Playing Games - Answers

As you recall, my last posting was about two of my favorite gaming books, Their gaming books, Great Lateral Thinking Puzzles¹ and Classic Lateral Thinking Puzzles², edited by Paul Sloane and Des MacHale, both masters of lateral thinking puzzles. And as I mentioned, I occasionally dip into these two collections just for the fun of them or, sometimes, when I need to jolt my own aging mind into more creative thinking processes.

Here are the answers to the few puzzles I included for you to solve:

Δ Daryl and Carol had arranged to meet at a coffee house but something came up. Daryl looked in the phone book, found Carol's home phone number and called her. "I know we were supposed to meet in the coffee house in two hours, but my boss called and I have to reschedule. I'm due at the office two hours from now." "That's too bad," replied Carol, "but I can meet you at the coffee house in two minutes, if you'd like." Daryl agreed and, because he lived right across the street from it, was there in two minutes. He was content to wait, but Carol was waiting for him. "You live clear across town," noted Daryl. "How could you get here so fast?"
Answer: Carol forwarded calls from her home phone to her cell phone, which she had with her at the coffee house while waiting for Daryl to arrive. Hence, when her LAN line rang, she was able to answer his call and, since she was already in the shop, was able to meet him in two minutes

Δ Each day Bertha travels thirty miles in the course of her work. She doesn’t travel in a wheeled vehicle and never has problems with traffic, the police, weather, or airports. What does she do?
Answer: Bertha is an elevator operator.

Δ Jim and Joe were fighting, so their mother punished them by making them both stand on the same sheet of yesterday's newspaper until they were ready to make up. She did this in such a way that neither of the boys could reach the other. How did she manage to do this?
Answer: The mother slipped the newspaper sheet under a door and had Jim and Joe stand on either side of it, on the sheet, facing one another. Clever, huh?

The following the questions and answers from the WALLY³ tests that are included in Great Lateral Thinking Puzzles:

1. Where was Cleopatra's temple? Actually, she had two, each on a side of her forehead.
2. Do you know how long cows should be milked? The same way short cows are milked. Ha!
3. What is twice the half of 1 3/7? 1 3/7. I know, this one got me, too.
4. If a ton of coal costs $30 and a ton of coke costs $25, what will a ton of firewood come to? Ashes
5. What are three things that you can eat that you cannot have for breakfast? Lunch, dinner, and supper.
6. Why are U.S. soldiers forbidden to carry rifles any longer? Because the length of the rifles is long enough already.
7. What is the best way to get down from a camel? You don’t get down from a camel, silly—nor from an elephant, for that matter. You get down from an eider duck.

You have to admit that this was fun! I am curious. How many of you got them right?

That’s it for today, everyone. See ya next time.
~~~~~
¹ © 1994 Paul Sloane & Des MacHale. 94-pgs., with answers; ppbk. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., New York, NY.
² © 2003 Sterling Published Co., Inc. 276-pgs, with answers; hdbk. This is a compilation of the "best" puzzles from earlier collections by Sloane and MacHale.
³ World Association for Laughter, Learning and Youth. Bet you didn't think such an organization exists, did you?

I understand Zynga, the software entrepreneur of most, if not all, the games on Facebook, is in the business to make money, but it seems blatantly unfair to prey upon my human "gotta win" predilection by enticing me into playing a game and then, once I am addicted, charge fees to continue on. And it's not just a one-time fee; it's a gimmicky dollar here or fifty cents there to buy more turns, move to the next game, access a higher level. It's the same with all the other games: Once you reach a certain point, you have to dip into your wallet via PayPal or a credit card, paying as you go. This is, in my mind, (and pardon the pun), foul play! Why not just charge a one-time "start-up" fee each time a new game is begun? It would make life, especially mine, so much easier and fairer.

As you can tell, I am a gamester: Wii, games on my e-reader, board games—especially Scrabble—and I am a whiz at Words with Friends. I subscribe to game and puzzle magazines, with their myriad crossword puzzles and brain teasers, and scattered about my house are a few nifty puzzle books. Two of which I picked up again after, in disgust, logging off Facebook.

Paul Sloane and Des MacHale are masters of lateral thinking puzzles. Their gaming books, Great Lateral Thinking Puzzles¹ and Classic Lateral Thinking Puzzles² (with Edward J. Harshman), are absolute delights with their uncanny conundrums. Both books, cleverly and humorously illustrated by Myron Miller, offer a variety of a particular style of word puzzles that, purposely lacking details that one must fill in order to solve, have been used in a number of venues, including businesses and schools, to fire up the problem-solving process and to spark creative "out-of-the-box" thinking. I occasionally dip into these  collections just for the fun of them or, sometimes, when I need to jolt my own aging mind into more creative thinking processes.

Some of the puzzles are downright easy to solve, some require a bit of brain power, while others seem a bit ludicrous in their difficulty. Here are a few to perhaps loosen up the flow of your own mental juices:

Δ Daryl and Carol had arranged to meet at a coffee house but something came up. Daryl looked in the phone book, found Carol's home phone number and called her. "I know we were supposed to meet in the coffee house in two hours, but my boss called and I have to reschedule. I'm due at the office two hours from now." "That's too bad," replied Carol, "but I can meet you at the coffee house in two minutes, if you'd like." Daryl agreed and, because he lived right across the street from it, was there in two minutes. He was content to wait, but Carol was waiting for him. "You live clear across town," noted Daryl. "How could you get here so fast?"

Δ Each day Bertha travels thirty miles in the course of her work. She doesn’t travel in a wheeled vehicle and never has problems with traffic, the police, weather, or airports. What does she do?

Δ Jim and Joe were fighting, so their mother punished them by making them both stand on the same sheet of yesterday's newspaper until they were ready to make up. She did this in such a way that neither of the boys could reach the other. How did she manage to do this?

The following are from the WALLY³ tests that are included in Great Lateral Thinking Puzzles:

1. Where was Cleopatra's temple?
2. Do you know how long cows should be milked?
3. What is twice the half of 1 3/7?
4. If a ton of coal costs $30 and a ton of coke costs $25, what will a ton of firewood come to?
5. What are three things that you can eat that you cannot have for breakfast?
6. Why are U.S. soldiers forbidden to carry rifles any longer?
7. What is the best way to get down from a camel?

You have to admit that this is fun, albeit tricky, stuff! If you think you know the answers, great. I’ll provide them in my next blog posting or, if you’re really stumped, feel free to post a comment for this entry.

These two little books are a wonderful way to spent an otherwise idle, lazy Sunday afternoon. And, once purchased, playing their games are free.

~~~~~
¹ © 1994 Paul Sloane & Des MacHale. 94-pgs., with answers; ppbk. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., New York, NY.
² © 2003 Sterling Published Co., Inc. 276-pgs, with answers; hdbk. This is a compilation of the "best" puzzles from earlier collections by Sloane and MacHale.
³ World Association for Laughter, Learning and Youth. Bet you didn't think such an organization exists, did you?