Brain Taming

Draw a Cow Personality Test

2014-11-17T14:25:00.004+00:00

Draw a Cow - Personality Test

All our Personality Tests:
Draw a House
Draw a Pig
Draw a Tree
Draw a Cow

Designed by UC Berkeley psychologists and neuroscientists

Take a sheet of white, blank paper and on it, draw your own representation of a Cow. Just draw whatever comes naturally.

Use about a minute, no more if possible.

Once finished take a look at your cow and read onwards to find out what, if anything, it says about your own personality.

Let me know how about your results and how accurate they are in the comments!

Tail:

If you drew no tail: You pay little attention to detail. You may day dream a lot and have a full imagination. You are an idea person.

If you drew a tail: You are very methodical in your approach to life. You take great care in most tasks and pay great attention to detail. You tend to be a perfectionist.

Size of the cow:

If the cow occupies at least 50% of the page: You are loud, extroverted, and the life of the party.

If the cow occupies about 25-50% of the page: You go with the flow. You can be reserved or assert yourself as necessary.

If the cow occupies less than 25% of the page: You are quite introverted. You would rather blend in, and let others attract attention.

Presence of udders:

If you drew udders: You are secure in your attachment to at least one of your parents. You are the nurturing type. A natural caregiver, you are a loving person who has many close relationships.

If you did not draw udders: You may have had a strained relationship with your parents, resulting in insecure attachment. You do not have a natural affinity towards children and care giving, but may still work hard towards achieving secure and stable relationships.

Size of the ears:

If you drew large ears: You are a good listener. You are sensitive and empathize with others.

If you drew small ears: You are somewhat egocentric. You are able to put yourself in others shoes and listen to others, but you often think about yourself first.

If you drew no ears: Not only do you not listen well to others, but you tend to even ignore their advice. You tend to know what is best.

Shape of the legs:

If the cow has bent legs: You are quite flexible in your work schedule and life in general. If life throws you a curve ball, you easily adjust.

If the cow has straight legs: You are fairly rigid and have a set path you are trying to follow for your life. You handle distractions and rarely stray from your goals.

If your cow has no legs: You have no set path in life. You are imaginative and you live with your head in the clouds. Little seems impossible to achieve.

Size of the head:

If the head is at least 25% the size of the body: You are extremely rational, and think more with your head than your heart. You are good at solving problems, and take great pride in this.

If the head is less than 25% of the size of the body: You wear your heart on your sleeve. For better or worse, you let your heart guide your decisions. You don’t always make the best decision, but you tend to be happy regardless.

Presence of horns:

If you drew horns: You tend to be quick tempered. You are aggressive and easily irritated. You make quick decisions.

If you drew no horns: You are often passive in situations. You prefer to let the situation play out than to take direct action.

Presence of spots:

If you drew spots: You are satisfied with your life. You may feel like you can still grow, but for your age, you are comfortable with your accomplishments.

If you did not draw spots: You feel like there may be something missing in your life. You are always yearning, always striving for something greater and more meaningful.

All our Personality Tests:
Draw a House
Draw a Pig
Draw a Tree
Draw a Cow

159 Facts and Snippets of Trivia

2014-11-10T19:09:00.003+00:00

A collection of 159 random tidbits of trivia. No particular subject set or theme. So enjoy!

I, as well as the original list compiler state that the facts have been checked to some degree (if at all) so the validity of all of them is suspect as well as completely open to change and new discovery. That being said however it still makes a great conversation piece even if just to discuss and show the debunked myth or common misconception.

1. In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes...when you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. That's where the phrase, "good night, sleep tight" came from.

2. The term "the whole 9 yards" came from W.W.II fighter pilots in the Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards."

3. The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the "General Purpose" vehicle, GP

4. The first toilet ever seen on television was on "Leave It To Beaver."

5. Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.

6. The world's termites outweigh the world's humans 10 to 1.

7. On average, 100 people choke to death on ball point pens every year, so be careful.

8. One of the longest one-syllable words in the English language is screeched. (Strengths is another one.)

9. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple.

10. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".

11. The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

12. Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.

13. There are only four words in the English language which end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

14. 'Stewardesses' is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.

15. Typing the word typewriter uses only letters from the top row of your keyboard.

16. A 10 foot tall emu was spotted walking the streets of New York in 1973, it had accidently escaped from a circus that specialized in large exotic birds. When police questioned the circus owners they responded saying "George was constipated, so we thought a run around the grounds may help him feel better" Police fined the circus 25 dollars, and 5 months later a bi-law was passed stating that all emus within New York City must be on a leash.

17. Things that are Canadian, or invented by Canadians: Mike Myers, Michael J. Fox, Jim Carey, Basketball, the 24 time zone divisions, Hockey, Apple Pie and the reason the Whitehouse is white. The Canadians burned the capital to the ground, and the US repainted it.

18. 65% of statistics are made up.

19. More people are killed annually by donkeys than in airplane crashes.

20. If Barbie were life size her measurements would be 39-23-33

21. A duck's quack does echo, despite rumors to the contrary. ^{1 2 3}

22. Pinocchio is Italian for pine eye (Pino is Italian for pine, Occhio is Italian for eye)

23. Camels milk doesn't curdle.

24. Murpheys oil soap is a chemical commonly used to wash elephants.

25. Porcupines float in water.

26. Cats urine glows under a black light.

27. Blueberry jelly beans were especially made for Ronald Reagan.

28. In every episode of Seinfeld there's a superman somewhere.

29. Checkmate comes from the Persian phrase "shah mat" which means the king is dead.

30. Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds while dogs have only ten.

31. 91% of Americans lie daily.

32. "two plus eleven" and "one plus twelve" not only give the same result but use the same letters

33. With lunchables you have 50% less crackers then toppings. To use them all with no left overs you would have to do two toppings per cracker.

34. When you sneeze water can come out of your mouth at speeds of 60mph.

35. Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite

36. On a Canadian 2 dollar bill the flag flying over the parliament building appears to be an American flag. It's actually Canada's earlier flag of the Red Ensign.

37. Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated

38. There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar

39. Almonds are a member of the peach family

40. There are 366 dimples on a regulation golf ball

41. A dime has 118 ridges around the edge

42. "Angry" and "hungry" are the only words in the English language ending in "-gry" (although gry is a word, it does not *end* in -gry, since a suffix requires the word before it to be a word)

43. Sloths can move quickly, they just prefer to move at a slow pace. (source)

44. There are only two families who produced a father and son who were US presidents: Bush and Adams.

45. A pig's orgasm lasts for 30 minutes

46. Humans and horses are the only two animals that have hymens

47. Polish is the only word in the english language that has two completely different meanings when the first letter is capitalized.

48. The longest word in the English language is Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

49. Margaret Kerry was the live action model for Walt Disney's Tinkerbell.

50. 111,111,111 * 111,111,111 = 12345678987654321

51. The average human lies at least twice a day.

52. Before Late Night Television, Jay Leno appeared in an episode of Laverne and Shirley.

53. In "American Graffiti", the license plate on Richard Dreyfusses' car is changed every time you see it.

54. Humans, dolphins and apes are the only mammals that have sex for pleasure.

55. The shortest 5 syllable word in the english language is ideology.

56. ~~"I am"~~ "Go" is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

57. The national anthem of Greece has 158 verses.

58. A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

59. There are more chickens than people in the world.

60. Two thirds of the world's eggplants are grown in New Jersey.

61. All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.

62. A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

63. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

64. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

65. Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.

66. The only real people to be heads on a Pez dispenser are Betsy Ross, Daniel Boone and Paul Revere (source).

67. When the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers play football at home, the stadium becomes the state's third largest city.

68. The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life" (probably apocryphal)

69. A mayfly only lives a few minutes to a few days, depending on the species.

70. A goldfish has a memory span of three months. (source)

71. It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

72. The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.

73. Who's that playing the piano on the "Mad About You" theme? Paul Reiser himself.

74. In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak during a debate.

75. The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

76. Mr. Rogers was an ordained minister.

77. John Lennon's first girlfriend was named Thelma Pickles.

78. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

79. Underground and Underfund are the only two words in the English language that begin and end with the letters u-n-d.

80. The combination "ough" can be pronounced in ten different ways. The following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman swam through the lough at Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

81. The verb "cleave" is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate.

82. The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

83. Facetious, abstemious and arsenious contain all the vowels in the correct order.

84. The sloth's metabolism is so slow that it can stay under water for more than 30 minutes and not drown.

85. Spanish moss is a close relative of the pineapple.

86. "A quick sly fox jumped over the lazy brown dog" has every letter in the alphabet. So does "The five boxing wizards jump quickly."

87. 'Cash Lost In 'Em' is an anagram of 'Slot Machines'

88. Horses can't throw up (Explanation)

89. A turkey can drown if it looks up while it's raining.

90. The term "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass mokey" started when sailors in the navy witnessed the stack of cannon balls tumble off a steel plate called a brass monkey in winters on the oceans.

91. The electric door bell was invented by Joseph Henry in 1831.

92. The wingspan of a Boeing 747 (~ 213 feet) is longer than the Wright brothers' first flight (~ 120 feet).

93. Alexander Graham Bell refused to have a phone in his study - the ringing drove him nuts.

94. Hostess Twinkies are 68% air.

95. Time Magazine's "Man" of the Year in 1982: The Personal Computer.

96. Lewis Carroll wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland standing up.

97. The smallest physically meaningful unit of time is one planck time, or the time required for light to travel one Planck length. It is about 5.4 x 10^-44 seconds.

98. Elvis had a pet monkey named Scatter.

99. The average adult has 5 million hair follicles.

100. Only female ducks quack. The males coo, hoto, honk and grunt, but they don't quack.

101. Pumice is the only rock that floats.

102. 20% of all publications sold in Japan are comic books.

103. The average American consumes 87 hot dogs a year.

104. The tallest mountain on earth is not Mt. Everest, it's Hawaii's Mauna Kea, 31,800 feet from the ocean floor.

105. The right rear tire on your car will generally wear out before the others do.

106. Superglue will not stick to Teflon.

107. Insects outnumber people 1 million to one.

108. After spending 84 days in Skylab, astronauts found that they were 2 inches taller.

109. Enter the value 0.1134 on your calculator, then turn it upside down. You've just written "hello."

110. There is 1 slot machine in Las Vegas for every 8 inhabitants.

111. Every year, 5,000 people injure themselves shooting pool.

112. 80% of all life on Earth is found in the ocean.

113. Sneakers were invented in 1917. They were called Keds.

114. A survey of people's greatest fears had the following results: 1) Heights, 2) Snakes, 3) Spiders, 4) Public speaking.

115. The average IQ of police officers is 104.

116. Timothy Leary was the godfather of actresses Uma Thurman and Winona Ryder.

117. All of your body's functions, even your heart, stop when you sneeze.

118. The average American family spends more on taxes than on food, clothing and shelter combined.

119. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of where they grew up.

120. In almost every language on earth, the word for Mother begins with the letter 'M'.

121. If you counted 100 stars a minute, it would take 2,000 years to count all the stars in our galaxy.

122. Every day, 1 acre of trees produces enough oxygen for 18 people.

123. If Earth were the size of an apple, its atmosphere would be thinner than the skin.

124. Before Columbus arrived in the Americas, no native american had type B blood.

125. Pintos and Palominos are colors, not breeds, of horses.

126. An adult takes an average of 16 breaths a minute.

127. The best-selling passenger car ever was the VW Beetle. At least 22 million have been sold since 1937.

128. How long is a million seconds? 11.5 days.

129. A french kiss is known as an english kiss in France.

130. What do Albert Einstein, Tom Cruise and Walt Disney have in common? Dyslexia.

131. Scientists say the easiest sound for the human ear to hear is "Ah."

132. When Astronauts returned from the moon, they had to go through customs.

133. The average adult laughs 7 to 8 times a day.

134. Elephants are the only mammals that can't jump.

135. It takes 7 shuffles to thoroughly mix a 52-card deck.

136. The index finger on the Statue of Liberty is 8 feet long.

137. The 7 deadly sins are: Pride, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice, gluttony, lust.

138. The 7 virtues are: Faith, hope, charity, fortitude, prudence, justice, temperance.

139. The 7 dwarfs are: Dopey, Sneezy, Bashful, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Doc.

140. The 7 seas are: Red, Adriatic, Black, Caspian, Mediterranean, Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean.

141. Napoleon was not short as many people think. He was in fact 5 foot 6 1/2 inches, which is slightly taller than the average French man at the time. The cause of the confusion was that in his autopsy it was said he was 5 foot 2 inches, but that was in French feet.¹

142. The top speed of a racing pigeon in flight is 110mph.

143. A bison can jump as high as 6 feet off the ground.

144. It's impossible for most people to lick their elbow (try it).

145. A human yell would take 3 1/2 hours to travel from New York to San Francisco.

146. Princeton professor John W. Tukey coined the term "software" in 1958.

147. The average cost of a movie in 1940 was 24¢

148. Aristotle stuttered.

149. Oscar the Grouch got his name from a seafood restaurant called Oscar's on Lexington Avenue in NYC. Jim Henson and Jon Stone had lunch there once and were inspired by an ill-tempered waiter.

