned Pulitzer's official birth story. According to Hungarian documents, not only was Joseph circumcised by a rabbi when he was eight days old, his mother was Jewish as well.

So why the discrepancy? Why the "Roman", why the "Catholic", why oh why the "devout"?

It beats us. Emphasizing the supposedly-German roots probably made it easier for Pulitzer to integrate and be welcomed into American society. To this day, Pulitzer's family is well aware of the Jewish origins, but the Catholic version is "the one they prefer". And the one they publish on the website.

But that's fine for his family. For us, there's only possible conclusion.