Clever

Lateral
Thinking
Puzzles
Edward J. Harshman
//lustra ted by Myron Miller
fl
Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
New York
For the puzles follO\ing. inspirations are credited to: "Caught in the Act,"
adapted from "Those Were the Days" by Edward R Hewitt, DuelL Sioon
and Pearc, 1943; "Secret Fucl," adapted fom ''S 'Cct Revenge" by George
Hlydukc, PHildin Press, 1989; "\aine Suhscriptions," adapted from
"Stel This Uook" by Abbie Hofan, Pirate Editions, 1971; "Appendi
citis," adapted from "I Wish Id Said That!" b Art Linkletter, Doubkday,
196; ":1iracJe Cures," adapted frm "Encyclopeia uf Jcwish Humor"
by Henry Spalding, Jonathan David Publishers. 1969; "Happy with the TV
Ad," adapted fom "I1arocore llayduke" by George Hayduke, Paladin
Press, 1993.
I.ihrar or Congr's Calalging.inPublkation Dat
Hha, Edward J.
Clever lateral thinking puzles I Ed",ard 1 Hllha;
illustated
by Myron Miller.
p. em.
Includes indeJ.
TSBN 0-8069-9938-1
1. Puzzles. 2. Laleral thinking. r. Title.
GVI507,L37H35 1997
793.73 dc21
1098765 4321
97-25 082
CIP
Published by Sterling Publishing Compny. Tne.
387 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y 10016
01997 by Edward J. Harshman
Distibuted i Canada by Sterling Publishing
% Canadian Manda Group, One Atlantic Avenue, Suite 105
Toront, Ontario, Canada M6K 3E7
Distributed in Great Britain and Europe hy Cassell PLC
Wdlington House, 125 Strand, London WC2R ODD, England
Distibuted in Australia b Cllricorn Link (Australia) P Ltd.
P.O. Bx 6651, Baulkham Hills, Business Centre,
NSW 2153, Australia
Manufactured ill/he United SltJ/e.\ oj Amerj{:
AU rights resered
Sterling ISBN 0-8069-9938-1
CONTENTS
,
Puzzles 4
Batty Banditry 4 T People Puzzles 9 T Cra
Cars and Trick Transport II T Odd Ofices 14
T Asinine Actions 19 T Haphazard Happenings
23 T Crass Creditors and Dull Debtors 27
T
Dafy Doctoring 30 T Eccentric Electronics 32
T Mad Money 37 T Goor Gambling 39
Clues 41
Solutions 75
Index 95
PUZZLES
,
Batty Banditry
Welome, Slasher
Bob, a fifeen-year-old boy with a record of violent crimes,
approached a screened porch. Taking out a switchblade, be
cut through every screen panel with large djagonal rips. A
police o!ficer drove by in a patrol cr, saw what the boy was
doing, and was pleased. Explain.
4
'
0
'
G
--
Cue.: 41IAnswe,: 75.
Smashed TailligJt!'
Later, Bob picked up a tire ""Tnch and smashed the taillights
of a car that he had never seen before. Police officef!' wit
nessed his act and arrested not him, hut the Oner of the car.
Explain.
Clues: 41IAns'er: 76.
Supposed to Kil?
A man drew a g, pointed it at anothcr man who was known
to be totally law-abiding, and pulled the trigger. Click! The
gn wasn't loaded. Everyone present, \hieh included at least
ten people, was surprise and outraged. Why was the intend
ed victim blamed for the incident?
Clue: J}-] /Anser: 78.
Burning Down the Building
An old apartment building caught fire. Most apartments
were damaged badly, and many people were lett homeless.
An investigator arrived frm the fire department. A shady
man pulled him aside into a dark corner of the building and
banded him fve hundred-dollar bills. "Jt would be better for
both of us," said the shady man, "if something went wrong
with the invcstigation. Losc the pars. or whatever." The
lllvesligator looked at the money and protested, "'But the
landlord will want to me an insurance claim and need our
rcport." "He won't minJ," lhe shad)' man replied. "'Be nice
to other fire victims and don't ask questions." The investi
gator pocketed the money and conveniently rorgot the case,
Why did the landlord not get upset?
nies: 4Z IAnswer: 80.
5
Caught in the Act
A woman walked into a police station. "f want to report a
pickpot:kct," she announced. A man staggered in behind her,
his hand in her coat pockcl. "Arrest that man!" she contin
ued, pointing to him. He was arrested. tried, and convicted
of picking pockets. Wby did he cnler the police station in a
posture that obviously suggested his crime?
Cus: ol/Answer: 81.
'l\ 'DU BE LI' 1)
SIE 'Tol M' CoAl
..
Slippery Sidney Slipped Up
Slippery Sidney rented a car for a month. He reted it and
paid the rentl fcc. Three months Later, he was arrested for
attempting to defdud the rental-car company. What happened?
Clue.\; 42-3 /Answr: 84.
6
Hone 4. ' Ivan
The rental-car company, after convicting Sidney, advised
all personnel to watch for odometer tampering. Later, Ivan
rented fl Cflr in centml Floridf. 'f'O days later, it was badly
damaged when a truck lost control and hit it on a thruway in
Virginia. The odometer reading was too low to account for
the trip from Florida to Virginia, bUl lvan easily w' cnl free.
How?
Clues: 43 l.nswer: 86.
Robbing the Bank
Upon bcing tipped off that a large organi.aLion paid its
employees on a certain day, and that its employees went to
a specific bank to cash their paychecks at a certain time on
that day, a gang decided to rob the bank at exactly that day
and lime. They would have been better off if lhey had
robbed the bank on any other day than that one or at any
other time duing that day. Why?
Clue.: 43 l.nswer: 8S.
le Called the Police
A burglar broke into a house, intending to steal fom it.
While still in the house, he cal1ed the police. Vihy?
Clues: 43 IArrsr: 90.
