natalie’s blog

A phonograph record is 12 inches in diameter. The diameter of the unused portion in the center is 3½ inches and the smooth outer band is ¼-inch wide. The grooves containing the music are spaced 30 to the inch. How many inches does the needle move as you play the record from […]

Name as many sports as you can in which the winning person/team will be going backwards when they win. [there are five]

Volumes I and II of a set of encyclopedias each have â…›-inch covers and 1 inch of pages. The set is arranged in order on a shelf. If a bookworm starts at the first page of Volume I and eats its way through to the last page of Volume II, how many inches […]

A triangle is formed by 10 coins. Turn it upside-down by moving only 3 coins.

A brick is placed on one side of a scale and, to balance the scale, ¾ of an identical brick plus a ¾-pound weight are placed on the other side. How many pounds does the brick weigh?

Name as many human body parts as you can that are spelled with 3 letters. [there are ten]

This equation, in Roman numerals, indicates that 6 + 2 = 5. By moving one line, make it a correct equation.
VI + II = V

As I mentioned briefly at the end of this post, Dad put together a collection of mind puzzles that we worked in groups to solve at our New Year’s Eve party. We had to work in ten-minute chunks of time between each game session, so there was quite a bit of pressure to think quickly […]