150. The Hundred Years' War lasted for 116 years.

151. Albert Brooks, voice of Marlin the clownfish in Finding Nemo, was named Albert Einstein.

152. The following capital letters are the same when viewed upside down: H, I, N, O, S, X, Z

153. Subcontinental, uncomplimentary, unoriental and unproprietary contain all of the vowels in reverse order.

154. A polygon with a million sides is called a Megagon and one with countably infinite sides is called an Apeirogon.

155. Dragonflies breathe through gills in their rectum.

156. Cafeterias in France are not permitted to serve ketchup in an effort to preserve French food culture.

157. Your foot is about the same size as the distance from your wrist to your elbow and your height is approximately the same as your wingspan (fingertip to fingertip of your outstretched hands).

158. Marine algae produce 3/4 of the earth's oxygen.

159. A kangaroo can't jump or walk backwards because of their thick tail. For that matter, they can't walk at all.

List originally compiled by Dan Hersam @ dan.hersam.com

Original post can be found here

182 foods for thought and groaners

2014-11-10T19:05:00.000+00:00

A great collection of one-liners, groaners, parables and general food for thought paragraphs. The general philosophical inclinations varies quite wildly from cosmic pondering inducing to groan worthy lines worthy of an old joke book. None the less it's a great collection.

1. Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

2. If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

3. Why do women wear evening gowns to go out at night? Shouldn't they be wearing night gowns?

4. Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

5. Why do croutons come in airtight packages? It's just stale bread.

6. When cheese gets it's picture taken, what does it say?

7. Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist, but a person who drives a race car not called a racist?

8. Why are a wise man and a wise guy opposites?

9. Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?

10. If horrific is akin to horrible, why isn't terrific akin to terrible?

11. Why isn't 11 pronounced onety one?

12. Do Roman paramedics refer to IV's as "4's"?

13. Why is it that if someone tells you that there are 1 billion stars in the universe you will believe them, but if they tell you a wall has wet paint you will have to touch it to be sure?

14. Why do you park in a driveway and drive in a parkway?

15. Why are there locks on the door of stores that are open 24/7 365 days a year?

16. Why are there braille dots on a drive-through ATM keypad?

17. Why does a ship carry cargo, and a car carry shipments?

18. Why do doctors call what they do practice? Shouldn't they be good at it by now?

19. Why does cleave mean both to adhere and separate?

20. If you got in a cab and the driver drove backwards would he end up owing you money?

21. Why do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight?

22. When someone says "You know what they say..." Who are they?

23. What happens if you drive at the speed of light and turn your head lights on?

24. If you throw a cat out your car window does it become kitty litter?

25. Sean Fitzpatrick, but does Patrick fit Sean?

26. Street sign: "To the Braille Institute". Who's it for?

27. If corn oil comes from corn and olive oil comes from olives, where the heck does baby oil come from?

28. If you spin an oriental man, does he become disoriented?

29. Why do we call it a hamburger when it is made from beef?

30. Why do people in Alaska buy white cars?

31. Do illiterate people get the full effect of alphabet soup?

32. If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn?

33. If you're in France and you order toast, do you get toast or French toast?

34. Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?

35. Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song?

36. Why is there an expiration date on sour cream? Does old sour cream go good?

37. If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why is it still #2?

38. Is there another word for synonym?

39. If a cow laughs, does milk come out it's nose?

40. Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

41. If nothing sticks to teflon, then how do they make it stick to the pan?

42. If a turtle loses its shell is it naked or homeless?

43. Why don't psychics predict the winning lottery numbers and retire?

44. If you hate all prejudice people, are you a hypoocrite?

45. Why do they call them apartments, when they're all together?

46. Who was the idiot that decided to put an "s" in the word lisp?

47. Why is the word for "a fear of long words" so long? (Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia)

48. Where does your lap go when you stand up?

49. If instant oatmeal is instant, then why does it take 1 to 2 minutes to cook in the microwave?

50. You can be overwhelmed and underwhelmed, but why can't you be simply whelmed?

51. Why is it that when the batteries in your remote control wear out you just push the buttons harder?

52. Can fat people go skinny dipping?

53. Why do they use artificial lemon juice in bottled lemon juice and use real lemon juice in dish soap?

54. Why don't they make the entire airplane out of the same material that the indestructible black box is made of?

55. If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?

56. If a cannibal ate a clown, would it taste funny?

57. If you try to fail, and you fail, have you succeeded or failed?

58. Why are boxing rings square?

59. If quizzes are quizzical then what are tests?

60. Shouldn't the opposite of shut up be shut down?

61. Why do you always find things in the last place you looked?

62. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

63. Why is phoenetically not pronounced phoenetically?

64. If I dreamed of being chased by a giant squirrel would that make me a nut?

65. Why do people order a super-sized Big Mac™ meal with a Diet Coke?

66. Why do people have worthless junk in the garage and leave their expensive car in the driveway?

67. Why do they sterilize the needles for lethal injections?

68. When it rains, why don't sheep shrink?

69. Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?

70. Why is abbreviation such a long word?

71. Why do they call it a building? It looks like they are finished Why isn't it a built?

72. If pro is the opposite of con, is progress the opposite of congress?

73. Did you ever wonder why kamikaze pilots wore helmets?

74. Do cemetery workers prefer the graveyard shift?

75. Can I yell "movie" in a crowded firehouse?

76. Can you be a closet claustrophobic?

77. How do a fool and his money get together in the first place?

78. How do you know when its time to tune your bagpipes?

79. How is it that a building burns up as it burns down?

80. If the pen is mightier than the sword, and a picture is worth a thousand words, how dangerous is a fax?

81. What was the best thing before sliced bread?

82. Why do banks charge you a "insufficient funds" fee on money they already know you don't have?

83. If you get cheated by the Better Business Bureau, who do you complain to?

84. What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

85. If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest have to drown too?

86. What are Preparation A through Preparation G?

87. In a country of free speech, why are there phone bills?

88. How come there aren't B batteries?

89. How do "Do not walk on the grass" signs get there?

90. Is a metaphor like a simile?

91. Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?

92. How is it possible to have a civil war?

93. If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?

94. If I melt dry ice, can I take a bath without getting wet?

95. Could crop circles be the work of a cereal killer?

96. If crime doesn't pay does that mean that my job is a crime?

97. Did Noah keep his bees in archives?

98. How can there be self-help "groups"?

99. How do they get the deer to cross at that yellow road sign?

100. How do you throw away a garbage can?

101. How does a thermos know if the drink should be hot or cold?

102. How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work in the morning?

103. If a word in the dictionary were misspelled, how would we know?

104. Why do tourists go to the tops of tall buildings and then put money into telescopes so they can see things on the ground close-up?

105. Why is it that night falls but day breaks?

106. Why is it that you must wait until night to call it a day?

107. How do you remove a club soda stain?

108. What if the Hokey Pokey IS what its all about?

109. When your pet bird sees you reading the newspaper, does he wonder why you're just sitting there, staring at carpeting?

110. What happened to the first 6 "ups"?

111. How do blind people know when they are done wiping their behinds?

112. If practice makes perfect, and no one is perfect, why bother practice?

113. If hunting season means you can kill animals, and fishing season means you can catch fish, what is the tourist season?

114. Why do people sing "Take me out to the ball game" when they are already

115. there?

116. How do hearing aid companies expect potential customers to hear their commercials?

117. When a fly lands on the ceiling, does it do a half roll or a half loop?

118. Why is there neither pine nor apple in pineapple?

119. Why does the arcade game "Donkey Kong" have a monkey? Why isn't it called Monkey Kong?

120. Why do lumberjacks cut trees down and then chop them up?

121. What's the deal with Grapenuts? They're neither grape nor nuts.

122. How do people get discombobulated? Have you ever seen someone who was combobulated?

123. If we call people from Poland poles why don't we call people from Holand holes?

124. If a rabbit's foot was actually lucky, wouldn't it still be attached to the rabbit's leg?

125. Why does Goofy talk and wear clothes while Pluto barks naked?

126. If you wanted to mummify a fly, would you use dental floss?

127. If the husband dies, the wife is called a widow, if a child's parents die, it is called an orphan. Why isn't there a word for a parent that loses a child?

128. Why do they call it baby-sitting when all you do is run after them?

129. Why is it called American football when they rarely use their feet to play?

130. Why do you put suits in a garment bag and garments in a suitcase?

131. What if there were no hypothetical situations?

132. Why does an alarm clock said to go "off" when it actually turns on?

133. Why are they stairs inside but steps outside?

134. Why does pizza come in a square box?

135. How does a fish sleep?

136. Why are feet smelly and noses runny?

137. Why does Mickey Mouse wear pants and no shirt while Donald Duck wears a shirt and no pants?

138. If you sued a parsley farmer could you garnish his wages?

139. Who closes the door when the bus driver gets off?

140. Why is it called a "word to the wise?" If they're already wise, why do they need to hear it?

141. If a chicken had lips, could it whistle?

142. Why do psychics have to ask for your name?

143. How do those dead bugs get into enclosed light fixtures?

144. How come we choose from just two people for president and 50 for Miss America?

145. How much wind could a windbreaker break if a windbreaker could break wind?

146. Why do you call an open door ajar?

147. Why does the word monosyllabic have five syllables?

148. Why is it called a TV set if you only get one?

149. If you removed a fly's wings, would it be called a walk?

150. Does expecting the unexpected make the unexpected expected?

151. Why do you bake cookies and cook bacon?

152. If Superman can stop bullets with his chest, why does he always duck when a gun is thrown at him?

153. Why did the Hulk's shirt always rip but not his pants?

154. It is impossible to commit suicide by holding your breath.

155. If you had three quarters, four dimes and four pennies in your pocket you would have $1.19. You would also have the largest number (11) and combination of coins possible without being able to provide change for a dollar.

156. Why isn't it funny when you hit your funny bone?

157. Why do you have to click Start to stop your computer?

158. Where in the nursery rhyme does it say Humpty Dumpty is an egg?

159. What does a bald person put for hair color on their driver's license?

160. Why are pants, shorts and underwear solds as a pair when you only get one item?

161. If you are an insomniac, dyslexic and agnostic, do you stay up all night wondering if there is a dog?

162. If you're supposed to eat go-gurt on the go, where do you eat yogurt?

163. If firefighters fight fire and crime fighters fight crime, what do freedom fighters fight?

164. Why do we drink out of cups and use them to protect our privates?

165. If you don't like bigots, does that make you one?

166. If tuna is the chicken of the sea, what is beef?

167. If Superman is so smart why does he wear his underpants over his pants?

168. What was the IQ of the inventor of the IQ test?

169. How do vampires have such well-kept hair if they can't see themselves in the mirror?

170. Can you lose your train of thought on a plane?

171. If a mayfly was born in June would it become a junebug?

172. Is it good if your vacuum really sucks?

173. Why is the third hand on a clock called the second hand?

174. Is there a difference between 'slow down' and 'slow up'? What about 'fat chance' and 'slim chance'?

175. Why are the benches where people sit called stands?

176. Why is night called 'after dark' when it's really after light and still dark?

177. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?

178. If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia, do you read normally?

179. Why is bra singular and panties plural?

180. Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

181. Why do we sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of our socks on Christmas?

182. If a chicken had lips, could it still give you a peck on the cheek?

List originally compiled by Dan Hersam @ dan.hersam.com
Original post here

11 Simple Ways to Improve Your Memory - Captainmaxthecat.com

2014-10-16T05:02:00.002+01:00

11 simple concepts and ideas to bolster your brain power and memory. This is a useful, quick reference and much of the suggestions are covered in more detail elsewhere here on Brain Taming.

Be sure to check out the rest of Captainmaxthecat.com as well! It's a growing resource for technical help, tutorials, how-tos, information, fun and games etc. You'll be sure to find something of interest.

1. CONCENTRATE FOR EIGHT SECONDS

These days we’re all about things being faster. That’s why this advice is invaluable: When you really need to remember something, concentrate on it for at least eight seconds. That can seem like a long time when you're running around trying to get a million things done, but it is worth it. Studies have shown that eight seconds is the minimum amount of time it takes for a piece of information to go from your short-term memory to your long-term memory.

11 Simple Ways to Improve Your Memory - Captainmaxthecat.com

Analytical Thinking - What is Analytical Thinking?

2014-04-15T06:37:00.001+01:00

Analytical thinking is based on the analysis of events, situations and results, in order to find the reasons behind those factors and apply optimum solutions, wherever and whenever a problem exists. The term is derived from the word analysis, which in Greek means the process of division into segments. Ana = into + lysis = segmentation. Thus, analysis is literally the process of segmentation of a concept, problem or an event.

The idea behind the application of analysis in certain situations is that smaller parts of a more generic concept are usually easier to be understood. Once reasoning and understanding of those smaller parts are achieved, then, through their integration, the understanding of the whole picture is made possible. In mathematics, this is the core concept of mathematical analysis, by which the measurement of a circle can be achieved, if we assume that it can be divided in infinite, infinitesimally small linear segments, which can be easily measured. Of course, this is an approximation, though a very accurate one, which at most times is considered to be correct.

Analytical thinking can provide us with a framework to find solutions in many cases. It can prove to be very helpful in situations where there is too much information which is not clearly defined and complete. It resembles the completion of a puzzle, where some pieces are missing. Some points in the picture seem to be clear, but may prove misleading.

For example, if in a picture depicting a lake, we can only clearly see a fish, we would conclude, apparently, that the overall picture shows a fish. That is not, however, the reality.

How can we derive, starting from the limited vision of the fish, the overall picture of the landscape of the lake?

At first, we should have already suspected that because of the size of the picture, something bigger should be depicted and the fish is only part of it, otherwise there would not be such a big frame. But what could the larger picture illustrate?