Arrested Alyway
Rocky Redneck eared a g. He had a state-issued fircann
permit that aHowed him to do so, and he was careful to obey
the law. One day, he went to visit his relatives across the
countr, i another state. Rocky had a firearm permit from
that sl ate, too; and he could legally carry his gun there. He
7
found out from the airlines that he could take his gun with
him if it \vas declared to the airline statT and was in checked
baggage. Ever the law-abiding citizen, Rocky packed the
gun in a suitcase, told the airline clerk about it, and had the
suitcase checked. So \vhy was Rocky ar ested for weapons
possession?
Clue!: 44lAnswr: 92.
IsT C.ULl 'ou loD " ...
I, U._ 'boL'N fot A M.pIE
v .. .. .. _--y
- W ..
No Ransom Demand
A man entered a government building and went throug a
weapons-detector search. Ten he entered a government
ofTicc and displayed a sawed-off shotgWl. "Up against the
\vall, everyone" he ordered. Then, after everyone complied,
8
he called the police. When police otTicers arrived, he put
down his gn and cooperated with them. He retlsed to
defend himself in court and was convicted of assault with a
deadly weapon and given a long prison sentence. "What's
lhe {inl of taking people hostage if you don't make a ran
som demand?" asked a news reporter. "1 thought of making
one:' he replied, "but there just didn't seem to be any point
to it." So why did the man act as he did?
Cues: 44lAnswr: i6
Escaping Ihe Kidnappers
Brenda had been kidnapped. She was locked i a room and
placed on the floor, hands tied behind her back. She knew
where she was, but had no chance of escape. Or did she? A
telephone was on a table. She waite wltil no one was near
by, then she pulled the telephone to the tloor. Alas! A dial
lock! What did she do?
Clues: 44lAnswr: i8
People Puzzles
Hearing Them Quickly
"Hey, Pop! Can I have some moneyT asked Dana. "Te
Electic Earsplitters are giving a concert here in town next
week, and 1 really want to hear it." His father put down the
television listings, tured of the Tv: and firmly declined.
"But that's my favorite group!" protested Dana. "J want to
buy tickets real fast so [ can hear them pr as soon as
possible." "If that' what's most important to you," replied
his father. "then you won't need any tickets." Explain.
Oues: 45lAnswer: 80.
9
Motorcycle Madness
Together, Peter and his brother Jamie ovJled some land i
the country. They enjoyed outdoor activities on it, but lately
had had trouble with motorcyclists who ignored the fences
and no-trespa<sing signs and noisily rode where they wished.
One day, Jamie and his wife Amy were outside, peaceflly
eating a picnic lunch, when two people on a motorcycle cui
through the grass and raced past them. Jamie jumped up and
Tan to his car to cha.<e them, when PeLr dmvc up in his jep.
"They went that way!" shouted Jamie, pointing. Peter gunned
the motor in hot pursuit. "Did you catch them?" lny asked
them later. "No," replied Peter. "They slipped through a gap
in the fence and escaped." Why was Amy pleased?
Clues: 45IA,uwcr: 81.
A Crying Problem
Sandra had problems with her husband and was on strained
tenns with his parents. Nevertheless, one day she called
them and chatted for about fifteen minutes. They thanked
her for calling and told her that they felt better about her
after talking. When she hung u the telephone, she burst
into tears. Explain.
Clue.\: 45lAnswer: 84.
She Never Fixed Him Up
When Mitch started working i the small ofice, he was
noted for his shyness. Anna, a co-worker, found out about
his recent divorce and offered to set up a blind datc for him.
Eager t establish a new social life, he accepted her offer.
But she never followed up on it, and he nevcr met anyone
else. Why did Mitch not mind?
Clues: 46/Answer: 86,
10
Huppy Thut She Curid Him
A man called the woman he loved, and she cursed at him
and hung up angrily. Why was he happy?
Clues: 46lAnsw: 88.
Evicted
A man locked his son out oflhe house. The SOil thanked him.
Explain.
Clue: 46lAnswer: 75.
Crazy Cars and Tricky
Transport
Driving the Wrong Cur
Hermie the lennit had a car that needed repair hut was still
drivable. He had another car that worked. He drove the first
car to a repair shop. To avoid asking someone else to drive
him horne. he had fastened his two cars together and towed
one with the orer. He therefore arrived at the repair shop
\ .. ith two cars instead of one and could easily drive away
with the working car. But why did he tow the working car
"'ilh l broken one, and nOl the other way around?
Clle.: 47 IAn.Her. 90.
SUfe Smash-Up
A car slowly started to move forward. Then il picked up
speed. Faster and faster it went, until it crashed through a
guardrail and went over u cliff. It fell over a hundred feet and
11
was badly damaged. No one was killed or injured. In fact, nn
one was een afraid of being killed or injured. Why not?
Clues: 47 IAnsK': 92.
Contagious Carsickness?
Stan and Jan were driving along a highway. Fran, a small
child stapped into the back seat, said '1 feel sick." Its
probably carsickness," replied Ja. "We'll be stopping
soon," said Stall, "then you can get out for some fesh air+"
Less than ten minutes later, Stan shut off the enginc and
they all got out of the car. But within half an hour, Jon com
plaincd: "Fran has motion sickness, and I do, too." Ja did
not normally get carsick. What was happening?
Clues: 47 IAnswer: 76.
What Drained the Battery?
Walter forgot to allow for the slOvness of traffic in the rain
and was late for \.'Ork. He hurriedly drove lnto the parking
lot. parked tured of the windshield wipers. jumped out of
his car, slammed the door, and ran for the maln entrance.
That evening, he couLd not get the car started. The battery
\as dead. He got a jump strt from a co-worker, drove
home, and used his battery recharger to put a good charge
on the batttfY. But dtspitt careful ttsting, he never found
out why the battery went dead. Can you?
Clue: 48lAnswer: 7..
Seasollal li1eage
Claude gets noticeably beter mileage while driving the last
mile to Of from work than he does during any other part of
the trip in summe, But not in winter. Why not?
Clue,\': 48IAn.\'wer: 78.
