Puzzle It Out
Simple puzzles for a few minutes’ thought, with answers just below the following question.

Which 4-letter word links all of these? SHOT TEETH SKIN BEAN THORN

Peter and Mary run a 100 yard race and Peter beats Mary by 10 yards. They run again at the same speeds but now Peter begins 10 yards behind Mary who goes in front. Who wins now?
Buck

Can you complete the sequence of numbers, replacing the question mark? 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, ?
Peter wins again. Peter runs 100 yards to Mary’ 90 so they will be tied when Mary has run 90. Since Peter runs faster than Mary, Peter will run the last 10 yards faster than Mary and so will win.

Can you make eight eights add up to 1000?
11. The numbers, when written, contain the letter E.

Oxymorons are sayings composed of two words which have opposite meanings. For example, Definitely maybe. Can you pair the following words into oxymorons?
INTENSE HOLIDAY MINOR  DIFFERENCE EVEN CRISIS WORKING ODDS SAME APATHY
888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + = 1000

How many squares are on half a chess board?Intense apathy Working holiday Minor crisis Same Difference Even odds

Can you change COLD into HEAT in 4 moves changing one letter at a time?
70 squares

If you write ten letters and place them in envelopes at random, how many letters on average would end up in the right envelopes?
COLD HOLD HELD HEAD HEAT

A man who is dumb goes to the opera one evening. He finds his seat in the stalls and waits for the opera to begin. When the opera commences he really enjoys the music and afterwards goes home and tells his sister all about it. How is this possible?
One. It is far more likely that one will end up in the correct envelope than all ten will be in the wrong envelopes.

He hears perfectly. He uses sign language with his sister!

Who’s Who?

1) Paul. 2) Akil. 3) Carlos & Charlie. 4) Adam. 5) George. 6) Marcus.

Answers to Letter Puzzles on the right

26 = letters in the alphabet; 7 = wonders of the world; 5 = toes on a foot; 12 = months of the year; 1964 = year Kelston was founded; 13 = stripes on the American flag; 24 = hours in a day; 18 = holes on a golf course; 54 = cards in a deck (with the joker); 9 = planets in the solar system; 8 = bits in a byte; 1 = wheel on a unicycle; 159 = address of Kelston; 1966 = England won the world cup; 11 = players on a football team; 29 = days in February in a leap year; 64 = squares on a chess board; 15 = men on a dead mans chest; 360 = degrees in a circle; 20,000 = leagues under the sea; 366 = days in a leap year; 6 = wives of Henry the Eighth; 60 = seconds in a minute; 12 = inches in a foot; 39 = steps; 30 = minutes in a half hour; 15 = players in a rugby team; 6 = sides on a die; 13 = loaves in a bakers dozen; 7 = colours of the rainbow; 52 = weeks in a year; 9 = lives of a cat; 1,000 = years in a millennium.

Daniel Libeskind The Spiral

Daniel Libeskind is the architect of Ground Zero in New York and his work will be on show to the world in the coming years. Alas, his proposed extension to the Victoria & Albert Museum, The Spiral, was recently cancelled due to financial problems at the V&A. It is a shame for such an amazing project to go to waste; so I would like to propose we offer to build it here as an extension to the New Kelston Project! Cliff C

Letter Puzzles
The letters on each line are the initials of words. Can you work out what they are?

26 = L in the A

7 = W of the W

5 = T on a F

12 = M of the Y

1964 = Y K was F

13 = S on the A F

24 = H in a D

18 = H on a G C

54 = C in a D (with the J)

8 = B in a B

1 = W on a U

1966 = E W the W C

11 = P on a FT

29 = D in F in a L Y

64 = S on a C B

15 = M on a D M C

360 = D in a C

20,000 = LU the S

366 = D in a L Y

6 = W of H the E

60 = S in a M

12 = I in a F

39 = S

30 = M in a H H

15 = P in a R T

6 = S on a D

13 = L in a B D

7 = C of the R

52 = W in a Y

9 = L of a C

1,000 = Y in a M

 

We’ll let you count up the differences!

Do You Know Everything?

1. There's one "sport" in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends. What is it?

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only 2 can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only 2 perennial vegetables?

4. Name the only sport in which the ball is always in possession of the team on defense, and the offensive team can score without touching the ball?

5. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

6. In many superstores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

7. Only 3 words in Standard English begin with the letters "dw." They are all common. Name two of them.

8. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name half of them?

9. Where are the lakes that are referred to in the "Los Angeles Lakers?"

10. There are 7 ways a baseball player can legally reach first base without getting a hit. Taking a base on balls-a walk-is one way. Name the other 6.

11. It's the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh. What is it?

12. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet that begin with the letter "S."

ANSWERS
1. Boxing.
2. Niagara Falls. The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.
3. Asparagus and rhubarb.
4. Baseball.
5. Strawberry.
6. The pear grew inside the bottle. The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the whole growing  season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.
7. Dwarf, dwell, and dwindle.
8. Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, brackets,
parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.
9. In Minnesota. The team was originally known as the Minneapolis Lakers and kept the name when they moved west.
10. Batter hit by a pitch; passed ball; catcher interference; catcher drops third strike; fielder's choice; and being designated as a pinch runner.
11. Lettuce.
12. Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.

Conundrums

1. A murderer is condemned to death.  He has to choose among three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?

2. A woman shoots her husband.  Then she holds him under water for over 5 minutes.  Finally, she hangs him.  But 5 minutes later they both go out together and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How can this be?

3. There are two plastic jugs filled with water.  How could you put all of this water into a barrel, without using the jugs or any dividers, and still tell which water came from which jug?

4. What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and grey when you throw it away?

5. Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?

6. This is an unusual paragraph.  I'm curious how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it.  It looks so plain you would think nothing was wrong with it! In fact, nothing is wrong with it!  It is unusual though. Study it, and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd.  But if you work at it a bit, you might find out!  Try to do so without any coaching!
 

Answers

1. The room full of Lions because they haven't eaten in 3 years....they are dead!
2. The woman is a photographer.
3. Freeze the jugs of water, then you can tell.
4. Charcoal.
5. Yesterday, today and tomorrow.
6. There is no letter ‘e’ in the paragraph.