Obviously, and based on the principles of logic (inductive thinking), something which is associated with fish or includes fish.

We now start asking questions: What kind of fish is it? Is it alive or dead; Who was the artist who created the painting? What other works has he produced? We collect information, which will constitute the data to be processed by our brain to solve the problem. All information should be associated with the problem and evaluated to that direction.

Thus, we showed that the original defective vision of the picture was reconstructed through critical and analytical thinking to a totally new consideration, which directs us towards solving the original problem of view, which did not agree with the principles of rationality.

By using appropriate questions and making the critical observations, we can achieve the reconstruction of the original consideration. In this way, new data generate by the process of analytical thinking.

Analytical thinking should be applied carefully, because many times there is the tendency to assume that, what is observed at micro level can be safely transferred to generate the total picture. More specifically, we cannot make the assumption that a small segment of a picture can lead to the generation of an identical whole picture. What we may safely assume is that "only the integration of those small segments - and not each of them separately, since this would just produce many different pictures - generates a big one, combining the attributes of those little parts". Conversely, however, we can assume that if we know what the big picture looks like, then we can assimilate the small parts with the big one. The reverse argument is not considered rational.

In conclusion, analytical intelligence develops when we analyze, compare, evaluate, explain and make plausible judgements. The results arising from the application of analytical thinking in practice, are similar, since it helps us recognize the existence of problems by defining their dimensions in terms of logic. Following is the search for strategies and tactics in order to solve the problems. At this stage there must be mental reconstruction of the problems we face.

In the end, a very important aspect, which resembles laboratory research, is the ability in retrospective terms, to check the strategies used to solve the problem and once this is done, the ability to assess the responses and to judge their effectiveness. Otherwise, again by applying the model of analytical thinking, we should seek new ways to solve the problem.

Technorati : Analytical, brain, thinking

Del.icio.us : Analytical, brain, thinking

Zooomr : Analytical, brain, thinking

Flickr : Analytical, brain, thinking

Quotes I - Creative Thinking

2014-04-15T06:16:00.001+01:00

There are many famous quotes on a myriad of different subjects out there, a large portion of which are very inspirational and a good template in which to practice. However as there are many massive databases of quotes out there already, here i will list a few on paticular subjects.

In this case, famous quotes on Creativity and Creative Thinking

Mozart on his art People are wrong who think my art comes easily to me. I assure you, nobody has devoted so much time and thought to composition as I. There is not a famous master whose music I have not studied over and over.	Linus Pauling, physicist The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.
Virginia Woolf, writer It is worth mentioning, for future reference, that the creative power which bubbles so pleasantly in beginning a new book quiets down after a time, and one goes on more steadily. Doubts creep in. Then one becomes resigned. Determination not to give in, and the sense of an impending shape keep one at it more than anything.	Albert Einstein, physicist The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.
Thomas Edison, inventor Genius was 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.	Edward de Bono, writer It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
Twyla Tharp, The Creative Habit After so many years, I've learned that being creative is a full-time job with its own daily patterns. That's why writers, for example, like to establish routines for themselves. The most productive ones get started early in the morning, when the world is quiet, the phones aren't ringing, and their minds are rested, alert, and not yet polluted by other people's words. They might set a goal for themselves -- write fifteen hundred words, or stay at their desk until noon -- but the real secret is that they do this every day. In other words, they are disciplined. Over time, as the daily routines become second nature, discipline morphs into habit. It's the same for any creative individual, whether it's a painter finding his way each morning to the easel, or a medical researcher returning daily to the laboratory. The routine is as much a part of the creative process as the lightning bolt of inspiration, maybe more. And this routine is available to everyone. Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is a result of good work habits.	Bill Gates in Friedman's The World is Flat When I asked Bill Gates about the supposed American education advantage -- an education that stresses creativity, not rote learning -- he was utterly dismissive. In his view, those who think that the more rote learning systems of China and Japan can't turn out innovators who can compete with Americans are sadly mistaken. Said Gates, "I have never met the guy who doesn't know how to multiply who created software ... Who has the most creative video games in the world? Japan! I never met these 'rote people' ... Some of my best software developers are Japanese. You need to understand things in order to invent beyond them."

Four Creative Thinking Heuristics

2014-04-15T06:13:00.001+01:00

If creativity involves manipulating ideas, what are the different methods available which would help us come up with ideas to be tested?

Here we present some heuristics that might be helpful.

Heuristic #1 : Feature list

A feature list for an object or process is simply a list of its main features. Having obtained such a list, one can examine the features one by one and consider how it might be changed. For instance, a typical table has a fixed round or rectangular flat top that rests on one or more supporting pole. An exotic designer table might instead have movable multi-level worktops of irregular shapes supported by a wired frame.

Heuristic #2 : Analogy

The use of analogies might help us imagine new features. By comparing X with Y we can consider whether special features of Y might have analogues in X. Thinking of an airplane as a bird leads us to see whether the evolutionary solutions for aviation in birds might be applied to the building of aircrafts. Similarly, a new kind of swiming suit designed to reduce drag for swimming competitors was actually inspired by shark skins.

Heuristic #3 : Search

Sometimes solving a problem is a matter of searching through a long list of possible solutions. It then becomes important to find a systematic search method. When Edison was designing the electric light bulb, a crucial task was the search of a suitable filament which conducts electricity well enough to give off light, but which will not burn up or melt as a result. It became very important for him to classify the different types of material (e.g. ceramic or metallic) that was being tested in order to narrow down the search. When we have a large search space we should divide the space into portions to that the search can be done systematically, and device tests of represenative samples from different regions to eliminate unlikely candidates.

Heuristic #4 : Perspective shift

When dealing with a problem that involves people, one might consider the problem from the different perspectives of the parties involved. Suppose we are trying to improve the effiency of a company, we can imagine how we might deal with the problem from the CEO's point of view, or from the perspective of the sales department. Taking different perspectives in turn might help us appreciate difficulties or opportunities which we have not thought of before.

Perspective shift involves also thinking about different ways of formulating a problem. Sometimes when we are dealing with a difficulty we might be fixated on one particular aspect. Trying to formulate the problem differently can help us discover new approaches. For example, a developer working on a site might be faced with the difficulty of having to clear and remove a significant amount of topsoil from the site. Instead of seeing this as a source of expenses, the developer might try to see the problem from a different perspective. He might discover for example that the quality of the soil is actually quite suitable for farming purposes, and so someone might actually be willing to pay some money to purchase the soil. So sometimes we do need to leave aside our preconceptions for the time being and explore alternative ways of looking at a situation. As Einstein said when he was asked what single event was most helpful in developing his theory of relativity, he replied: "Figuring out how to think about the problem."

Creative Thinking - An Example Creative Thinking Process

2014-04-15T06:11:00.001+01:00

There is of course no precise procedure that would guarantee creativity. But the following informal procedure is indeed useful, even though it seems rather simple.

A typical creative thinking process

Step 1 - Research

A student once asked the Nobel laureate John Nash for advice on getting ideas for his thesis, and the reply was "Have you done your reading?"

When we need to come up with an idea to solve a problem, it would be helpful to do some research to see what other people have thought about the topic. If there are already good solutions that can be used, then we don't have to waste our time to reinvent the wheel. But even if the problem has not been solved, we need to understand more about the relevant topic to obtain more background information. If you are a scientist who wants to design a better robot, you need to know what other people have done and where the current limitations are. If you have to help market a product, you need to know more about the target audience and the product in question, and to learn more about advertising. Whatever topic we are interested in, there is a lot of information that we can gather. Some of the information might be specific, like how much time and money do you have for making the robot. Other information might be general, like the principles governing machine vision, speech recognition, etc.. You need to find some systematic way to gather and organize the relevant material.

Some useful things to do:

Obtain relevant information from the scientific literature or experts.

Study the history of the problem.

Do case studies of people who have dealt with similar problems.

Think about analogous situations.

Talk to the people who are involved.

Step 2 - Explore the connections between ideas

When you are gathering your data you are doing some preliminary study to learn more about the problem you have to solve. While you are doing this, or after you have collected a lot of material, you need to examine and reflect on what you have, in order to rank the importance of the different pieces of information that you have, and to investigate whether there are hidden connections between the ideas. Creativity often takes the form of using some idea from one field and apply it to another one. Being able to detect connections between ideas help bring this about.

Step 3 - Relax and wait

Very likely we have had experiences where an idea suddenly pops up while we are taking the shower, or after a good night's sleep. When we are sorting out the connections between ideas it is important that we are persistent and spend an extended period of time in order that we keep lots of different ideas in the mind, some of which remain in the background and some of which might enter into unconscious thinking processes. After a period of hardwork it is sometimes necessary to pull back and relax, to do something relaxing and different to stimulate the mind. Or it might perhaps be a case of allowing ourselves to forget about the less important ideas so that the more relevant ones float to the top. But whatever the mechanisms are, it does seem to be important to allow time for ideas to gestate. If we still can't think of anything, then we might have to do more research and think about connections further.

Step 4 - Apply, review and followup

Once we have obtained some ideas that seem to work, we need to examine them carefully to check that they indeed can help solve our problem. We have to think about whether they can be improved further and we need to see how they are to be implemented. Even when they have proved to be successful, we should review the whole process to see how we can do better next time.

101 Philosophical Questions to Exercise Critical Thinking

2014-04-15T06:06:00.001+01:00

Many philosophy questions are easy to understand but difficult to resolve satisfactorily. But thinking about them systematically and clearly can perhaps improve our critical thinking. It might also be fun!

Is the mind the same as the brain, or do we have souls?

Can computers think, or fall in love?

Can computers be creative?

What is consciousness?

Can we really know what it feels like to be a bat?

When you have a toothache, is the pain in your mouth or in your brain?

What is an emotion?

Is love just a feeling?

How is love different from passion or sexual desire?

Are emotions irrational?

Which would you rather be - an unhappy human being or a happy dog?

What is the meaning of life?

Is happiness the most important purpose in life?

Is it always better to have more choices?

Does freewill really exist?

If there is no freewill, should we punish people at all?

If God knows what you will do tomorrow, do you still have freewill?

Does God exist?

If God exists, why is there so much evil in the world?

Can God create a stone so heavy that he cannot lift?

Can there be two almighty Gods?

Can there be morality without God?

Is morality relative?

Is it objectively wrong to torture innocent babies just for fun?

Is abortion ever permissible?

Is it wrong to have children, if you don't know whether they want to be born?

What is wrong with incest?

What is friendship and why do we need it?

What is art?

Is there progress in art?

Can food be art?

Is it wrong to spend money on expensive food when people are dying of hunger?

If someone is drowning and you refuse to help, are you responsible for his death?

Why do we punish people?

Is it alright to torture terrorists to extract information?

When is it ok, if ever, to disobey the law?

Is it the main purpose of law to promote morality?

Should governments penalize people for unhealthy lifestyles?

Why ban drugs and not alcohol or trans-fat?

Should prostitution be made legal?

Is there such a thing as sexual perversion?

What is wrong with having sex with animals?

How much freedom should people have?

Are people free to sell themselves into slavery?

Why think there are universal human rights?

Is democracy the same as decision by the majority?

Should people who pay more taxes get more votes?

Is democracy suitable for all countries?

When should governments intervene in the market?

Is there a difference between free trade and fair trade?

What is wrong, if anything, about protectionism?

Is patriotism irrational?

Can wars ever be just?

Should people have the right to live in any country they wish?

Is the preservation of culture a good reason to limit immigration?

Is race a biological category or a social construct?

Are you the same person you were ten years ago?

What is a person? Is it the mind, or the body?

Do we think with language or pictures?

Why do we dream?

Can animals reason?

What about fish, oysters and tomatoes?

Do animals have rights?

If we eat chickens, why not dogs, dolphins, or babies?

If super-intelligent aliens want to eat humans, are they wrong?

If meat can be grown using stem cells, is there any reason not to eat meat?

Should we let people commit suicide when they are terminally ill?

Should we kill coma patients on life support to provide more resources to others?

Should organ donation be made compulsory?

Should organ donors be financially compensated?

Is it wrong to grow brain dead babies to harvest their organs?

Why should we respect the dead?

Should we fear death?

Is life meaningless if we can live forever?

What are numbers and do they really exist?

Does Sherlock Holmes exist?

Why is there something rather than nothing?

What is time?

Does time flow? How fast does it flow?

Can something be at two places at the same time?

Is time travel possible?

If you can travel back in time, can you kill your earlier self?

If you go back in time and teach young Einstein relativity theory, where does the idea come from?

Are there parallel universes?

Does every event have a cause?

"This sentence is false." Is it true or false?

"It will rain a week later." Is it true or false or neither?

Is truth relative, or a matter of opinion?

How do you know you are not dreaming right now?

If we live in a computer simulation, does it make a difference to the meaning of life?

Would you choose to live in a computer simulation if it will make you a lot happier?

Can we be certain of anything?

What is science?

Why is mathematics so important in science?

Is mathematics the same as logic?

Why believe in electrons and blackholes if we can't see them?

Can there be two different theories of the world, both true and complete?

How should we distinguish between good and bad scientific theories?

Is science compatible with religion?

Is there progress in philosophy?

What is philosophy anyway?

Critical Thinking - What is Critical Thinking?