12
She Arr;led 0" T;me
Daryl and Carol had arranged to med at a cotTee howe but
something came up, Daryl looked in the phone book, found
Carol's home phone number and called her. "I know we
were supposed to meet in the cofee hous in two hours, but
my boss called and r hDve to reschedule+ I'm due at the
ofice t\' hours fm now." "That'! too bad," replied CaroL
"but I can meet you at the cofee house in two minutes if
you'd like." Daryl agreed and because he lived right across
the slcet from it. was there in two minutes. He was content
to wait. but CaroL was waitng for him. "You live clear across
town," noted DaL "How could you get hee so fast?"
Clues: 49 /AR.wr: 80.
13
A Token Wail in a Token Line
Smart Stephaie worked in a city and took the subway to
work every moring during rush hour. In the evening, also
during rush hour. she took the subway home again. To use
the SUbvay, she had to put a subwny token into a trnstile as
she entered the station from the stret. Although she "'as
one of numerous commuters at those hours and had to stand
in crowded subway cars, she never had to wait in a long line
to buy tokens. Why not?
The Late Train
Amanda got onto a tram, Afer traveling about one thousand
miles, she got ot. She arrived at her destination fy"five
minutes late. There had been no delays and the train had
picked her up on time. Why was it late?
Cues: 49 IAnswer: 84.
Odd Offices
Stubborn Steve
Steve went La an oIicc supply store and gOl a Tcam (SOO
sheets) of standard-size paper+ "\Ve hve a special today," a
sales clerk told Steve helpfully as he carried the ream to the
checkout coumer. "!t's a better grade of paper than what
you're carrying, and it's cheaper too," Steve investigated
ad he discovered that the paper on ale was the same si7e,
same color, and of a heavier weight than the paper he had in
his hand, Used in certain printer or copiers, it would be less
likely to jam than wuuld the paper Steve had chosen. And
sue enough, it was much les.< expensive. Why, therefore,
14
did Stcve decline the p<tper on sale and retain his original
choice?
Clue.: 50/Ans"'r: 86
Making Ihe Grade
Nervous Nell, a college student 'ith a straight-A average,
went into her professor's ofice. She told the receptiofl st she
wa..;worried about her grade on the final paper for her course.
"I Vl-Cnt to be sure I pass this course," said Nell, "Is there some
way I can be notified of my fnal grdde as son as pssible?"
The receptionist, s}pathetic to her concern, replied, "If you
hand in a self-addressed stamped postcard with your tenn
paper, the pmtessor will write the gade for the paper and the
course on it and mail it to you as soon as the paper is graded.
That's much faster than waiting for a tnscnpt." "Oh;' said
Nell, "but I don't thi 1 can do that." Why not'!
Clues: SO/Answr: 88.
K t. N tW Ie NE1l Mt
,'1 A r.TcttoI.Q'c
15
Spaced-Out at the Computer
A secretary was working at her computer. She had a chart
loaded into her word-processing program and had to
rearrange it. The hard part of her job was removing extra
spaces. The word-processing program had a "rcplace" com
mand. She could replace any sequence of characters with
any other sequence, or with nothing at all. So how could she
replace many spaces i a row with only onc space'! This is
not the same as replacing all spaces ",;th nothing, because
then there wouldn'l be the one space 1hat she wanted.
Clues: 50--51 IAnswer: 90.
The Fa . t Elevator Trip
Bill was nearly late for an appointent in a tall ofce huild
ing. He ran into the building, reached the elevators that led
to the correct range of foors, pressed the button, and waited.
After a tense few minutes, an elevator arrived and opened its
doors to receive passengers. Why didn't he get on?
Clues: 5/ IAnswer: 92.
The Nonstop Elevator Trip
Bill got t his appointment on time. '1 was 'rried about
those elevators for a minute, said Bill, "but I figured out a
way to get here faster." Then he txplained his reasoning.
''Never tought of that," said Jill, who worked tere and
greeted him, "hut if you just get in an elevator, it sure can
take a long time. r have a way to beat the system, too,"
"What's your way?" he asked, "I just get i n, and when the
elevator first stops, ] get out
,
" she replied, He couldn't fig
ure out how that strategy would save any time, Ca you?
Clue,\',' 51 IAn,\'wer: 77.
16
Too Precise
Ma and Jerry were working in an olee. Jerry was writing
something, and Mary looked over his soulder. ''That's too
precise," complained Mary. ''It should be more vague, hard
er to understand." "That's crazy!" replied Jerry. "The entre
philosophy of the business we are in is based on that kind of
reasoning 1 know, but that's not being tolerated here!" "'es,
precision is our great stength," admitted Mary, "and ordi
narily Id agree with you. But in this particular instance, no."
Where were they?
Clue: 51-51 /.4"w,: 78.
Exceptionally Vague
Mary beard Jerry out, explaining what he was writing, and
easily agreed that it should be deliberately misleading. Wat
was he ,iting?
Clues: 52/Answer: 80.
The Hostile Voter
Charlie received a tdephone call from the office of a local
politician. A fast-talking campaign volunteer explaint:d the
benefits of the candidate, including a lecture on his platform.
Charlie asked if the volunteer was calling at the request of
the candidate. heard the volunteer's answer, and announced
firmly that he intended t vote for the candidat: 's opponent.
Then he hung up. Explain.
Cile.: 51 /.4n.wer: 82
A My.,tery Fax
When his private phone line rang and he picked it up, the
business executive heard a loud, suealing noise. Why did
17
he receive a fax call on his ptivate line, a phone that ws
kno'll not to have a fax machine connected to it?
CIUf': H IAn'er: 84.
Another Mystery Fax
One of te executive's subordinates sent a fax to a college+
The subordinate vould have preferred to have mercly called
the colleague in an ordinary way, but itlstead handwrote a
note and faxed it. Why?
Problems with Personnel
Raymond. a buiness executve in a large company, needed
a department head. Afer placing a classified ad, he reviewed
the responses sent on to him from the personnel departent.
