Mystery Question 7-9-07

During a recent music festival, four DJs entered the mixing contest. Each wore a number, either 1, 2, 3 or 4 and their decks were different colours. DJ Skinf Lint came first, and only one DJ wore the same number as the position he finished in. DJ Slam Dunk wore number 1. The DJ who wore number 2 had a red deck and DJ Jam Jar didn't have a yellow deck. The DJ who came last had a blue deck. DJ Park'n Ride beat DJ Slam Dunk. The DJ who wore number 1 had a green deck and the DJ who came second wore number 3. Can you determine who came where, which number they wore and the colour of their deck?

Congrats to those who answered (both in the comments and via e-mail). The correct answer was Irving Berlin.

Mystery Question 7-2-07

In this teaser, you are to take the first letter from the people's surnames to discover the name of one of the most celebrated composers of 20th century America. Easy enough!

1. In 1871, I opened a circus billed as, "The Greatest Show On Earth."

2. I became the most famous scientist of the 20th century because of my theory of relativity. In 1921, I won the Nobel Prize for my 1905 work on the photoelectric effect.

3. Not only did I establish the British colony of Singapore, but I was an enthusiastic natural historian who also founded the "London Zoological Society."

4. I featured in several B-grade movies early on in my career, then became famous for playing the cold-blooded killer, Raven, in 1941's "This Gun For Hire."

5. I was sent to prison in 1972 and ordered to pay back $765,000 to my publishers when it was determined that my "authorized" biography of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes was a fake.

6. I gained national fame from my 1965 book, "Unsafe At Any Speed", which exposed the automobile industry's irresponsibility when it came to designing safe cars.

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Congrats to Ollie who guessed the answer to last week's teaser correctly! Go Ollie!

Mystery Question 6-25-07

Which four related foods have been merged together?

COP ENK EAC UCO NTA RNM UQI NUT UAT ET

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Congratulations to Henry Stokes, who guessed the correct word in last week's puzzle was STRAWBERRY!

Mystery Question 6-18-07

More crazy brain teasers from the place where brains hurt a lot: Here is ths week's challenge:

By changing the third letter of each of the words below, can you make another valid word. You have to change each word such that the third letters will reveal a ten letter word when read downwards. Therefore, what now reads KRZSAPROKD will be a real word.

BAKE
CURE
MAZE
PEST
NEAT
ROPE
PORT
FOOD
POKE
SODA

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Last week's answer: Congrats to Daniel who figure out the connection first! Martha and David were the grandparents. They gave birth to John and Mary. John married Jessica, who gave birth to Lincoln and Alex. Mary married Justin and gave birth to Tina and Jamie.

Mystery Question 6-11-07

This week's question should be fairly simple for some. For people like me, not so much:

I was going through some old family photos in the attic when I stumbled upon our family tree. I studied it for a couple minutes then went back down stairs to tell my mom about the family tree. The problem is I didn't study it long enough to remember the whole thing. I only remembered a couple things about it, and recent memories. Can you help me figure out my family tree? There are two grandparents, who had two children, who both got married and had 2 more children each. Totaling 10 people in all (Alex, David, Jamie, Jessica, John, Justin, Lincoln, Martha, Mary and Tina).

1. One of Jamie's ancestors was David.

2. John's sister gave birth to Tina.

3. Mary went bowling with her nephew last Saturday.

4. Alex is cousins with one of the girls.

5. Justin married Mary.

6. Jessica is not an ancestor, nor cousin of Tina.

7. Lincoln's brother showed Justin's son his baseball cards.

Here is the answer to last week's puzzle. Glad to see it encouraged some great answers!