2014-04-15T06:03:00.001+01:00

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally. It includes the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking. Someone with critical thinking skills is able to do the following :

understand the logical connections between ideas

identify, construct and evaluate arguments

detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning

solve problems systematically

identify the relevance and importance of ideas

reflect on the justification of one's own beliefs and values

Critical thinking is not a matter of accumulating information. A person with a good memory and who knows a lot of facts is not necessarily good at critical thinking. A critical thinker is able to deduce consequences from what he knows, and he knows how to make use of information to solve problems, and to seek relevant sources of information to inform himself.

Critical thinking should not be confused with being argumentative or being critical of other people. Although critical thinking skills can be used in exposing fallacies and bad reasoning, critical thinking can also play an important role in cooperative reasoning and constructive tasks. Critical thinking can help us acquire knowledge, improve our theories, and strengthen arguments. We can use critical thinking to enhance work processes and improve social institutions.

Some people believe that critical thinking hinders creativity because it requires following the rules of logic and rationality, but creativity might require breaking rules. This is a misconception. Critical thinking is quite compatible with thinking "out-of-the-box", challenging consensus and purusing less popular approaches. If anything, critical thinking is an essential part of creativity because we need critical thinking to evaluate and improve our creative ideas.

A video on critical thinking

The Three Basic Princibles of Creativity

2014-04-15T05:57:00.001+01:00

For many people, creativity is something reserved for scientists or artists. But this is to ignore the fact that we are faced with countless problems in our daily life, and it is precisely creative thinking that helps us come up with solutions to these problems. We need to make use of our creativity whether we are thinking about how to earn more money or how to make our our loved ones happier.

Many people also seem to think that creativity is a matter of waiting for inspirations. How inspiring ideas come about is however regarded as a rather mysterious process, and it is just a fact that some people are more creative than others. But it would be a mistake to think that creativity is a passive state of mind. While it is true that there is no special algorithm for creativity, there are thinking skills that can be taught and things one can do to enhance one's creativity. But to begin with, we need to understand these three basic principles that underlie creativity.

Principle one : New ideas are composed of old elements

Critical thinking is mainly about correct thinking. Creativity is mainly about alternative possibilities - how to come up with new and useful ideas. A new idea might be a new theory, a new product, a new solution to a problem, or a conception for a piece of art.

To come up with something new is to produce something that is distinctive and special. The practical implication here is that in order to be creative we must be ready to deviate from the ordinary and the traditional. Many people have the habit of following instructions and are afraid of challenging the status quo or exploring anything new. This implies a certain courageous exploratory attitude and curiosity in one's character.

But where do new ideas come from? The simple answer is that new ideas are actually old ones rearranged in a new way. So there is a sense in which it is true that "there is nothing new under the sun." This applies not just to the creation of concepts or theories but also the launching of new fashion or cultural trends.

How do we generate new ideas from old ones? Roughly speaking, ideas are usually composed of diffrent elements, and we look for new combination of ideas by joining different ideas together, deleting some elements, or replacing some elements by other ones. Consider the idea of a mobile phone. This idea is of course the combination of the idea of wireless information transmission and the idea of a telephone.

The first principle also has a practical implication - the ingredients for creativity depends on the store of ideas that are available for recombination. If you have a limited domain of knowledge, you will have fewer resources to draw from in forming new ideas. This is why intellectual curiosity and a wide knowledge base can significantly enhance one's creativity - one has in one's possession more concepts, theories and experience to choose from. This is also why it can be useful to try to solve a problem by consulting other people with different expertise.

Principle two : Not all new ideas are on a par

Creativity is not simply a matter of coming up with new ideas. The kind of creativity that is valued is the ability to come up with new and useful ideas, ideas that serve an important need or creates a new trend that makes an impact.

Creativity might be divided into cognitive and artistic creativity. Artistic creativity consists in the creation of artwork and expressing one's ideas and emotions through various forms of art. Critical thinking as such is not opposed to artistic creativity, but the enhancement of critical thinking skills obviously might not improve one's artistic creativity. However, critical thinking is a necessary condition for cognitive creativity. Cognitive creativity is a matter of coming up with solutions to practical or theoretical problems. This includes for example creating a new scientific theory, or lauching a new commercial product.

Cognitive creativity has two parts - the generation of new ideas, and the evaluation and modification of new ideas. When we need new ideas to solve a problem, critical thinking is necessary to help determine the relevance and effectiveness of the idea. To build a rocket that flies to the moon, one should not violate logic or the laws of physics. The evaluation of any proposal to solve a problem must involve good critical thinking.

It is sometimes suggested that creativity often requires going against the usual conventions, and that new and important ideas might be lost if one is too critical. But good critical thinking does not mean that one must always be critical. If experience tells us that it is useful to brainstorm, that sometimes it might be productive to suspend one's critical judgment and list out new ideas before evaluating them, then it is of course rational to do so. This is certainly not inconsistent with the principles of critical thinking. It is thus a serious misconception to regard critical thinking and cognitive creativity as opposed to each other.

Principle three : Creativity is enhanced by the ability to detect connections between ideas

Our store of ideas provides the ingredients to generate new ones, but it is important to remember that useful ideas might come from unexpected sources. A successful marketing campaign might appeal to certain psychological studies and relate to particular trends in the society. This involves seeing a connection between the subject matter one is interested in (the marketing exercise) and other subjects (sociology and psychology) which might seem somewhat remote.

As a concrete example, consider the so-called "fastskin" swimsuits that was introduced by the company Speedo around 1996. One of the key consideration in designing a swimsuit for athletes is to reduce the total amount of drag over the surface of the swimsuit. The company's researchers noticed that sharks are able to move very fast in water in part because of V-shaped ridges. Researchers designed swimwear fabric emulating sharkskin that produced less drag and turbulence. At the Sydney Olympics in 2000, 28 of 33 Olympic Gold Medal winners wore this type of swimsuit, testifying to its success.

So if we want to be creative, we must be ready to explore connections between different areas. First, this means we should have a wide knowledge base. Creative people are usually people who read widely, who have a great sense of curiosity, and are often willing to explore topics which do not bring about immediate benefits. Second, we should ensure that our learning processes should aim at a deep understanding of the connections between key concepts. Studying is not simply remembering bits and pieces of unrelated information. We should make sure that we look at the information we have from different angles, reformulate them systematically in a way to achieve better understanding.

source

What is Logic? - Introduction to Logic concepts

2014-04-15T05:02:00.002+01:00

Here is a basic introduction to Logic. Although you may come across logic Theories throughout your daily life. It's worth reading into the definition of logic and what Logic means.

Provided by the Hong Kong University, this is a small introductory lesson in Basic Logic Concept. The resources provided by the HKU are free of charge and they do not recieve funding, so if you find it useful please consider donating.

§ L01.1 A preliminary definition
The term "logic" came from the Greek word logos, which is sometimes translated as "sentence", "discourse", "reason", "rule", and "ratio". Of course, these translations are not enough to help us understand the more specialized meaning of "logic" as it is used today. So what is logic? Briefly speaking, we might define logic as the study of the principles of correct reasoning. This is a rough definition, because how logic should be properly defined is actually quite a controversial matter. However, for the purpose of this tour, we thought it would be useful to give you at least some rough idea as to the subject matter that you will be studying. So this is what we shall try to do on this page.

Full Article - What is Logic

Over 220 riddles and brainteasers to tax your brain! [MEGAPOST]

2014-03-24T21:28:00.001+00:00

A big compliation of over 220 riddles and brainteasers for you to tax your brain with. If you spot any duplicates or errors please let me know. And as always if you have some to contribute, let me know in the comments section!

Enjoy!

Q: What has a foot but no legs?
A: A snail

Q: Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it you
die. What is it?
A: Nothing

Q: What comes down but never goes up?
A: Rain

Q: I’m tall when I’m young and I’m short when I’m old. What am

I?
A: A candle

Q: Mary’s father has 5 daughters – Nana, Nene, Nini, Nono. What

is the fifth daughters name?
A: If you answered Nunu, you are wrong. It’s Mary!

Q: How can a pants pocket be empty and still have something in

it?
A: It can have a hole in it.

Q: In a one-story pink house, there was a pink person, a pink

cat, a pink fish, a pink computer, a pink chair, a pink table,

a pink telephone, a pink shower– everything was pink!
What color were the stairs?
A: There weren’t any stairs, it was a one story house!

Q: A dad and his son were riding their bikes and crashed. Two

ambulances came and took them to different hospitals. The man’s

son was in the operating room and the doctor said, “I can’t

operate on you. You’re my son.”
How is that possible?
A: The doctor is his mom!

Q: What goes up when rain comes down?
A: An umbrella!

Q: What is the longest word in the dictionary?
A: Smiles, because there is a mile between each ‘s’

Q: If I drink, I die. If i eat, I am fine. What am I?
A: A fire!

Q: Throw away the outside and cook the inside, then eat the

outside and throw away the inside. What is it?
A: Corn on the cob, because you throw away the husk, cook and

eat the kernels, and throw away the cob.

Q: What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
A: Short

Q: What travels around the world but stays in one spot?
A: A stamp!

Q: What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment and never in

one thousand years?
A: The letter M

Q: What has 4 eyes but can’t see?
A: Mississippi

Q: If I have it, I don’t share it. If I share it, I don’t have

it. What is it?
A: A Secret.

Q: Take away my first letter, and I still sound the same. Take

away my last letter, I still sound the same. Even take away my

letter in the middle, I will still sound the same. I am a five

letter word. What am I?
A: EMPTY

Q: What has hands but can not clap?
A: A clock

Q: What can you catch but not throw?
A: A cold.

Q: A house has 4 walls. All of the walls are facing south, and

a bear is circling the house. What color is the bear?
A: The house is on the north pole, so the bear is white.

Q: What is at the end of a rainbow?
A: The letter W!

Q: What is as light as a feather, but even the world’s

strongest man couldn’t hold it for more than a minute?
A: His breath!

Q: What starts with the letter “t”, is filled with “t” and ends

in “t”?
A: A teapot!

Q: What is so delicate that saying its name breaks it?
A: Silence.

Q: You walk into a room with a match, a karosene lamp, a

candle, and a fireplace. Which do you light first?
A: The match.

Q: A man was driving his truck. His lights were not on. The

moon was not out. Up ahead, a woman was crossing the street.

How did he see her?
A: It was a bright and sunny day!

Q: What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?
A: A palm!

Q: If an electric train is travelling south, which way is the

smoke going?
A: There is no smoke, it’s an electric train!

Q: You draw a line. Without touching it, how do you make the

line longer?
A: You draw a shorter line next to it, and it becomes the

longer line.

Q: What has one eye but cannot see?
A: A needle

Q: A man leaves home and turns left three times, only to return

home facing two men wearing masks. Who are those two men?
A: A Catcher and Umpire.

Q: Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?
A: Neither, they both weigh one pound!

Q: How many months have 28 days?
A: All 12 months!

Q: A frog jumped into a pot of cream and started treading. He

soon felt something solid under his feet and was able to hop

out of the pot. What did the frog feel under his feet?
A: The frog felt butter under his feet, because he churned the

cream and made butter.

Q: A horse is on a 24 foot chain and wants an apple that is 26

feet away. How can the horse get to the apple?
A: The chain is not attached to anything.

Q: If a blue house is made out of blue bricks, a yellow house

is made out of yellow bricks and a pink house is made out of

pink bricks, what is a green house made of?
A: Glass

Q: What goes up a chimney down but can’t come down a chimney

up?
A: an umberella

Q: We see it once in a year, twice in a week, and never in a

day. What is it?
A: The letter “E”

Q: Mr. Blue lives in the blue house, Mr. Pink lives in the pink

house, and Mr. Brown lives in the brown house. Who lives in the

white house?
A: The president!

Q: They come out at night without being called, and are lost in

the day without being stolen. What are they?
A: Stars!

Q: How do you make the number one disappear?
A: Add the letter G and it’s “GONE”

Q; What goes up but never comes down?
A: Your age!

Q: Tuesday, Sam and Peter went to a restaurant to eat lunch.

After eating lunch, they paid the bill. But Sam and Peter did

not pay the bill, so who did?
A: Their friend, Tuesday.

Q: What gets broken without being held?
A: A promise.

Q: What is always coming but never arrives?
A: Tomorrow

Q: What goes through towns and over hills but never moves?
A: A Road

Q: What has Eighty-eight keys but can’t open a single door?
A: A piano

Q: What has a neck but no head?
A: A bottle

Q: A monkey, a squirrel, and a bird are racing to the top of a

coconut tree. Who will get the banana first, the monkey, the

squirrel, or the bird?
A: None of them, because you can’t get a banana from a coconut

tree!

Q: Which eight-letter word still remains a word after removing

each letter from it?
A: Starting-Staring-String-Sting-Sing-Sin-In-I.

Q: What has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps,

can run but never walks, and has a bank but no money?
A: A river!

Q: The Smith family is a very wealthy family that lives in a

big, circular home. One morning, Mr. Smith woke up and saw a

strawberry jam stain on his new carpet. He figured out that

everyone who was there that morning had a jam sandwich. By

reading the following excuses, figure out who spilled the jam.
Billy Smith: “I was outside playing basketball.”
The Maid: “I was dusting the corners of the house.”
Chef: “I was starting to make lunch for later.”
Who is lying?
A: It was the maid. The house is circular, it has no corners.

Q: Two fathers and two sons go on a fishing trip. They each

catch a fish and bring it home. Why do they only bring 3 home?
A: The fishing trip consists of a grandfather, a father and a

son.