\hen a colleage mentioned a poteially suitable friend of
hers who was looking for work, Raymond tacked him down,
intervie. him, checked references, and hired him. Then he
complained vigorously to the personel department Why?
Clue: 5IAn.wr: 88.
18
More Problem." with PersOllnel
h's true th..'lt all the references checked out positivelyq and the
interviewee was hired. But a few weeks later, the colleague
who reeonunended him to Raond showed up-and the
newly hired departent head was fued on (he spot. Explain.
Clue: 53 IAnswr: 90.
Dismaying Dizziness
Raymond finally got an honest deartent head and had her
office redecorated installing new wallpaper, a refinished
desk, and a bright ceiling lamp. He had received complai
nts
that that ofice W<" dark and dirty, illd he had no wish to
alienate a new employee lhithout cause. Unfortunately. she
complained of diaiJless in her olTiee. He entered it to in
vestigate, and he got dizzy too. Neither of them was dizzy
anywhere else. What was the problem?
Clue: 54 IAnw,: i5.
Asinine Actions
Giving Wayne the Boot
Wayne was asleep when a boot crashed through his bedroom
\indow, \aking him up. Loud music came from me house
next door, frther irritating him. He jumped up, shook his
fist at his neighbor's house, and shouted some obscenities
toward it. "It's three A.M.," he yel led truthfully. "If you dont
tr down that racket 1Wg I'm calling the cops!" The music
persisted and Wayne did as he had thretened illd called the
police. \'hen they arrived, the oficers refsed to prosecute
for lhe noise, even though it was obviously excessively loud.
Afer the police officers explained the facts to Wayne, he
19
was happy to forgive not only the noise but also the broken
window Explai n.
Clues: 54/Answer: 77.
Racing the Drawbridge
Park Street included a drawbridge over a river As its wan
ing lights !1ashtd, Clarenct proceeded toward the bridgt+
The barriers -r lowered, blockng the road. Clarence
ignored them. The drawbridge itself opened and Clarence
gunned the motor and aimed right at it. But thtre was no
c ollision. Why not?
Clues: So/Answer: 78.
Recycled Salt
Can salt be recycled? How?
Clue: 55/An5wer 80.
Scared of lIer Shadow?
Wack Wendy, who lives in Florida, finds it particularly
important. when she is driving and sees the shadow of her
car, to roll down her ,ndow Why?
(ue: 55/Anwer: 82.
Picture the Tourists
"I havc a manual focus camera," said Shennan Shutterbug
to his friend Sal as they sat next to each other on a tour bus.
Mine is autofocus," replied Sal. "H's much quicker,
because the camera measures the distance to what eer I'm
photographing and focuses automatically. '"Then I t hink
we'd better change places," said Sherman. Why?
L1ui.': 55IAn.wer: 84
20
The Mirror
A mirror is mounted over the headboard of a bed. It is there
because someone has a bad back. Explain.
Cue: !!-S6 IAnser: 86.
The Empty Wrapper
, woman was at the checkout lae of a supclmarket. She
removed several items from her cart and put them on the
conveyor bclt that led to the cashier. The cashier noted their
prices and passed the items along to be bagged. A perfectly
ordinary process, but one of the items entered and passed
along was a empty wrappcr. The cashier realized that the
wrapper was empty, but charged for it ay. Why?
{ue: S6lAmwer: 88.
IT WIS 1E YJ
, lif Ti"
f\S
21
Secret Fuel
Marvin ofen sneaked into his neighbor's driveway in the
middle of the night in the course of playing a prank. He
would quietly unscrew the fuel cap from his neighbor's car
and pour gasoline into its fel tank. What was he up to?
Clue.: 56lAnswer: 92.
Forgot to Stop?
Angus was driving along a road at about thirty miles per
hour. Suddenly, he jumped out ofhjs car. He had not applled
the brakes, and the car was stil moving. He was not a stunt
man for a movie or othenise involved in deliberately risky
activity. What happened?
Clues: 5657IAnwer: 84.
Short-Lived Messages
Yolanda regularly writes and destroys messages to herstlf.
Usually, people write such notes as reminders, such as in
calendars. But Yolanda Tever expects to forget what was in
the messages. Why write them?
More Short-Lived Writing
Yolanda ofen passes a writing instrument across a surface
for which it is intended and, within a few seconds, erases the
result. What is she doing'!
Clues: 58 IAnswer 81.
22
Haphazard Happenings
The Mail Is Tn!
One day earlier, little Oscar had malled an order form for a
wanted toy. NO, he was constantly pestering his mother to
let him check the maiL Suddenly, looking out the window at
the apartment complex mailboxes, he shouted "The mail is
in! The mail is in!" Neither he nor his mother had seen a
mail carrier, mail tck, or any activity near the mailboxes,
but Oscar WJ right, it was in. 11ml had he known?
Clul.: 58 !An.wer: n .
Yugazine Subscriptions
Magazi nes ofen contain postcards meant for use by new
subscribers. Some people consider them a nuisance and jus
t
toss them out Some dont ee toug they won't ever use
them for their intended puose. Why not thcm\ them away?
Clue:': 58-S.9IAn.wel: 82.
23
Soliciting in Seattle
Two triends, who lived in difrent well-to-do neighbor
hoods in Seattle. "rc cOllversing. "Almost every week, J
get a "ew people who knock on my door and ask for moncy,"
said one. "Odd. That rarely happens to me," replied the
other. But there is a good explanation for te difference.
What is it?
CIues: 59 IAtswer: 86.
l, a Dog'., Life
fred and Jed saw a badly injured puppy. II had been hit by a
car, and its left eye and part of its lef front leg were miss
ing. Forrunately. it had received competent treatment. A
bandage covered what remained of its lef front leg, and a
patch was fastened over the lef half of its face. fred picked
up the puppy and stroked it gently. It whimpered weakly as
he put it down. "Poor thing," said Jed. "Look what it's been
through:' Fred nodded his head grimly. "I ko. But i t will
almost certainly be alive in a year. That bealthy-looking dog
o ..er there won't," hc added. pointing to a frisky dog that
wagged its til eagerly. What was Fred's reasoning'!