The first guy to guess (guy #10) will be the only one to assume the following value for the words "white" and "black": The answer "black" will mean that there are an odd number of black hats that he sees. The answer "white" will mean that there are an odd number of white hats that he sees. This way one by one all the other 9 people will know the color of their hats.
Let us say that guy #10 (first to speak, and sees the hats of the remaining 9) says "white". That should mean to everybody else that he sees an odd number of white hats. At this time guy #9 will either be wearing a white or a black hat. If he is wearing a white hat he will only see an even number of white hats, and since guy #10 said that there is and odd number of white hats, guy #9 will know that he is wearing white and will say it. But if guy #9 is wearing a black hat, he will see an odd number of white hats (just like #10 did), and thus will know that he is wearing a black hat and will say it. No matter what #9 answers, guy #8 (who heard guy #10 and guy #9) can now easily incorporate the color of hat on guy #9 into the original answer of guy #10. This will allow #8 to know if he should see an odd or even number of white hats in front of him to determine his own hat color. The same thing repeats with #7-1. And they all get it right except of course #10, though he may get lucky.

Mystery Question 6-4-07

This week's question has to do with -- what else -- monsters.

There is an island with 10 inhabitants. One day a monster comes and says that he intends to eat every one of them but will give them a chance to survive in the following way:
In the morning, the monster will line up all the people - single file so that the last person sees the remaining 9, the next person sees the remaining 8, and so on until the first person that obviously sees no one in front of himself. The monster will then place black or white hats on their heads randomly (they can be all white, all black or any combination thereof).
The monster will offer each person starting with the last one (who sees everyone else's hats) to guess the color of his/her own hat. The answer can only be one word: "white" or "black". The monster will eat him on the spot if he guessed wrong, and will leave him alive if he guessed right. All the remaining people will hear both the guess and the outcome of the guess. The monster will then go on to the next to last person (who only sees 8 people), and so on until the end.
The monster gives them the whole night to think.

The Task:
Devise the optimal strategy that these poor natives could use to maximize their survival rate.

Assumptions:
1) All the 10 people can easily understand your strategy, and will execute it with perfect precision.
2) If the monster suspects that any of the people are giving away information to any of the remaining team members by intonation of words when answering, or any other signs, or by touch, he will eat everyone.
3) The only allowed response is a short, unemotional "white" or "black".
4) Having said that, I will add that you can put any value you like into each of these words. For example, "white" can mean "my mother did my laundry" and "black" can mean the guy in front of me is wearing a black hat.

Last week's question was correctly answered by Bill, although it looks like a cut and paste job. I may have to find another resource for my questions. Hmmm....

Mystery Question 5-28-07

No prize this week, just a fun question.

"Emperor Akbar once ruled over India. He was a wise and intelligent ruler, and he had in his court the Nine Gems, his nine advisors, who were each known for a particular skill. One of these Gems was Birbal, known for his wit and wisdom. The story below is one of the examples of his wit. Do you have it in you to find out the answer?

Once Emperor Akbar ordered a horse to be delivered to Birbal so that he could easily move about the kingdom.

The stable-keeper however, was extremely jealous of Birbal, and decided to deliver a sick and weak horse to him. The horse was delivered to Birbal's stable. The next morning, when Birbal went to proudly leave his house on a horse, he found the horse was dead. Looking at the weak and frail horse, he understood what must have happened. However he could not insult the Emperor or his gift, so he kept silent.

Unfortunately for him, the Emperor observed him entering the palace grounds on foot and, when he entered the court, the Emperor immediately questioned him about the horse.

What was Birbal's diplomatic and accurate reply?"

Congrats to former Clevelander, Jen! She was the only answer and the correct one from last week and she gets a four pack of Monster By Mail buttons. Send me your address Jen and I will get them out ASAP.

Mystery Question 5-21-07

This one, I feel, is pretty tough. The first correct answer gets a four pack of signed, Monster By Mail buttons.