Q: What has 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs in the afternoon, and

3 legs at night?
A: A person! As a baby you crawl (4 legs), as an adult you walk

(2 legs), then when you are older you use a cane (3 legs)

Q: The more it dries, the wetter it becomes. What is it?
A: A towel!

Q: What can you hear but not touch or see?
A: Your voice.

Q: What starts with “P” and ends with “E” and has more than

1000 letters?
A: A post office!

Q: What loses its head in the morning but gets it back at

night?
A: A pillow

Q. What is something you will never see again?
A: Yesterday

Q: Jack rode into town on Friday and rode out 2 days later on

Friday. How can that be possible?
A: Friday is his horse’s name!

Q: Can you name the two days starting with T besides Tuesday

and Thursday?
A: Today and tomorrow.

Q: What is round on both sides but high in the middle?
A: Ohio.

Q: If two’s company and three’s a crowd, what are four and

five?
A: Nine!

Q: What is the center of Gravity?
A: The letter V.

Q: What is the last thing you take off before bed?
A: Your feet off the floor.

Q: A lawyer, a plumber and a hat maker were walking down the

street. Who had the biggest hat?
A: The one with the biggest head.

Q: What kind of room has no doors or windows?
A: A mushroom.

Q: I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can

enter but can’t go outside. What am I?
A: A Keyboard

Q: What is next in this sequence: JFMAMJJASON_ ?
A: The letter D. The sequence contains the first letter of each

month.

Q: A man was cleaning the windows of a 25 story building. He

slipped and fell off the ladder, but wasn’t hurt. How did he do

it?
A: He fell off the 2nd step.

Q: How many seconds are there in a year?
A: 12. (January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd….)

Q: One night, a butcher, a baker and a candlestick maker go to

a hotel. When they get their bill, however, it’s for four

people. Who’s the fourth person?
A: One night can also mean one knight. That makes four: one

knight, a butcher, a baker and a candlestick maker!

Q: What instrument can you hear but never see?
A: Your voice! You can sing with your voice like an instrument

and hear it, but no one can see it!

Q: I am taken from a mine, and shut up in a wooden case, from

which I am never released, and yet I am used by almost

everybody.
A: Pencil lead

Q: What goes round the house and in the house but never touches

the house?
A: The sun

Q: What is it that you can keep after giving it to someone

else?
A: Your word

Q: What walks all day on its head?
A: A nail in a horseshoe

Q: What gets wet when drying?
A: A towel

Q: What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in

a thousand years?
A: The letter M

Q: What is round as a dishpan, deep as a tub, and still the

oceans couldn't fill it up?
A: A sieve

Q: There were five men going to church and it started to rain.

The four that ran got wet and the one that stood still stayed

dry.
A: Body in coffin, and bearers

Q: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?
A: Footsteps

Q: He who has it doesn't tell it. He who takes it doesn't know

it. He who knows it doesn't want it. What is it?
A: Counterfeit money

Q: Brothers and sisters have I none but that man's father is my

father's son.
A: My son

Q: Who spends the day at the window, goes to the table for

meals and hides at night?
A: A fly

Q: I bind it and it walks. I loose it and it stops.
A: A sandal

Q: What goes round and round the wood but never goes into the

wood?
A: The bark of a tree

Q: I went to the city, I stopped there, I never went there, and

I came back again.
A: A watch

Q: I have a little house in which I live all alone. It has no

doors or windows, and if I want to go out I must break through

the wall.
A: A chicken in an egg

Q: Scarcely was the father in this world when the son could be

found sitting on the roof.
A: Fire, smoke

Q: There are four brothers in this world that were all born

together. The first runs and never wearies. The second eats and

is never full. The third drinks and is always thirsty. The

fourth sings a song that is never good.
A: Water, fire, earth, wind

Q: A cloud was my mother, the wind is my father, my son is the

cool stream, and my daughter is the fruit of the land. A

rainbow is my bed, the earth my final resting place, and I'm

the torment of man.
A: Rain

Q: Poke your fingers in my eyes and I will open wide my jaws.

Linen cloth, quills, or paper, my greedy lust devours them all.
A: Shears (or scissors)

Q: What is that which goes with a carriage, comes with a

carriage, is of no use to a carriage, and yet the carriage

cannot go without it?
A: Noise

Q: It stands on one leg with its heart in its head.
A: A cabbage

Q: It's been around for millions of years, but it's no more

than a month old. What is it?
A: The moon

Q: A white dove flew down by the castle. Along came a king and

picked it up handless, ate it up toothless, and carried it away

wingless.
A: Snow melted by the sun

Q: As I went across the bridge, I met a man with a load of wood

which was neither straight nor crooked. What kind of wood was

it?
A: Sawdust

Q: What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
A: Your name

Q: What goes up the chimney down, but can't go down the chimney

up?
A: An umbrella

Q: What is is that you will break even when you name it?
A: Silence

Q: What fastens two people yet touches only one?
A: A wedding ring

Q: What is it the more you take away the larger it becomes?
A: A hole

Q: I am the beginning of sorrow, and the end of sickness. You

cannot express happiness without me, yet I am in the midst of

crosses. I am always in risk, yet never in danger. You may find

me in the sun, but I am never out of darkness.
A: The letter S

Q: What is put on a table, cut, but never eaten?
A: A pack of cards

Q: Who are the two brothers who live on opposite sides of the

road yet never see each other?
A: Eyes

Q: What holds water yet is full of holes?
A: A sponge

Q: Though it is not an ox, it has horns; though it is not an

ass, it has a pack-saddle; and wherever it goes it leaves

silver behind. What is it?
A: A snail

Q: Lives without a body, hears without ears, speaks without a

mouth, to which the air alone gives birth.
A: An echo

Q: A hundred-year-old man and his head one night old.
A: Snow on a tree stump

Q: What goes into the water red and comes out black?
A: A red-hot poker

Q: What goes into the water black and comes out red?
A: A lobster

Q: When one does not know what it is, then it is something; but

when one knows what it is, then it is nothing.
A: A riddle

Q: Three eyes have I, all in a row; when the red one opens, all

freeze.”
A: traffic light.

Q: What animal walks on all fours in the morning, two in the

afternoon and three in the evening?”
A: The answer is man, since he crawls as a child then walks and

uses a cane when he gets older.

Q: What does “Mill + Walk + Key=”
A: Milwaukee.

Q: I am weightless, but you can see me. Put me in a bucket, and

I'll make it lighter. What am I?
A: A hole.

Q: What is so fragile that when you say its name you break it?

A: Silence.

Q: I have a tail, and I have a head, but i have no body. I am

NOT a snake. What am I?
A: A coin.

Q: What falls, but does not break, and what breaks but does not

fall?
A: Night falls and day breaks.

Q: You throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat

the outside and throw away the inside. What did you eat?
A: An ear of corn.

Q: I have holes in my top and bottom, my left and right, and in

the middle. But I still hold water. What am I?
A: A sponge.

Q: What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks,

has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?
A: A river.

Q: I never was, am always to be,/No one ever saw me, nor ever

will,/And yet I am the confidence of all/To live and breathe on

this terrestrial ball./What am I?
A: Tomorrow.

Q: I am the black child of a white father, a wingless bird,

flying even to the clouds of heaven. I give birth to tears of

mourning in pupils that meet me, even though there is no cause

for grief, and at once on my birth I am dissolved into air.

What am I?
A: Smoke.

Q: Pronounced as one letter,/And written with three,/Two

letters there are,/And two only in me./I'm double, I'm

single,/I'm black, blue, and gray,/I'm read from both ends,/And

the same either way./What am I?
A: An eye.

Q: A man is on a trip with a fox, a goose, and a sack of corn.

He comes upon a stream which he has to cross, and finds a tiny

boat which he can use for the same. The problem though, is that

he can only take himself and either the fox, the goose, or the

corn across at a time. It is not possible for him to leave the

fox alone with the goose or the goose alone with the corn. How

can he get all safely over the stream?
A: Take the goose over first and come back. Then take the fox

over and bring the goose back. Now take the corn over and come

back alone to get the goose. Take the goose over and the job is

done!

Q: A boy was at a carnival and went to a booth where a man said

to the boy, "If I write your exact weight on this piece of

paper then you have to give me $50, but if I cannot, I will pay

you $50." The boy looked around and saw no scale so he agrees,

thinking no matter what the carny writes he'll just say he

weighs more or less. In the end the boy ended up paying the man

$50. How did the man win the bet?
A: The man did exactly as he said he would and wrote 'your

exact weight' on the paper.

Q: What kind of coat can only be put on when wet?
A: a coat of paint

Q: What goes up a chimney down, but won't go down a chimney up?
A: an umbrella

Q: What letter is next in this sequence?
M, A, M, J, J, A, S, O,__
A: N
These are the first letters of the months of the year

Q: What's full of holes but still holds water?
A: a sponge

Q: What building has the most stories?
A: A Library

Q: Why is an island like the letter T?
A: It is in the middle of "waTer".

Q: Pronounced as one letter,
And written with three,
Two letters there are,
And two only in me.
I'm double, I'm single,
I'm black, blue, and gray,
I'm read from both ends,
And the same either way.
What am I?
A: an eye

Q: My life can be measured in hours,
I serve by being devoured.
Thin, I am quick
Fat, I am slow
Wind is my foe.
A: A candle

Q: What other letter fits in the following series:
B C D E I K O X?
A: The letter H. All of the letters in the series flipped

vertically remain the same.

Q: What is the next letter in the series: "B, C, D, E, G, ..."?

And Why?
A: The next letter would be P. They all rhyme.

Q: Two mothers and two daughters go to a pet store and buy

three cats. Each female gets her own cat. How is this possible?
A: There is a grandmother, a mother, and a daughter.The

grandmother is also the mother's mother, so there are 2

daughters and 2 mothers, but only a total of 3 people.

Q: What has wheels and flies, but is not an aircraft?
A: A garbage truck

Q: What is the best month for a parade?
A: March

Q: What's white when it’s dirty?
A: A blackboard

Q: Which is faster, hot or cold?
A: Hot’s faster. You can catch a cold.

Q: Six glasses are in a row. The first three are full of juice;

the second three are empty. By moving only one glass, can you

arrange them so empty and full glasses alternate?
A: Pour the juice from the second glass into the fifth glass.

Q: Two fathers and two sons went duck hunting. Each shot a duck

but they shot only three ducks in all. How come?
A: The hunters were a man, his son and his grandson.

Q: When is your mind like a rumpled bed?
A: When it is not made up.

Q: What can you put in a wood box that will make it lighter?
A: holes

Q: What is it that everybody does at the same time?
A: grow older

Q: Take away my first letter; take away my second letter; take

away all my letters, and I would remain the same. What am I?
A: The postman (mailman)

Q: A doctor and a nurse have a baby boy. But the boy's father

is not the doctor and the mother is not the nurse. How can it

be?
A: The doctor is the mother (female doctor) and the nurse is

the father (male nurse).

Q: You can keep it only after giving it away to someone else.

What is it?
A: Your word

Q: What seven letters did Old Mother Hubbard say when she

opened her cupboard?
A: O I C U R M T

Q: What is so fragile even saying its name can break it?
A: Silence

Q: How could a cowboy ride into town on Friday, stay two days,

and ride out on Friday?
A: His horse is named Friday!

Q: What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in

a thousand years?
A: The letter M

Q: The more you take the more you leave behind.
A: footsteps

Q: A word I know, six letters it contains. Subtract just one,

and twelve is what remains.
A: dozens

Q: This runs fore to aft on one side of a ship, and aft to fore

on the other. What is it?
A: The name of the ship

Q: I am a box that holds keys without locks, yet they can

unlock your soul. What am I?
A: A Piano

Q: What turns everything around, but does not move?
A: a mirror

Q: While walking across a bridge I saw a boat full of people.

Yet on the boat there wasn't a single person. Why?
A: Every one on the boat is married.

Q: Here on earth it is true, yesterday is always before today;

but there is a place where yesterday always follows today.

Where?
A: In a dictionary

Q: I am an insect, & the first half of my name reveals another

insect. Some famous musicians had a name similar to mine. What

am I?
A: beetle

Q: What relation would your father's sister's sister-in-law be

to you?
A: Your mother.

Q: There is a seven-letter word in the English language that

contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters."

What is the word?
A: "therein": the,there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, therein,

herein.

Q: Brothers or sisters have I none, but that mans father is my

fathers son. Who is that man?
A: I am my fathers son, so that mans father must be me. So that

man must be my son.

Q: What word looks the same upside down and backwards?
A: SWIMS

Q: When can you add two to eleven and get one as the correct

answer?
A: When you add two hours to eleven o'clock, you get one

o'clock.

Q: How far can a dog run into the woods?
A: Halfway through the woods. After halfway the dog would be

running out of the woods, not "into the woods."

Q: Two legs I have, and this will confound: only at rest do

they touch the ground! What am I?
A: A Wheelbarrow

Q: It goes up, but at the same time goes down. Up toward the

sky, and down toward the ground. It's present tense and past

tense too, come for a ride, just me and you. What is it?
A: A See-Saw

Q: Which word from Group B belongs with the words from Group A?
A: blast, paper, box, bank
B. juice, bag, cradle, carpet
A: BAG. All of the words in group A can begin with the word

SAND

Q: I am a path situated between high natural masses. Remove my

first letter & you have a path situated between man-made

masses. What am I?
A: valley (-v = alley)

Q: What can you hold without ever touching or using your hands?
A: your breath

Q: What 7 letter word becomes longer when the third letter is

removed?
A: lounger

Q: Whoever makes it, tells it not. Whoever takes it, knows it

not. And whoever knows it wants it not.
A: counterfeit money

Q: You can see nothing else
When you look in my face,
I will look you in the eye
And I will never lie.
A: your reflection

Q: I know a word of letters three. Add two, and fewer there

will be.
A: few

Q: What are the next 3 letters in this riddle?
o t t f f s s _ _ _
A: e n t
The first seven letters stand for - one two three four five six

seven

Q: He starts and ends 2 common English words. One painful in

love, one painful in everyday matter.
Do you know what 2 words I must be?
A: Heartache and Headache

Q: Brothers and sisters I have none but this man's father is my

father's son.
Who is the man?
A: the man is my son.