Clues: 59lAnswer: 88.
Not from the USA
Belinda Blabbermouth told a riddle. "1 am standing in a
place where 1 can travel nOl1h, south. east. or west, and soon
be in the USA. Where am I?" After everyone gave up, she
laughed, "The USA, of course!" After a few seconds, some
one else spoke up: "'Not necessaril. The country I come
fom. for example." Where was he from?
Clues: 59-60 IAnswer: 89.
24
Dots Oil th e I ',
"The teacher marked you "TO-ong," Jimmy sang out teas
ingly during school recess. "You didn't put dots on all your
I's1" "1s that s" countered Timmy, ''Betcha don't know
how to draw a small I with a dot on it!" he challenged,
Jimmy did so, and Timmy looked defeated. A few moments
later, Timm
y retorled, "Well, now ' have dols over my ] 's
and you don't!" One glance at Timmy and Jimmy burst out
lauging. So did Timmy. Half the class did, too. Explain.
Cue: 60 IAnswlr: 83.
Power Failure
------
"'bile Horace slept peacefully, a transformer on te steet
bured out and stopped all electrical power to his house.
The power was restored to hours later, while Horace '-
still asleep. He awoke the next momin
g
and noted with
annoyance that all of his digital clocks were bl1nking and
needed to be reset. "I hate power failures," he gnlmbled, as
he carried his battery-powered watch to the VCR, the micro
wave oven, and other devices that needed to have their
docks reset. But Horace had no idea that the power had
failed during the night. much less how long. Explain.
Cue: 60 IAnswer: 92.
Afraid of the Countr
y
"The city is so hot and stick during the summer," Willie
said to his friend Nicolai. "I've got a house i the COtUtr
Can you join me there next weekend? Nicolai smiled. "Ah,
the country Like a farm'!" "Yes, you could say that," con
tinued Willie ... Tt used t be a farm a long time ago." "That's
good," continued Nicolai. "When r was a boy in Russia, I
lived on a fann. There were cows and pi gs, and they were
2
like my friends, It will he good to go away from this hot city
and he on a fam again." "You'll like it. It's so peaceful
there," said Willie, continuing. "Nice and quiet. No cars.
Not even animals." Nicolai suddenly stifened, and stred
straight ahead hardly breathing for close to a minute. "No,"
he eventually whispered quietly, '" cannot. Thank you for
your lovely ofer. I would like to, but cannot go." Why was
Nicolai terrified at the thought of Willie's cOWtry house?
Oues: 60 fAtswer: 77.
Long-Life Bulbs
Eccentric Eric nipped a ordinary light switch in his living
room. The light.; went on, apparently in an ordinary way.
But there was special hidden circuity involved. TJe was
right when he boaste
d
"My lights are wired so that the
hulhs last much longer than average. I rarely have to change
them." Explain.
C/ue.\'; 6/ IA,er: 81.
Tiey Had a Bait
Two mcn stood on a sofball field and practiced tm'owing
and catching just before a game. "Over here! Over here!"
shouted Ned, slapping his fst inlo his mitt. Ted threw
the softball to him. "Good catch! Trow me a grounder!"
shouted Ted. Ned returned the ball by throwing it along the
ground, as requested. 'Now a high one! Right here! Right
here!" Ted threw the ball high in the air-and Ned ran
about ten feet to his left, reached up, and caught the ball
ea.; ily, "Good arm, but your aim is a litle crooked," he
announced. "No it isn't,
"
replied Ted," "So what's wrong
with trowing the high ball rigt 10 where' was standing?"
retorted Ned. What indeed?
Clues: 61 fAnswer: 83.
26
Ballpark Befuddlement
Nine men stood together at the edge of a field, One of them
watched a ball intently and swung at it. Missed! He took
another swing. Vlhackl The ball sailed up and to the left. A
third swing. Zoom! This ball soared up and directly forward
and the man was pleased. Why didn't anyone r to retrieve
te third ball'!
Clues: 61/AnsWr: 78.
Crass Creditors and Dull
Debtors
Overdue Payment
Jim senl a paymcnt on a debt every month. One month, he
accidentally missed the deadline and got a wrning. He was
eager to pay as quickly as possible and feared that a mailed
l:heck might he delayed in the mail, but didn 't ant to pay
ex.tra for registered mail, overight delivery, or anyhing else.
How did he minimize the chance of a delayed payment?
Cue.: 621.4n.wer: 85.
Wrong Order
Jim waited. Sure t::ough, he got a message that the pa:ment
had arrived as he expected. Then he got a telephone call
from his creditor, who had a secretary with an unusual
attention to detail. "You sent next months payment, too,"
said the sc.ctary. ''T figured that the check with the higher
number would he for nex.t month, and the one .. ;th the lower
number Wa for this mont11. But the higher-number check
got here first." "I's up to you replied Jim, who didn't real-
27
Iy eare as long as lhe payment had arrived. "But although I
wrote the other one first and mailed it first, I'm not sur
prised thal it arrived laler." Why?
Oul'' : 62IAn.Wr: 17.
I've Got Your llumber
Kingfist, a bookie well known for agressive collection
prac
tices v.as pursuing Sam Skiptown, who owed him
money. From a distance. he spoted Sam and quietly fol
lowed him to his house. The house was well guaded, with a
burglar alarm system and a climbable but inconvenient
fence
.
Kingfist made plans. Within a week, he called Sam
and waed him: "Pay now, or lake fc consequences." Sam
w horrified. "How did you get my number?" he asked.
"o questions." ordered Kingfist. "Let's just say 1 1nt to a
lot of trouble to ask you nicely." am never figured out how
Kingfist learned Iis telephone number, which was unpub
lished and known to only a few trusted friends. Can you?
Cue.: 62IAnswer. 89.
