What Do These Words Have in Common?

Yesterday’s Problem

During a visit to the neurologist, a patient asked the
doctor what criteria he uses to determine if a person
is having mental challenges.

Well,

said the Doctor,

We show the patient a tub in the bathroom that is filled
with water. Then, we give them a teaspoon, a teacup
and a bucket and ask them to empty the bathtub.

I then watch what they do.

How does the doctor determine whether the patient
has mental difficulties?

Answer:

Many people guess that a person with a “clear” mind will make the logical choice by using the bucket which obviously holds more water than a teaspoon or a teacup.

Choosing a bucket is a signal of mental confusion.
A person with a clear mind pulls the plug.

Today’s Problem:

What do the following words have in common?

light, ear, at, lead, ray, lay

Diagnosis of Mental Confusion

Last Problem:

What is half of 8, but you cannot double
it to make 8?

Answer:

The answer is “zero” – cut the 8 in half
so it becomes a zero on top of zero

Today’s Problem:

During a visit to the neurologist, a patient asked the
doctor what criteria he uses to determine if a person
is having mental confusion.

Well,

said the Doctor,

We show the patient a tub in the bathroom that is filled
with water. Then, we give them a teaspoon, a teacup
and a bucket and ask them to empty the bathtub.

I then watch what they do.

How does the doctor determine whether the patient
has mental difficulties?

A Number Puzzle

Yesterday’s Problem:

What do the following words have in common?

Teak, pike, port, tick, eat, oak.

Answer:

A new word can be formed when you place the
letter ‘s’ in front of each word in the list.
Inserting an “s” at the front of each word
forms the following words:

steak, spike, sport, stick, seat, soak

Today’s Problem

What is half of 8, but you cannot double
it to make 8?

Words that Hang Together for Some Mysterious Reason

Last Problem

What letter comes next in the following
sequence of letters?

o t t f s e …
Answer:

The letter “t” comes next.  Each letter
in this sequence represents the first letter
corresponding to a prime number:
The first letter in the sequence “o” stands
for one (“one” starts with an “o”), t for 2,
t for 3, f for 5, s for 7, e for 11.
The next letter in the sequence is t for 13

Today’s Problem

What do the following words have in common?

Teak, pike, port, tick, eat, oak.

What Letter Comes Next?

Last Problem:

Read the following poem:

My first is in blue, but not in glue;
My second is in ton but not in new;
My third in look but not in see
My last in ask but not in pea
My whole has leaves but not a flower
‘Twill help you pass an idle hour.

What is it?

Answer:

book.

The first letter in Blue is “b.”
The second letter in ton is “o.”
The third letter in look is “o.”
The last letter in Ask is “k”

When strung together the four
letters spell “book”.

Today’s Problem:

What letter comes next in the following sequence?

o t t f s e …

What is it?

Yesterday’s Problem:

What is the next entry in this sequence? -2 4 -12 48 -240

Answer:

The answer is “1440” – each number is multiplied by
an increasing negative number:

-2X(-2)=4, 4X(-3)=-12, -12X(-4)=48, 48X(-5)=-240, -240X(-6)=1440

Today’s Problem:

Read the following poem:

My first is in blue, but not in glue;
My second is in ton but not in new;
My third in look but not in see
My last in ask but not in pea
My whole has leaves but not a flower
‘Twill help you pass an idle hour.

What is it?

What Number is Next?

Last Problem

You’ve driven into a the country of
Black & White where there are (truthfully)
only truth tellers and liars. There is no
middle ground. No one can tell the
difference by looking a man or woman
straight in the eyes.

This is a dangerous trip and you must make
good decisions. There is no room for mistakes.
While traveling down Route 66 you come to
a fork in the road. One way leads to safety.
The other way to a terrorist attack.

The sign post is gone at the fork, but there
are two men standing at the fork waiting for
a bus. One man has a white beard. The other
has green eyes.

What question can you ask either man that
will tell you which road is safe?

Answer:

The question to be asked is:

“Which road would the other man tell me is safe?”

Both men will tell you the unsafe road – so take
the other one.

The truth teller would say the liar will lie
and tell you the unsafe road is safe. The liar
will tell you that the truth teller will say
opposite of the truth and thus tell you the
unsafe road.

Today’s Problem

What is the next entry in this sequence? -2 4 -12 48 -240

Which Road is Safe?

Yesterday’s Problem

If 8-22-5-22-13 equals seven, and 7-4-12 makes two,
how would you write ten?

Answer:

7-22-13. This is a cryptogram. Solve it by
substituting the letters for numbers.
7=t, 22=e, 13=n, 5=v, 8=s, 4=w, 12=o

Today’s Problem:

You’ve driven into a the country of
Black & White where there are (truthfully)
only truth tellers and liars. There is no
middle ground. No one can tell the
difference by looking a man or woman
straight in the eyes.

This is a dangerous trip and you must make
good decisions. There is no room for mistakes.

While traveling down Route 66 you come to
a fork in the road. One way leads to safety.
The other way to a terrorist attack.

The sign post is gone at the fork, but there
are two men standing at the fork waiting for
a bus. One man has a white beard. The other
has green eyes.

What question can you ask either man that
will tell you which road is safe?