Q: What is greater than God,
more evil than the devil,
the poor have it,
the rich need it,
and if you eat it, you'll die?
A: Nothing.

Q: Which creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs

in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?
A: Man. He crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two

feet as an adult, and then walks with a cane as an old man.

Q: What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
A stamp.
A.
Well

Q: Paul's height is six feet, he's an assistant at a butcher's

shop, and wears size 9 shoes. What does he weigh?
A.
Meat.

Q: There was a green house. Inside the green house there was a

white house. Inside the white house there was a red house.

Inside the red house there were lots of babies. What is it?
A.
Watermelon.

Q: What kind of room has no doors or windows?
A.
A mushroom.

Q: What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?
A: A palm.

Q: Which word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?
A: Incorrectly.

Q: If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you

haven't got me. What am I?
A: Secret.

Q: What gets broken without being held?
A: A promise.

Q: Feed me and I live, yet give me a drink and I die.
A: Fire.

Q: A man is pushing his car along the road when he comes to a

hotel. He shouts, "I'm bankrupt!" Why?
He was playing Monopoly.

Q: How many of each species did Moses take on the ark with him?
None, Moses wasn't on the ark Noah was.

Q: Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?
Forward I am ton, backwards I am not.

Q: He has married many women, but has never been married. Who

is he?
A preacher.

Q: Take off my skin - I won't cry, but you will! What am I?
An onion.

Q: Imagine you are in a dark room. How do you get out?
Stop imagining.

Q: What invention lets you look right through a wall?
A window.

Q: What can you catch but not throw?
A cold.

Q: What is at the end of a rainbow?
The letter W.

Q: What is as light as a feather, but even the world's

strongest man couldn't hold it for more than a minute?
His breath.

Q: What has one eye but cannot see?
A needle.

Q: What is always coming but never arrives?
Tomorrow.

Q: Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?
Neither, they both weigh one pound.

Q: Two children, who were all tangled up in their reckoning of

the days of the week, paused on their way to school to

straighten matters out. "When the day after tomorrow is

yesterday," said Priscilla, "then 'today' will be as far from

Sunday as that day was which was 'today' when the day before

yesterday was tomorrow!"
On which day of the week did this puzzling prattle occur?
A: The two children were so befogged over the calendar that

they had started on their way to school on Sunday morning!

Q: A basket contains 5 apples. Do you know how to divide them

among 5 kids so that each one has an apple and one apple stays

in the basket?
A: 4 kids get an apple (one apple for each one of them) and the

fifth kid gets an apple with the basket still containing the

apple.

Q: There are a few trees in a garden. On one of them, a pear

tree, there are pears (quite logical). But after a strong wind

blew, there were neither pears on the tree nor on the ground.
How come?
A.
At first, there were 2 pears on the tree. After the wind blew,

one pear fell on the ground. So there where no pears on the

tree and there were no pears on the ground.

Q: A poor farmer went to the market to sell some peas and

lentils. However, as he had only one sack and didn't want to

mix peas and lentils, he poured in the peas first, tied the

sack in the middle, and then filled the top portion of the sack

with the lentils. At the market a rich innkeeper happened by

with his own sack. He wanted to buy the peas, but he did not

want the lentils.
Pouring the seed anywhere else but the sacks is considered

soiling. Trading sacks is not allowed. The farmer can't cut a

hole in his sack.
How would you transfer the peas to the innkeeper's sack, which

he wants to keep, without soiling the produce?
A.
Pour the lentils into the innkeeper's sack, bind it and turn

inside out. Pour in the peas. Then unbind the sack a pour the

lentils back to your sack.

Q: The captain of a ship was telling this interesting story:

"We traveled the sea far and wide. At one time, two of my

sailors were standing on opposite sides of the ship. One was

looking west and the other one east. And at the same time, they

could see each other clearly."
How can that be possible?
A.
The marines were standing back against the sides of the ship so

they were looking at each other. It does not matter where the

ship is (of course it does not apply to the North and South

Pole).

Q: A ladder hangs over the side of a ship anchored in a port.

The bottom rung touches the water. The distance between rungs

is 20 cm and the length of the ladder is 180 cm. The tide is

rising at the rate of 15 cm each hour.
When will the water reach the seventh rung from the top?
A.
If the tide is raising water, then it is raising the ship on

water, too. So water will reach still the first rung.

Q: Three people check into a hotel. They pay $30 to the manager

and go to their room. The manager finds out that the room rate

is $25 and gives the bellboy $5 to return to the guests. On the

way to the room the bellboy reasons that $5 would be difficult

to split among three people so he pockets $2 and gives $1 to

each person. Now each person paid $10 and got back $1. So they

paid $9 each, totaling $27. The bellboy has another $2, adding

up to $29.
Where is the remaining dollar?
A.
This is a nice nonsense. Each guest paid $9 because they gave

$30 and they were given back $3. The manager got $25 and the

difference ($2) has the bellboy. So it is nonsense to add the

$2 to the $27, since the bellboy kept the $2.

Q: 13 people came into a hotel with 12 rooms and each guest

wanted his own room. The bellboy solved this problem.
He asked the thirteenth guest to wait a little with the first

guest in room number 1. So in the first room there were two

people. The bellboy took the third guest to room number 2, the

fourth to number 3, ..., and the twelfth guest to room number

11. Then he returned to room number 1 and took the thirteenth

guest to room number 12, still vacant.
How can everybody have his own room?
A: Of course, it is impossible. Into the second room should

have gone the 2nd guest, because the 13th guest was waiting in

room number 1.

Q: Two girls were born to the same mother, on the same day, at

the same time, in the same month and year and yet they're not

twins.
How can this be?
A.
The two babies are two of a set of triplets.

Q: A girl who was just learning to drive went down a one-way

street in the wrong direction, but didn't break the law.
How come?
A.
She was walking.

Q: What occurs once in every minute, twice in every moment, yet

never in a thousand years?
A.
The letter m.

Q: Why can't a man living in the USA be buried in Canada?
A: Why should a living man be buried?

Q: Is it legal for a man in California to marry his widow's

sister? Why?
A: No, it is not legal to get married if you are dead.

Q: A man builds a house rectangular in shape. All the sides

have southern exposure. A big bear walks by. What color is the

bear? Why?
A: The bear is white since the house is built on the North

Pole.

Q: If there are 3 apples and you take away 2, how many do you

have?
A: If you take 2 apples, then you have of course 2.

Q: How far can a dog run into the woods?
A: The dog can run into the woods only to the half of the wood

- than it would run out of the woods.

Q: One big hockey fan claimed to be able to tell the score

before any game. How did he do it?
A: The score before any hockey game should be 0:0, shouldn't

it?

Q: You can start a fire if you have alcohol, petrol, kerosene,

paper, candle, coke, a full matchbox and a piece of cotton

wool. What is the first thing you light?
A: A match, of course.

Q: Why do Chinese men eat more rice than Japanese men do?
A: There are more Chinese men than Japanese men.

Q: What word describes a woman who does not have all her

fingers on one hand?
A: Normal - I wouldn't be very happy if I had all my fingers

(10) on one hand.

Draw A Pig - Personality / Psychology Test

2014-03-15T13:48:00.000+00:00

Draw A Pig - Personality Test

All our Personality Tests:
Draw a House
Draw a Pig
Draw a Tree
Draw a Cow

all you'll need is a pen/pencil and some paper and about 5 minutes

just do as it says, draw a pig as naturally as it comes to you.

Now check your results:

If the pig is drawn:

Toward the top of the paper

–

You have a tendancy to be positive and optimistic.

Toward the middle

–

You have a tendency to be a realist.

Toward the bottom

–

You have a tendency to be pessimistic and may be

prone to behavin

g negatively.

Facing left

–

You have a tendency to believe in tradition and be friendly; you may also be prone

to remembering dates well.

Facing Right

–

You have a tendency to be innovative and active, but may be prone to forgetting

dates easily and may

not have a strong sense of family.

Facing front

–

You have a tendency to be direct, and may enjoy playing the role of devil’s

advocate; you also are prone to neither fearing nor avoiding confrontational discussions.

With many details

–

You have a tende

ncy to be analytical, but may also be prone to being

cautious to the point that you struggle with trust.

With few details

–

You have a tendency to be emotional and to focus on the larger picture

rather than focusing on details. You also have a tendency to

be a great risk taker and may

sometimes be prone to reckless and impulsive decisions.

With less than 4 legs showing

–

May indicate that you are living through a major period of

change and as a result you may be prone to struggling with insecurities.

With

4 legs showing

–

You have a tendency to be secure and to stick to your ideals; however,

others may describe you as stubborn.

With large ears

–

Indicates how good of a listener you are (the bigger, the better).

With a long tail

–

Indicates how intelligent you are (the longer, the better)

-------------------------------

All our Personality Tests:
Draw a House
Draw a Pig
Draw a Tree
Draw a Cow

Draw a House Personality / Psychology test

2014-03-15T13:41:00.000+00:00

Draw a House - Personality Test

All our Personality Tests:
Draw a House
Draw a Pig
Draw a Tree
Draw a Cow

For this you will need a blank sheet of paper and pen or pencil. (or if you'd prefer use your favourite drawing program/app)

1. Draw a house as you see it in your mind. It will need to be fairly big so you can add further details later.

2. Draw in the windows and the door.

3. Next make a path/walkway leading up to the house

4. Add an arrow the place or room where you'd like your bedroom to be.

5. Fill in the garden with as much or as little details as you'd like.

6. Draw yourself in the picture, wherever you'd like

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now you have drawn the house. Let's see what it looks like.

1

How did you draw the house?

A) My house is made of several straight lines and acute angles.

B) My house is made of unsharp lines and the lines are roughly sketched. It looks like my house is swaying.

2

How is the house located?

A) Isolated

B) In a row right next to others

3

How about the window?

A) Many little windows

B) A big window that is left opened

C) A big window that is closed or decorated with a curtain

4

How about the door?

A) It has details such as a knob, mailbox, house number, etc.

B) It has no detail.

5

How about the walkway?

A) Straight

B) Curvy

6

Do you have a fence in the picture?

A) Yes

B) No

7

Where is your bedroom?

A) On the very top floor of the house

B) On the first floor

8

Did you draw a garden with a well-trimmed lawn and trees kept in place?

A) Yes

B) No

9

Did you add a flower to your drawing?

A) Yes

B) No

10

Did you draw a well or a pond?

A) Yes

11

How big is the image of yourself?

A) As big as the house or even bigger
B) Smaller than the house

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mostly A)

Your house tells the world that you ought to be a leader. You are good at making friends and when the joyful moment arrives, you make the most out of it.

You are talkative and sociable. Once you have a problem, you need a friend with you. Your life is always full of changes.

You will avoid being alone and seek the company of others whenever possible. You love excitement and create it wherever you go. You are an ordinary and down-to-earth person. You are also tough and will meet success in important issues without many difficulties. You see the world as it is, not as you believe it should be.

You are not a romantic person by nature. It also safe to say that others don't see you as a flirt. You don't think much about yourself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mostly B) -

You are sensitive and indecisive at times. You are good at making friends and when the joyful moment arrives, you make the most out of it.

You are talkative and sociable. Once you have a problem, you need a friend with you. Your life is always full of changes.

You will avoid being alone and seek the company of others whenever possible. You love excitement and create it wherever you go. You are an ordinary and down-to-earth person. You are also tough and will meet success in important issues without many difficulties. You see the world as it is, not as you believe it should be.

You are not a romantic person by nature. It also safe to say that others don't see you as a flirt. You don't think much about yourself.

All our Personality Tests:
Draw a House
Draw a Pig
Draw a Tree
Draw a Cow

How To Tame Your Monkey Brain | Brain PathWays Blog

2013-06-01T06:38:00.001+01:00

You probably have some “monkey brain” behavior going on if you can relate to three or more of these symptoms:
Rarely staying on-task longer than 10 minutes

Checking email or texting more than 5 times an hour

Feeling like you are losing your mind

Can’t remember what you did 30 minutes ago

Difficulty solving problems and making decisions

Pulled in too many directions

Life is out of control

Not enough time to get things done

Making frequent mistakes

Nearly impossible to quiet your mind

Strained relationships with people you care about

A slightly comical way to look at it. But the science seems all there.

Worth a read and a go.

Read the full article:
How To Tame Your Monkey Brain | Brain PathWays Blog

Taming your brain rats | OdeWire

2013-06-01T06:32:00.001+01:00

This article caught my eye, mainly for the comically sounding title, which i'm sure you'll agree, peaks interest.

The subject matter soon concretes it's serious tone and agenda and you're whizzed off.

Looks into an old subject in a surprising new way, with a down to earth and sometimes sharp tongue.
Healing self-improvement delivered by an iron fist.