Collecting Backwards
Kingfist forced a debtor to write him a check. Then he took
it to the bank to cash it. Why did he first deposit money in
the debtor's account?
Clues: 63IAn.wer: 90.
Better Late Than Prompt
Kingfist was engaging in his usual habit of bullying a debtor
into paying. "You don't have the cash? I'll tell you whal l'm
going to do," explained Kingfist. Sign this contract, and Ill
tear up this one you signed earlier." The debtor reviewed the
onlracts and saw that the old one was his original loan and
28
the new L NW for the same amount, but for smaller pay
ments that added up to the same total as the old one. The new
one, overall) meant that the debtor didn't have to come up
with money as fa!1 and actually had a lower interest rate.
And the new contract had no penalties for late payment,
including harassment rights, that were not in the old con
ta(. 1 eithe. The debtor was happy to sign. "Thanks!" replied
Kingfist. "I'll be seeing you!" And tats exactly what hap
pened. Kingfist vIas delighted, and the debtor soon realized
he had blundered b signing the new contract. Explain.
Clues: 63lAllswer: 93.
The Debtor Paid
Ki.gfist had trouble with another debtor. "What can you do
about it?" was the debtor's attitude. "'The t.ollection hassle is
more than the bad debt is wonh, and we both know it. But
within two months, the customer paid the loan in lull. Why?
Clues: 63IAnsker: 79.
O.J \11( fisT.
I'LL IM 'OV. JsT QU
TEW( LoN(-\lsT(' ftoNE
C"MI
TIIr 1\\
lKllG
r. t
G
StICE.
2
Dafy Doctoring
She Wa< in the Hospital
Alan called the office where his ife worked. "I'm sorry,"
came the reply. "There was a bad accident on the higway a
few minutes ago, and she's cxpc(lcd to be in the operating
room for at leasl six hours." "That's too bad," he replied.
"'Can you ask her to call me when she gets out?" Su
enough, about six hOllIS later, Alan heard from his wife.
Why was she not upset that Alan didn't visil her personally?
CUfS: 64IAnswe: 81.
Appendicitis
Zeke and his wife lived in a rural area. One evening, his
wife felt ill. Zeke called the local physician. "Doc, T think
my wife may have appendicitis," he explained. "Nonsense!
I took oul her appendix myself five years ago," said the doc
tor. But Zeke's wife proved to have appendicitis. Explain.
Clues: 64lAnswer: 83,
Crossed Vision
If your eyes are crossed. te you see worse than usual. But
if your fingers are crossed, then you may be able to see bet
ter than usual. Explain.
Clues: 64 IAnswer: 85.
Night Blifdness Cure
What tv'o questions can cure some -ascs of night blindness,
without formal eye examinations or blood tests?
Cue.: 65 IAn.nl'F: 87.
3
A Sweet Problem
White, refined sugar is fro,""ned on as a dietary supplement
and is especially to be avoided by diabetics (other than a
an emergency treatment for insulin overdose or similar prob
lems) -except for what?
Clue.\: 65IAn.\wer: 89.
Miracle Cures
Some resorts and shrines a known throughout the world
for providing efective treatments for conditions believed to
be incurable. One explanation is divine intervention, a liter
al miracle. Another is faith and belief in the cure. A third is
an unknown but potentially discoverable scientific explana
tion, such as an lUlidentified ingredient in springwater. What
is a fourth?
Clues: 65lAnser: 91.
Not a Trusted Doctor
Cassandra and her boyfiend went to a lecture. At it, a doc
tor described a reputed cure for senility. "Nonsense! " said
Cassandra. "He is no more a doctor tn I am." "\hat do
you mean?" asked her boyfriend. "He showed us his med
ical school diploma." What did she mean?
Ulles: 65--66 IAnswer: 7
The Plumber 's Pressure
A plumber received a checkup in the doctor's ofice. "You
have high blood pressure," said te doctor, afer measuring
it with a cuff. "You'll have to watch the salt and take blood
prcssure mcdication." "That makcs no sense, Doc," replied
the plumber. "Didn't you tell me last visil that I had some
31
thing else the matter with me?" Yes, I did." replied the doe
tor, "and you still do." "That's why I don't trust that pressure
gauge of yours," said the plumber Why w he skeptical?
Cuo': 66 IA M^MT= 87.
Rx Lead Poisoning
A doetor examined a new patient and identified the woman's
ailment. Later, as they spoke, he filled i her records, includ
ing medical insurance coverage. Suddenly, the doctor said,
"]n that case, I wuld suggest you go to an old building and
eat some lead paint chips from its walls." Why?
Cues: 66 IAnswer: 79.
Long Walk for the Disabled
A man had a serious accident and partially recovered from
it. Previously, he was in good physical shape. Now, he was
disabled, but not in a way that qualified him for handi
capped parking rights. Tnstead, he often had to park farther
fom destinations than he did before the accidenl. Explain.
Cues: 66-67 IAn}wer: 8/.
Eccentric Electronics
Happy with the TV Ad
A man went to a television station and bought one minute's
worth of advertising time. He handed a videocassette to the
station manager and leared to the second exactly when his
one-minute tape would be on the station. Just before the
scheduled lime, the man tured on his TV set, tuned it to the
correct channel, and 'aited. At exactly the time for his ad,
a test pattern came on. The sound, an intense pure tone, did
32
not change for a fll minute. The picture stayed the sae,
too+ Then the man, pleased, turned ofhis TV seL. Explain.
Time for Repairs
Cuts a 67 IAnwtr + 83.
fLA IT fAST Et'UGI >
"lb N1 1tE TiE
T' Sf.r I S '6S!
Dilton got a new digital watlh and put it on his wrist. At
work, he looked at the ofice clock and checked his watch.
They showed the same lime. Latr tat morning, he Iould
n't make sense of what bis 'atch showed and decided to
return to the store with it. But befoIe lunchti me, he again
noted that his watch showe the correct time. During his
lunch break, he returned to the store. But the salesclerk to
whom he showed the watch noted that it showed the correct
time, and Dilton agreed that it did. Dilton W<S soon sati
sfied
that he had a \'tch that worked perfectly. But the clerk nei
ther opened it for repair.- nor replaced it. Explain.