Find a short hidden message in the list of words below.

carrot fiasco nephew spring rabbit
sonata tailor bureau legacy corona
travel bikini object happen soften
picnic option waited effigy adverb
report accuse animal shriek esteem
oyster

Congratulations to Xadrian, who got the answer right first! He gets a four pack of Monster By Mail buttons. The answer:

The first man couldn't have filed away the bars, because if it actually was a diamond palace as he said, quartz wouldn't even leave a scratch.
The second man was closest of all, but still lying. Fingernails are very close to, but not as hard as, copper, so he couldn't get out, no matter how desperate he was.
The third man had lied most of all. First of all there is no such thing as natural black topaz (it was probably obsidian). Also he made the same mistake as all the others, for a steel file is not as hard as topaz, and would not do anything to the topaz.

Mystery Question 5-7-07

"Bobby Bigelow was an average sixth grader. That is, except for the fact that he had the mind of Sherlock Holmes himself. One day, while walking around the block, he noticed two of the students at school arguing over something.

The two boys were Jeremy and Jacob. Jeremy was accusing Jacob of killing his pet cockroach! As Bobby looked at the shiny back of the creature, Jacob explained his story.

"Jeremy let me take care of his cockroach for the day," began Jacob, "I kept it with me the whole day. About half an hour ago, I noticed that the cockroach had not moved for a long time. When I found that it didn't move when I tapped the cage, I called Jeremy. I left the cockroach exactly as it was, and here we are. Jeremy accusing me of killing his cockroach."

After a few moments, Bobby concluded that Jacob had indeed killed the cockroach.

Why was he so sure?"

Dan got the answer last week. The answer was a candle.

Mystery Question 4-30-07

Here is this week's stumper:

"One day, a father went to his three sons and told them that he would die soon and he needed to decide which one of them to give his property to. He decided to give them all a test. He said, "Go to the market my sons, and purchase something that is large enough to fill my bedroom, but small enough to fit in your pocket. From this I will decide which of you is the wisest and worthy enough to inherit my land." So they all went to the market and bought something that they thought would fill the room, yet was still small enough that they could fit into their pockets. Each son came back with a different item. The father told his sons to come into his bedroom one at a time and try to fill up his bedroom with whatever they had purchased. The first son came in and put some pieces of cloth that he had bought and laid them end to end across the room, but it barely covered any of the floor. Then the second son came in and laid some hay, that he had purchased, on the floor but there was only enough to cover half of the floor. The third son came in and showed his father what he had purchased and how it could fill the entire room yet still fit into his pocket. The father replied, "You are truly the wisest of all and you shall receive my property." What was it that the son had showed to his father?"

Last week's answer: Xadrian came the closest. The servant said, "My mother wants to see her grandson swinging on a swing of gold."

Mystery Question 4-23-07

Man, I gotta find harder questions. You guys finish them to quickly. Here is this week's stumper:

"Once upon a time, in the West Lake village, a servant lived with his master. After service of about 30 years, his master became ill and was going to die. One day, the master called his servant and asked him for a wish. It could be any wish but just one. The master gave him one day to think about it. The servant became very happy and went to his mother for discussion about the wish. His mother was blind and she asked her son for making a wish for her eye-sight to come back. Then the servant went to his wife. She became very excited and asked for a son as they were childless for many years. After that, the servant went to his father who wanted to be rich and so he asked his son to wish for a lot of money. The next day he went to his master and made one wish through which all the three (mother, father, wife) got what they wanted. You have to tell what the servant asked the master."

Last week's answer: Silent Partner

Mystery Question 4-16-07

Couldn't stump you guys last week. Good work! Let's see how well you do this week:

This list of words reveals a person. Can you figure out who it is?

Ptarmigan
Aisle
Dossier
Depot
Column
Lime
February

Last week's answer: Fear was correct. wolf -> fowl -> foul -> fair -> fare -> fear.

Mystery Question 4-9-07

Here is this week's stumper. Remember to show your work!

What emotion is an anagram of a homonym of an antonym of a homonym of an anagram of wolf?

Last Week's Answer: Carpet.

Mystery Question 4-2-07

I am a 6 letter word.
Letters 6-5-2 spell out a drink.
Letters 4-5-2-3 spell out a fruit.
Letters 1-2-6 spell out a pet.
Letters 3-2-6 spell out a pest, which often gets eaten by 1-2-6.

