natalie's blog » Mind Puzzles

Mind Puzzles #8

natalie — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 06:43:28 +0000

A phonograph record is 12 inches in diameter. The diameter of the unused portion in the center is 3Â½ inches and the smooth outer band is Â¼-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 beginning to end?

Mind Puzzles #7

natalie — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 06:42:35 +0000

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

Mind Puzzles #6

natalie — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 06:41:40 +0000

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 does it travel?

Mind Puzzles #5

natalie — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 06:40:32 +0000

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

Mind Puzzles #4

natalie — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 06:34:37 +0000

A brick is placed on one side of a scale and, to balance the scale, Â¾ of an identical brick plus a Â¾-pound weight are placed on the other side. How many pounds does the brick weigh?

Mind Puzzles #3

natalie — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 06:33:45 +0000

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

Mind Puzzles #2

natalie — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 06:32:30 +0000

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

VI + II = V

Mind Puzzles #1

natalie — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 06:31:38 +0000

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 to solve them – a little nerve wracking! I thought I would post several of them here and see if anyone wants to take a stab at them. I’ll post each of them in a separate post so that you can leave your answer in the comments area. You can also e-mail your answers to me if you prefer. Oh, and if you were here and already know the answer, you’re not allowed to participate!

Here’s the first:

If only one of the statements below is true, which one of the four sisters ate the last cookie?

Alice: â€œBetsy ate the last cookie.â€

Betsy: â€œMartha ate the last cookie.â€

Barbara: â€œI didnâ€™t eat the last cookie.â€

Martha: “Betsy lied when she said I ate the last cookie.”