Clues 67lAnsr: 85.
33
Strange Sounds
Modem movies, unlike those of half a century ago, are often
made with picture and sound recorded at diferent ti mes.
Sound-eITecL technicians watch the picture and make the
appr
o
prate so
unds, perhaps walking in place on a hard foor
to generate the sound of footsteps. How can this method of
recording sound be detected in the final movies?
O\IV _g GET R'
To CUE TMf lev
Watching the Game
Clue: 6i-68IAns ... er: 89.
Elmer had a sports bar, one with several TV screens hooked
up to a satellite receiver and tuned to receive popular sports
event. One day, there was a ball game in a stadium nearby,
The game was blacked out from the local television stations
and even from local satellite receivers but Elmer and his
customers saw the game on television anyway_ How?
Oues: 6lAnswer: 91.
3
Digital Downfall
Why do hi-fi enthusiasts sometimes dislike compact disks
and other digital recording media?
Cln: 68 IAnsw, .' 94.
The TV Obeyed
lake had some friends over to watch a popular new movie
on his brand-new big-screen TV with state-of-the-art sur
rOWdsound speaers. As the credits ended and everyone
started to the kitchen for snacks, an obnoxious commercial
came on. Jake tured to the set. "Oh, shut up!" he shouted
angrily at the TV and it did! Explain.
Ce: 6869 IAlswe, 83.
The VCR Timers
Benny and Jenny were busy hooking up a new videocassette
recorder. ''1'1I never understand these instructions!" shouted
Benny, as he tried to set the VC tmer to record his favorite
show every other night. "They make no sense to me, either,"
admitted Jenny. They returned to the store for advice and the
salesclerk admitted that the instructions confused him too. I
recommend this for most of my customes he said show
ing them a battery-Jwered device that looked like a VCR
remote control unit. "You can set it to signal stan-recordng
and stop-recording for any time you want, once a week,
every day, or whenecr Benny and Jenny looked through its
instruction book and understood it easily. "Great!" said
Benny. "Now I ca tape my favorite show every other night."
"No you can't," admitted lhe salcsderk. "It won'l let you uo
thatjust every night or once a week." "Yes we can," replied
JemY. "Afer a trip to Lhe hardlrc slore, that is." How'
Clues; 69 !Alnl'e' 85.
3
The VCR Remote Control
After Benny and Jenny set up Lheir VCR to record their
show on alternat nights, Benny looked for the remote con
trol Lo the other VCR in the bedroom. "1 put it awa so the
dog Y.uldn't get it," explained Jenny. 'that's a nuisance,"
replied Benny. "Then we can't operate the VCR while lying
i bed." "Yes we can," replied Jenny. How?
Clue. = 69-70 IAnswer: 93.
No Television Trouble
str was driving a car along a highway, A small television
set sat on the dashboard. and Stuart could sec its screen. The
theme music from Start's favorite television show came on.
At a police roadblock set up to screen and catch lawbreak"
ers, a stte trooper observed Stuart and his television set,
but did not 1un or arrest him. Why not?
Clus: 70lAlswer: 9/.
InejJiciency Pay, Off
A certain mechanical object is often made in several mod
els by each of its manufacturers. Goverent regulations
require that its retail sellers otTer information that will allow
part of the cost of operation to be calculated. Of a manu
facturer, the models of the object ofered can be ranked
from least to most expensive. The cheapest model costs rel
atively 1ittle to buy and to operate and has simple controls.
The most expensive model costs most to operate and gener
aUy has the most elaborate controls. But the most expensive
model is not necessarily the one that is most effective at
doing what it is designcd to do. What is the object?
Clues: 7(/AnsWr: 93.
36
Mad Money
Worth Twenty Dollars
Nick had a series 1950 S20 bill. Instead of saying "Twenty
dollars" at the bottom, it said "Will pay to the bearer on
demad twent dollars." He tuld his ffiend Dick, "If T can
get twenty dollars' worth of gold or silver, then T may as
well exchange this bill at the Federdl Reserve ofice that
issued it." Was he right?
Cles: 7071 /ARswtr: al.
Slow-Witted Customers
In northe Florida, fast-food chains often have a pricing
policy that works only because many customers do not think
carefully. \'hat is it?
Cues: 71/Answcr: 94.
Banking on the Boycott
On the principaJ street of a small town, a fast-food restau
rant chain was planning to open. Local citizens, wary of1it
ter and disruption, and eager to defend the livelihoods of
their local diners, planned retaliation. At a 10\11 meeting. a
woman urged strict enforcement oflitter and parking-meter
laws. A man stood up and suggested something more devi
ous: that evtryone go there and order something, hut insist
on a special order (no lettuce with the hamburger, etc.) so
as to ovt:rwhelm the help. Another man, who hapPlned to
work at the town bank, approved of the aCiion, but recom
mended that they all come to his plal:e or business rirst.
Why?
Cue..' 71 IAnswer! 91.
37
Old Money But Good Money
What mD changes affected U.S. currency in 1968 that, if
considered together. scare certain conservaLivcs'?
Clue13= 71-72I.n.nlr: 83.
Secret Business
Two men "1:re on the telephone, discussing a multi-million
dollar business deal. They used electronic scramblers, so
that no one could easily listen in on their conversation. They
also each had much more sophisticated scramblers, which
were harder to obtain and which encoded convCTs3Lions
mOTe securely than the scramblers that they used. Why did
they use the less secure scramblers?
Clue.: 72IAn.er: 93.
Gas-Station Glitch
Dwing a fel shortage, George drove to a gas station and
waited in line behind many other motorisis. A man in the
familiar gas-station uniform walked over and explained to
him, "We have a ten-dollar limit. To save time, we are tak
ing cash only and collecting payment in advance:' George
gave the man a ten-dollar bill. When he reached the front of
the linc and parked in front of a pump, he asked for his tcn
dollars' worth of gas. "The limit is live dollars," replied the
attendant. What happened?