Negative self-talk is a signal that you’re on the verge of learning something new.
Swimmers at Lincoln Park swimming pool, 1925 | Photo via Seattle Municipal Archives
You are about to take a big risk, inhabit your true power, or speak your mind. Just as you step up, you hear them. Brain rats.
Their squeaky, scratchy voices whisper dreadful things, ”Sit down.”
“Who do you think you are…somebody special?” ”Be quiet, for goodness sake!” ”Someone’s going to notice you’re a complete fake.” ”Why not just give up?”

Read the full article here:
Taming your brain rats | OdeWire

How to Tame Your Brain: 6 Steps - wikiHow

2013-06-01T06:19:00.001+01:00

Wow. It's like they've taken the word right out of my mouth (Well..Fingers..shh) savagely beaten them, poorly administered health care and let them ramble on a street corner begging for money.

Ever wondered how some people seem to effortlessly succeed in what is important for them while others drag themselves to work. In this article you will find the steps for becoming the master of your mind. This is because the brain as money is a terrible master but a trustworthy and effective servant.

Now a bit of bad english and slightly misguided advice could possibly be excused.

But it flat out contradicts itself..

Read wisely. A mind wandering in the past and future is a dog without a leash. As our goal is directing our mind at all times we have to be able to have it here with us in the present moment. Psychology and general literature on being in the now is abundant. The book ," The power of Now" of Eckhardt Tolle is a great start for a brain-tamer like you.

Imagine yourself doing new things, like juggling balls. Do this with as much detail as possible and learn whatever you wish, such as a new language.

Without letting myself think about the future or the past? really?

You can view the full article here:
How to Tame Your Brain: 6 Steps - wikiHow

Benefits Of Traditional Children's Songs and Rhymes

2013-06-01T02:46:00.001+01:00

Music is a fantastic way to teach skills and encourage development in children. It's great fun, interactive and easy to pick up.
Music comes in many forms and is as diverse as the day is long. On the most part no one genre of music is better than another. And i'm sure your child will pick favourites from a wide array of genres.
A genre worth mentioning however is traditional childrens songs and rhymes.
Why this in paticular?
Almost everyone knows at least one nursery rhyme
Easy for baby AND parents to pick up
Upbeat and Cheery
It creates common ground for play and interaction with other children.

Songs That Teach Early Concepts:

ABC Song
So commonly spread that your child will probably already know it. Great fun and upbeat. Also lots of fun to sing accapella or along to the music.
ABC Song Video

Phonics Alphabet
This alternative ABC song is a phonics version that helps young children understand that each letter has an individual sound. You can also sing this while pointing to letters in a book or on a wall.
Phonics Alphabet Video

10 Little Numbers
While your toddler may not understand the concept of quantity yet, this cute tune will help her begin to identify numerals.
10 Little Numbers Video

Rainbow Song
Learn about colours by adding coloured blocks, paper or even crayons.
Rainbow Song Video

Old McDonald
Introduce kids to animal names and sounds with this classic song. You can add in your own animals. It’s nice, again, to do this with a book where you can connect a picture of the animal with the sound.
Old McDonald Video

Songs To Encourage Moving:

Channel some of that limitless energy into a sing-a-long and game that lets toddlers throw their whole bodies into the experience.

Hokey Pokey
In addition to getting your toddler up and shaking, this song/game is a great way to introduce the names of body parts.
Hokey Pokey Video

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
Again, this introduces some basic body parts and gets little ones moving. Playing the version where you leave out a new part each time (not saying 'head" on verse two and so on) also lets your child practice memory skills (what were we up to again….?).
Head Shoulders Knees and Toes Video

If You're Happy and You Know It
A staple of our household dance parties, this song is a good one for getting kids to listen and follow instructions. You can make up your own movements. We play a round robin version where each person takes a turn making up a line, the sillier the better ("If you're happy and you know it crow like a rooster eating a banana," offers my son).
If You're Happy and You Know It Video

I'm A Little Tea Pot
Plenty of movements to be had in this one
I'm a little tea pot video

Ring A Ring A Rosie
Good fun due to the unique method of interaction. Better in groups though.
Ring a Ring A Rosie Video

Round And Round The Garden
Again, better in groups, But one on one is still fun and great for bonding.
Round and Round The Garden Video

Row Row Row Your Boat
Gets the upper body moving, great visual imagry. Plus i don't think i know anyone who hasn't replaced "if you see a crocodile" with "if you see (persons name)
Row Row Row Your Boat Video

The Grand Old Duke Of York
You may not have 10,000 men, but stomping around like you do is great fun!
The Grand Old Duke Of York Video

Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush
Without realising, is teaching about routine, climate and a number of other things. Another that's enhanced in a group.
Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush Video

There Were Ten In The Bed
Large group is needed! Great for co-ordination and organistion.
There Were Ten In The Bed Video

Skip To My Lou
Upbeat tempo, encourages dancing.
Skip To My Lou Video

Here We Go Looby Loo
Varying tempo, helps to teach adaptation
Bere We Go Looby Lou Video

Hand and Finger Play Songs:

Another fun category of active songs doesn't require much jumping around. Instead these use finger or hand movements to engage kids.

Itsy Bitys Spider
This tale of a spunky spider delights young kids. They also get great satisfaction when the finally learn to maneuver their fingers just right to create the spider.
Itsy Bitys Spider Video

Wheels on the Bus
This is the song I start belting out just when the car ride gets whiney or we need to take a long bus or train trip. We like to add in some extras like what the dogs on the bus say, but even in the regular form, it's a long and fun tune.
Wheels on the Bus Video

Pat a Cake
Traditionally more of a chant than a song, you can set your own tune for the words while teaching your toddler how to clap your hands and do the motions.
Pat a Cake Video

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
The classic lullaby. Fun and good for development with actions.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Video

12345 Once I Caught A Fish Alive
Helps with counting and motor skills. And hopefully empathy towards fish ;)
12345 Once I Caught A Fish Alive Video

Pop Goes The Weasel
Lets be honest. No matter how old you get, it's still fun saying POP goes the weasel!
Pop Goes The Weasel Video

One Two Buckle My Shoe
Rhyming is good for developing the mind and includes counting.
One Two Buckle My Shoe Video

Hickory Dickory Dock
Simple and easy to pick up. Great for younger children
Hickory Dickory Dock Video

Rain Rain Go Away
Rainy day? Teach some nursery rhymes!
Rain Rain Go Away Video

Other Nursery Rhymes your child may enjoy:
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Humpty Dumpty
Old Mother Hubbard
The Muffin Man
A Sailor Went To Sea
Hey Diddle Diddle
Miss Polly Had A Dolly
Polly Put The Kettle On
Little Bo Peep
Mary Had A Little Lamb
Mary Mary Quite Contrary
London Bridge Is Falling Down
Little Peter Rabbit
Three Blind Mice
The FarmerIn The Dell
Sing A Song Of Sixpence
Rock A Bye Baby
Kookaburra Sits
Georgie Porgie
Little Miss Muffett
Little Jack Horner
Jack Be Nimble
Mr Frog
She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain
See Saw Marjory Daw
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly

Malnutrition in young children affects development

2013-05-31T10:34:00.003+01:00

A research group from the University of Oxford working on behalf of Save the Children has recently published their findings.

The 50 strong team are monitoring the lives of 12,000 children, in 4 developing countries for 15 years.

Subjects were monitored, interviewed and tested at key points to measure education ability, confidence as well as hopes and aspirations.

Environmental factors such as government, poverty, spending, budgets and local health and education.

This makes the research unique as they are developing a measure of poverty that’s unique to circumstance rather than a bank balance.

The research has shown that children living in poverty and being malnourished don’t develop in a number of key skills compared to their peers who have a healthier diet.

Results showed much lower literacy rates

7% lower performance in Mathematical activities

20% more likely to misread simple sentences

12% less likely to write a simple sentence by age 8

and overall 13% less likely to be at the appropriate level for their age compared to their peers.

So there’s a very strong indication of the negative effects of malnutrition on the development of children.

When you taken into consideration, best estimates say 25% of the world’s children are stunted by malnutrition.

Save the Children chief executive Justin Forsyth said: "These findings confirm our very worst fears – that poor nutrition is capable of seriously damaging a child’s life chances before he or she even sets foot in a classroom.

"We have made huge progress in tackling child deaths, but having a quarter of the world’s children at risk of underperforming at school will have grave consequences for the fight to end global poverty."

Starting them Early - Teaching children Logic

2013-05-30T01:54:00.001+01:00

As parents will undoubtedly know, quickly after the helpless newborn stage a new baby soon becomes extremely curious with the world around. New senses are being tested and used for the first time. Even the most mundane experiences are brand new and exciting and luckily their little brains are perfectly wired for taking in everything.

One of the first things they will start to learn is cause and effect, that logically every action has a reaction. A lot of developmental milestones relating to this (in the early days) come relatively naturally in most cases.

So how young is too young to give them a boost with logic building exercises?
Personally, from day one there are a myriad of opportunities to build logic skills.

I'm going to list a few of the more common options here as a start and insight into the idea of logic building for children. I'll go into more detail, expanding on these and listing a lot more in a future article.

1. Building Blocks

Building blocks are often overlooked for younger children, as they're associated with their name - *Building* blocks.

Even from a very young age (using foam or soft material blocks) blocks can be used to teach senses for touch, causality, spatial awareness, patterns, methodical thinking, creativity not to mention physical ability. Also basic math, geometry and problem solving.

Wooden blocks are the next step up, stacking abilities and reasoning can vary in children so it's hard to say at exactly what age they'll do this. However as long as reasonable precautions are taken for younger babies, wooden blocks can be introduced. It's important to note to always check the packaging and documentation for the products you are buying. One rule of thumb to see if something is too small for your baby is to try and fit it through a standard sized toilet roll tube. Which would make safe blocks 1.5"-1.75" at a minimum. Painted blocks can also pose a slight risk if your baby is teething or likes to chew.

If you want feel like getting handy, a fun idea is to make your own cardboard blocks. It's a cheap alternative and if your children are old enough they can join in the process.
Cardboard blocks can be made out of old cardboard boxes you have around the house, one suggestion is to cover them in masking tape or similar for uniformity. Read the full article on it here -> http://onelessonatatime.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/diy-cardboard-bricks/

Blocks that feature letters, numbers and colours are a good way to add skills and learning. This can be expanded on as skills develop and your baby gets older.

Blocks can be expanded into Duplo sets and waffle bricks, the only downside of this is some children can get a bit frustrated with the stickiness of the bricks. If this is the case, they can still do a lot with wooden bricks, for instance with the shape sets you can pretend to build towns and cities.

Involving other toys into wooden block play can boost the fun at playtime. Cars and figures can be used in all sorts of role play.

As your child's skills grow and they get older, the stacking and formations of blocks will become more intricate and elaborate. Don't forget to join in as well! Your baby is learning a lot of skills from watching their parents perform tasks. Build some blocks, knock them down, you'll be having some fun and teaching at the same time.

When playtime is over, there's a perfect opportunity to instil some good habits early on. Storing blocks and toys in toy boxes/chests, plastic containers and boxes is a great way to keep things tidy and this will also make it easier to show them how to place the toys they are finished with into the box. Sorting and tidying in this manner is great for developing skills. Plus you'll have a little cleaning helper.

*Important:* - It's important to teach early on not to throw blocks and toys during playtime for safety reasons, as well as discouraging climbing on blocks and block formations as this can become extremely dangerous. Somewhat less dire but still good to instil for manners sake, is to let them destroy their creations but to be respectful of things other people have made.

Unit blocks vs. Standard blocks

Just thought i would say a few words about Unit blocks. If you're unfamiliar with the term, they are (usually) a higher grade of wood, so cost a bit more than standard toy blocks and come in varying sizes - "Unit blocks are based on a standard unit. The bigger blocks are multiples of the unit, and the smaller blocks are fractional sizes of the unit.". This helps with uniformity, and personally i think it makes them look a lot better.


Unit Blocks on Wheels

Some examples of blocks / Retailers

Nova Natural Toys - Natural Retailer

Jillians Drawers - Retailer

Haba Building Blocks - Well recommended Blocks

Asco Educational Supplies - When only school grade will do.

PlanToys - Eco Friendly - The green option, eco friendly toy company

Community Playthings - Nursery grade toys and furniture, also has a resource library of child/nursery related issues.

Before anyone gets the wrong idea, i'm not advocating any certain brand or retailer. The blocks i purchased for my sons were from a local charity shop or for a good deal at a local retailer. Remember it's not the brand it's the product!

2. Wiggle and Rub

An enjoyable logic building game for younger babies.

Play finger games and hand games, although they might not understand it, pat-a-cake can be enjoyable.

Whenever baby does something good or something you like move your fingers and hands

An example is to wiggle your fingers when they smile and rub their belly when they grab their feet. Obviously it's up to you how you structure the game in terms of actions but you get the idea.

This is a good example of teaching logic, you're showing that when one action occurs another follows, as cause and effect is a big developmental step, in this case a rubbed tummy when they smile.

3. The Beanbag Toss

I don't think this is a commonly known logic building game. Mostly for the fact that beanbags are somewhat uncommon outside of playgroups and schools.

The beanbag toss is a good way to introduce a new skill - Catching.

It broadens the senses due to the unusual texture of the beanbag, new sounds and motor-skills to reach and catch and throw.

Hand eye co-ordination is being developed as well as spatial awareness and reasoning.

While there's beanbags out here's a quick exercise, which is fun for the kids.