What am I?

Last week's answer: Monica got it right! Check the comments if you missed the correct answer. Do I sense some foul play here?

Mystery Question 3-26-07

I think this week's question is tough, but I've been proven wrong before:

Decapitate me and all becomes equal. Then truncate me and I become second. Cut me front and back and I become two less than I started.

What am I?

Last Week's Answer: Derek got the answers right last week. Check the comments if you got stumped.

Mystery Question 3-19-07

Okay, some word fun for this week's teaser:

The following clues lead to two words or phrases that are the phonetic reverse of each other. When you answer the first clue and flip the syllables, you get the second answer. (Phonetic only, not letters.)Using the clues below, please find the words/phrases in question.

Example: Impertinent * Teetertotter
Answer: Saucy/Seesaw

Ready?

1. A clock or watch * Period between wars (2 words)
2. Fabulous * Chase after
3. Have faith in * Not disturb (2 words)
4. European weight, informally * Understated (Hyphenated)
5. Student, say, with a summer office job * Go to bed (2 words)

Last Week's Answer: (prepare for the groan) Dan was right...you would pee in the hole.

Mystery Question 3-12-07

Hopefully this one will stump you brains in the audience:

You are in a room that is an 8x8x8 perfect cube. There are no windows, or doors (don't ask me how you got in there!) In the center of the floor there is a 12 inch pipe that is sticking 6 inches out of the floor. In the bottom of the pipe is a ping pong ball with a diameter that is one millimeter smaller than the inner diameter of the pipe. You have a 12 inch piece of string, a match, a magnifying glass, a 6" ruler and a paper clip. How do you get the ping pong ball out of the hole?

Clue: The answer may elicit groans from the group.

Last Week's Answer: There was no stumping some of you! The old password was : Out of date. The new one is: Different. He said: My password is "Out of date." And the boss told him the new one when he said: "The password is different."

You folks are too smart!

Mystery Question 3-5-07

Back once again with a Brain Teaser that I hope actually stumps some of you! Here ya go!

A man worked for a high-security institution, and one day he went in to work only to find that he could not log in to his computer terminal. His password wouldn't work. Then he remembered that the passwords are reset every month for security purposes. So he went to his boss and they had this conversation:
Man-"Hey boss, my password is out of date."
Boss-"Yes, that's right. The password is different, but if you listen carefully you should be able to figure out the new one: It has the same amount of letters as your old password, but only four of the letters are the same."
Man: "Thanks boss."
With that, he went and correctly logged into his station.
What was the new password?
BONUS: What was his old password?

Good luck!

Last Week's Answer: WIZARD is in the group.

The group contains words with symmetrically distributed letters.
For example, in VOLE, the first and last letters, V and E, are equidistant from the centre of the alphabet, as are the middle two letters, O and L. However, LOVE does not belong because the L and E are not equidistant; neither are the O and V.

Mystery Question 2-26-07

Maybe a little tougher this week. We'll see:

This is quite a group I've found;
Look who belongs, it will astound.

In this group, find BY and LO,
But see neither HIGH nor LOW.

This group is not very big,
But it has GRIT, GIRT and TRIG.

HOVELS is in, but move the "s",
this group SHOVEL does not possess.

It is sad but true, this thought:
VOLE belongs, but LOVE does not.

Now, which one belongs, tell me quick:
WIZARD, MAGICIAN, MEDIUM or MAGIC?

Good luck! And the answer from last week's Mystery Question: She was reading a book in braille.

Mystery Question 2-19-07

Suzy Louddin has an uncanny ability to be able to listen to the radio, carry on a conversation, or even watch TV while reading a book. One night, Suzy was watching TV while reading a book when suddenly the power went out. Her husband decided to go to bed. However, Suzy kept reading even though the room was completely dark. How could she contunue to read?