Have them place, or you place, a beanbag on their head and get them to walk a line, make it more challenging by making little obstacles courses for them to transverse and things to pick up while keeping the beanbag on their head.

While the children are young and learning to throw and catch, very gentle throws should be used. As they get older increase this to hand and then head level. Once they've mastered their technique, introduce rhythm moves. For instance - Throw the beanbag, clap twice, catch the beanbag. You can add in pretty much any moves you like for wide variety. Older children can use just one hand for an extra challenge.

The Beanbag Relay - This is a large group activity. Have the children stand in a line one after the other. Place a pile of beanbags at the front of the line, and a large bucket at the back. The first person in line must grab, with both hands, a beanbag and pass it over their head to the person behind until it is dropped in the bucket. Time trials can be implemented and for particularly large groups, two team races. This will improve hand eye co-ordination, as well as bilateral coordination (both hands in conjunction). Not to mention great fun at gatherings, picnics, bbqs etc.

Cross the Mid line - This game encourages the child to cross the imaginary mid line of their body.

Have the child sit on the floor kneeling or cross-legged. Take their lead hand and throw the beanbag across their body to a wall or hoop. So for instance, a right handed child would throw the beanbag from the right across their body to the left towards the wall. If you have the time and want a project, a variety of cutouts, targets, faces with open mouths can be placed around the space for target practice.

Finally, Drill Sergeant/Police School (i prefer police school, because it makes me think of Kindergarten Cop)

As the name suggests, the child or children will need to follow commands and orders in this game. Ideally you'd want a nice large open space, such as a hall or garden or even the park. At one end of the playing space will be a pile of beanbags or piles depending on number of players and at the other buckets to match the number of piles. The object is simple, the child must grab a beanbag and run to the bucket, place it in and run back. One at a time. The twist however is the Sergeant, who will shout out a command that must be followed, such as Crawl! or Hop, Run, Skip, Jump etc. or even a crab walk with a beanbag on their tummy and a leopard crawl with the beanbag on their back. Ideally the orders would be changed semi-often to keep the fun and make it challenging. The game ends when all the beanbags are collected or a team collects all their beanbags.

And that is that. Three logic building games that you can try out with your kids. I hope i've gone into enough detail to answer everyone's questions and i hope you're looking forward to the full article.

If you have any suggestions on logic games or skill building for kids in general, or just some feedback make sure to comment below.

Number Sequences

2013-05-29T16:53:00.000+01:00

Number Sequences

There are infinite formulas that will fit any finite series. Try to guess the following number in each sequence (using the most simple mathematical operations there is more than one solution for each number sequence). Solutions are at the bottom of the page.

8723, 3872, 2387, ?
1, 4, 9, 18, 35, ?
23, 45, 89, 177, ?

7, 5, 8, 4, 9, 3, ?
11, 19, 14, 22, 17, 25, ?
3, 8, 15, 24, 35, ?
2, 4, 5, 10, 12, 24, 27, ?
1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 18, ?
99, 92, 86, 81, 77, ?
0, 4, 2, 6, 4, 8, ?
1, 2, 2, 4, 8, 11, 33, ?
1, 2, 6, 24, 120, ?
1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 20, 37, ?
5, 7, 12, 19, 31, 50, ?
27, 82, 41, 124, 62, 31, 94, 47, 142, 71, 214, 107, ?
126, 63, 190, 95, 286, 143, 430, 215, 646, 323, 970, ?
4, 7, 15, 29, 59, 117, ?
2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 4, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 5, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 4, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 5, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 4, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 5, ?
4, 4, 341, 6, 4, 4, 6, 6, 4, 4, 6, 10, 4, 4, 14, 6, 4, 4, 6, 6, 4, 4, 6, 22, 4, 4, 9, 6, ?

Solutions
8723, 3872, 2387, ? 7238 (moving of numerals)

1, 4, 9, 18, 35, ? 68 (x*2+2, +1, +0, -1, -2)
23, 45, 89, 177, ? 353 (x*2-1)
7, 5, 8, 4, 9, 3, ? 10, 2 (two series – every second number: 7, 8, 9, 10 and 5, 4, 3, 2)
11, 19, 14, 22, 17, 25, ? 20, 28 (two series – every second number: 11, 14, 17, 20 and 19, 22, 25, 28)
3, 8, 15, 24, 35, ? 48 (x+5, +7, +9, +11, +13)
2, 4, 5, 10, 12, 24, 27, ? 54, 58 (x*2, +1, *2, +2, *2, +3, *2, +4)
1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 18, ? 29 (a+b=c, b+c=d, c+d=e …)
99, 92, 86, 81, 77, ? 74 (x-7, -6, -5, -4, -3)
0, 4, 2, 6, 4, 8, ? 6 (x+4, -2, +4, -2, +4, -2)
1, 2, 2, 4, 8, 11, 33, ?
1, 2, 6, 24, 120, ? 720 (x*2, *3, *4, *5, *6)
1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 20, 37, ?
5, 7, 12, 19, 31, 50, ? 81 (a+b=c, b+c=d, c+d=e …)
27, 82, 41, 124, 62, 31, 94, 47, 142, 71, 214, 107, ? 322, 161 (x*3+1, /2, *3+1, /2 …)
126, 63, 190, 95, 286, 143, 430, 215, 646, 323, 970, ? 485, 1456 (x/2, *3+1, /2, *3+1 …)
4, 7, 15, 29, 59, 117, ? 235 (x*2-1, *2+1, *2-1 …)
2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 4, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 5, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 4, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 5, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 4, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 5, ? 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 4, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 5
4, 4, 341, 6, 4, 4, 6, 6, 4, 4, 6, 10, 4, 4, 14, 6, 4, 4, 6, 6, 4, 4, 6, 22, 4, 4, 9, 6, ? 4, 4

Classical music for a smart baby - Exposing the Myth

2013-05-29T06:42:00.003+01:00

I don't think there are many people, parents or otherwise that haven't been told or suggested that playing classical music to an infant or baby will increase their intelligence.

And of course on the surface it makes sense, perhaps not on a scientific level, but on a cultural level. Most classical pieces having now not been referred to as what we would call pop nowadays for around 400 years. It's taken it's place among pricey theatre houses and as a past time and passion for the rich and privileged. And now, quite wrongly, we associate those who are privately taught and have a more "refined" taste to be of a higher intelligence. But all the private schooling, theatre trips, posh accents and flawless credentials won't change those IQ points.

So where did it start? Suprisingly not that long ago.

In 1991 Alfred A. Tomatis, a french researcher experiemented in using Mozart's music to heal the ear and encourage developments in the brain.

The research was taken further in 1993 as a study was performed on spatial reasoning and intelligence, three states were measured, one of which was after listening to Mozart's Sonata. The research found an increase in spatial awareness among subjects but nothing was mentioned about an increase in intelligence and no claim was made by the original researchers.

Enter the general public. The paper was picked up by the New York Times who published an article stating that listening to mozart could actually make you smarter. From here on the wrongly cited myth spread. In a 1997 book by Don Campell. The Mozart Effect is outlined, boasting temporary increases in IQ and other beneficial effects on the brain. He recommended playing the music to infants to increase the mental capabilities early. While this was seen as controversial it didn't stop a follow on book being published this time outline the Mozart Effect exclusively for children.

In 1998, Zell Miller, Governer of Georgia stated that "No one questions that listening to music at a very early age affects the spatial-temporal reasoning that underlies math and engineering and even chess." He then proposed a state budget of $105,000 so that every child born in Georgia would be provided with a tape or CD of classical music. Other musical styles were suggested but there wasn't really any research that could support the positive effect of other styles of music.

Following these events, in the late 90s and early 2000s, new studies have been performed which suggest that children are affected positively and have better spacial intelligence when played music they enjoy, or with a quick tempo. But this was short lived. It was found that the same minimal short term perks could be achieved on simple tasks by listening to music or a passage from a book and represented miniscule impact on IQ on the whole with no discernable long term benefits.

So what does this all mean really? Should you play Classical music to your children?

In short, Music as a whole is great for development, it's good fun, encourages development in moving (dancing etc), and a whole host of other benefits to your child. Will it make them smarter? Doubtful. But it won't make them any less so.

It's also important to mention that a well rounded baby education is better than relying on quick methods to increase IQ. There are many learning oppurtunites and games that can help with bonding and development.

I may delve into some of these at a later date, so keep checking back :)

On an interesting side note. One effect of mozart's music has been a decrease in epileptic activity in epileptic patients, only one other piece of music seems to have the same effect, a song by the Greek composer Yanni, entitled "Acroyali/Standing in Motion"

Daily Brain Teasers and Learning Resources

2013-05-29T05:25:00.003+01:00

Continuing to tax your brain and give it a good workout is one of the keys to a healthy and functioning brain. Inactivity is a sure way to start losing brain power.

So what can we do to ensure a well taxed brain?

A good routine, with new challenges, experiences and brain exercises is a fundamental start :)

It's nice to have a place to regularly get your daily dose of puzzles and one such place isn't too far around the cyberspace corner as it were.

A Daily Puzzle

A daily post of brain teasers, available to view and solve in a variety of views.

Critical Thinking Puzzles

A long established blog with plenty of puzzles to be found, updated regularly so there'll always be something new to find :)

Dr Bill Memory Medic's - Improve your Learning and Memory

A great look into student learning and memory from a more scientific point of view. Calling on research histories and papers to demonstrate practical application of memory techniques this blog is a great read for some indepth brain unlocking :)

Know another website worth mentioning? let me know!

15 Beginner riddles

2013-05-29T05:09:00.000+01:00

Another small collection of beginner riddles.

Nothing too taxing, but hopefully will get your brain working a bit. A few are groaners, but i don't recall hearing most of them before, so should be something new for you :)

As always to reveal the answer, highlight the white text or area below the question.

Check out my Megapost of over 220 riddles here: http://braintaming.blogspot.com/2014/03/over-220-riddles-and-brainteasers-to.html

Q - I am lighter than a feather, yet no man can hold me for very long. What am I?
A - Breath

Q - Three guys run into a bar, the fourth man ducks. Why does he duck?
A - He didn't want to hit the bar

Q - How do you put a giraffe in a refrigerator?
A - Open the door, put him in, close the door

Q - How do you put an elephant in a refrigerator?
A - Open the door, take the giraffe out, put him and close the door

Q - All of the animals go to a meeting for the Lion King. One animal doesnt show up. Which animal doesn't come?
A - The elephant, he's in the fridge.

Q - A fifteen foot rope is tied to a horse. The horse is 25 feet from a stack of hay. How can the horse get to the hay?
A - The rope isn't tied to anything but the horse

Q - From what number can you take half and leave nothing?
A - 8, take the top half away and "o" is left

Q - How can you drop an egg 3 feet without breaking it?
A - Drop it 4 feet, the first 3 feet the egg won't hit anything

Q - How can you make a fire with only one stick?
A - Make sure it's a matchstick

Q - How can you tell the difference between a can of chicken soup and a can of tomato soup?
A - Read the label

Q - Can giraffes have babies?
A - No they have giraffes

Q - What has four wheels and flies?
A - A dumpster

Q - Feed me and I live, give me something to drink and I'll die. What am I?
A - Fire

Q - What has eyes but cannot see?
A - A needle, a potato, a storm or true lovers

Q - When is a door not a door?
A - When it's ajar

Brain Taming

Draw a Cow Personality Test

Draw a Cow - Personality Test

159 Facts and Snippets of Trivia

182 foods for thought and groaners

11 Simple Ways to Improve Your Memory - Captainmaxthecat.com

1. CONCENTRATE FOR EIGHT SECONDS

Analytical Thinking - What is Analytical Thinking?

Quotes I - Creative Thinking

Mozart on his art

Linus Pauling, physicist

Virginia Woolf, writer

Albert Einstein, physicist

Thomas Edison, inventor

Edward de Bono, writer

Twyla Tharp, The Creative Habit

Bill Gates in Friedman's The World is Flat

Four Creative Thinking Heuristics

Heuristic #1 : Feature list

Heuristic #2 : Analogy

Heuristic #3 : Search

Heuristic #4 : Perspective shift

Creative Thinking - An Example Creative Thinking Process

A typical creative thinking process

Step 2 - Explore the connections between ideas

Step 3 - Relax and wait

Step 4 - Apply, review and followup

101 Philosophical Questions to Exercise Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking - What is Critical Thinking?

The Three Basic Princibles of Creativity

Principle one : New ideas are composed of old elements

Principle two : Not all new ideas are on a par

Principle three : Creativity is enhanced by the ability to detect connections between ideas

source

What is Logic? - Introduction to Logic concepts

§ L01.1 A preliminary definition

Over 220 riddles and brainteasers to tax your brain! [MEGAPOST]

Draw A Pig - Personality / Psychology Test

Draw a House Personality / Psychology test

Draw a House - Personality Test

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

How To Tame Your Monkey Brain | Brain PathWays Blog

Taming your brain rats | OdeWire

How to Tame Your Brain: 6 Steps - wikiHow

Benefits Of Traditional Children's Songs and Rhymes

Malnutrition in young children affects development

Starting them Early - Teaching children Logic

1. Building Blocks

Unit blocks vs. Standard blocks

Some examples of blocks / Retailers

2. Wiggle and Rub

3. The Beanbag Toss

Number Sequences

Number Sequences

Classical music for a smart baby - Exposing the Myth

Daily Brain Teasers and Learning Resources

15 Beginner riddles