Cues: 72 /Answer: 94.
Marketing Muddle
What carelessly marketed name of a car may provoke con
cers about auto safety?
Ce: 72-7. /An,Wr: 91.
3
Easy Money
The television set had a retail value of$1 00. Butch worked
al the wholesale warehouse and said that stores bought them
for $60 each. The warehouse bought them in large lots for
$45 apiece. He ofered to sn you all you want for $30 each.
if they cost $45, then how could he make a profit at $30?
Clues: 73IAnswer: 77.
Too Mich Money
An investor was reading the description of a proposed inest
ment. I was a limited partership, so that the investor would
have no contol over the management of the investent. But
there werc safeguards i place so that if the person who
managed the investent made a profit, then the investor
would too. Suddenly, tc investor discovered something
that made him decide not to invesl. "Too much money," he
muttered to himself, throwing the description onto his desk.
Too little money invested in a company can be a bad sign,
for it may go bpt. But why would the investor be afraid
of too much money?
CIUl.: i3lnswer: 79.
Goofy Gambling
Lottery Logic
Many states r lotteries as a way to raise money. For every
dollar received from lottery-ticket sales, perhaps half a dol
lar is paid out to winners. Therefore, lhe weighted-average
value of the expected winnings of a one-dollar ticket is per
haps half a dollar. Therefore, although a lottery ticket may
be a fWl expense because il carries a chanee to gel rich, it i
never a good investment from a financial-planning perspec
tive. Right?
Clues: 73-7 /AISKer: 89,
YouthfuL Gamble
Some people gamble irrationally and are at risk of losing
more money than they can aford to. Laws exist, therefore,
to prohibit gambling except under special circumstances. It
would seem especially important to keep young adults from
gambling, for bad habits can be formed \iile yOWlg that
cannot be easily corrected laLeT. But certain young adults are
allowed to gamble, i that they pay money and receive
something of greater o lesser value, in exchange for that
money, that is partially determined b chance. Explain.
Clues: 74/AlIswcr: 79.
Staged Roulette
Police officers, their spouses, and their families put togeth
er a talent show to raise money for their retirement fund.
One of the events at the show was a skit about the evils of
gambling. In one scene, a misguided man lost most of his
money to a crooked roulette-wheel operator. Tt was leared
too late that the audience could see the stage fom above and
would observe the number into which a roulette ball would
drop. What did the producers do?
Clues: 74 /Answer; 87
4
C L UES
,
Batty Banditry
Welcome, Slasher
Q: Were the boy and the policeman what they appeared to
be and not, for example, actors fo a movie?
A: Yes.
Q: Was th policeman honest?
A; Yes.
Q: Did the boy act in retaliation, perhaps to deter a criminal
who could not be prosecuted by normal methods?
A: No.
Smashed Taillight.I
Q: Did the owner give Bob permission to smash the tail-
lights?
A: No.
Q: Had the car been stolen?
A: No.
Q: After the taillights ''r smashed, was something impor
tant revealed behind them?
A: Yes.
Sup osed to Kill?
Q: Did the intended victim run Of call for help?
A: No.
41
Q: Having learned thal Lhe gWl was nol loaded, did anyone
ty to grab it or otherwise forcibly intervene?
A: No.
Q: The incident did not resull in death or serioll'i injury. Did
anyone want it to?
A: No.
Burning Down the Building
Q: Did anyone bribe the landlord?
A: No.
Q: Did the fire destro evidence of a crime?
A: No.
Q: Did a tenant set the fire, perhaps out of anger?
A: No.
Caught in the Act
Q: Was he really a pickpocket?
A: Yes.
Q: Did he wanl 10 be arrested?
A: No.
Q: Did he ad rationally?
A: Yes.
SUpSidne Sliped Up
Q: Had Sidney tried to sell the rented ear by forging a title
to it?
A: No.
Q: Diu Sidney retur the ca intact ad drivable, with no
collision damage and no replacement of good major
parL'i with inferior ones'!
A: Yes.
42
Q: \as the fraud obvious to te rental-car company, but
only afer at least a month had passed?
A: Yes.
Honest Ivan
Q: Ha Ivan wanted to use the car for at least t months,
including driving back lo Florida for a vacation with his
family?
A: Yes.
Q: Did I .. an cause the collision that damaged the car or con
tribute t it in any way?
A: No.
Q: Had Ivan creatively reacted to the diference between
auto insurance rates in Florida and those in Washi ngton,
D.C., where he lived?
A: Yes.
Robbing the Bank
Q: Was the tip-off about the paychecks correct?
A: Yes.
Q; Did the bank have more cash on hand then than usual'
A: Yes.
Q: Did the robbers obtain any cash?
A: No.
He Called the Police
Qo Did he call a co-conspirator on the police force'
A: No.
Q: Before breakmg in, had he intended to call the police?
A: No.
Q: Was he arrested?
A: Yes.
4
Arrested Anyway
Q: Was Rocky wanted for a preious crime?
A: No.
Q: Did Rocky have to change planes?
A: Yes.
Q: When Rocky cheked his suitcase, did he expect it to be
delivered directly to his fmal destination?
A: No.
Nf Ransom Demand
Q: Was the man rational, evcn though his actions seem inex
plicable?
A: Yes.
Q: Is it sigificant that he was able to bring a firearm past
a meta I detector?
A: Yes.
Q: Did the man have a accomplice, perhaps someone who
was able to snea a gun into the bllilding for him?
A: No.
Escaping the Kidnapers
Q: Did Brenda get a dial tone, even thollgh the phone had a
rotary dial that couldn't be used?
A: Yes.
Q: Did she untie herself, or \as she somehow able to break
or remove the dial lock?
A: No+
Q: Did she use the telephone?
A: Yes.
4
People Puzzles
Hearing Them Quickly
Q: Was the falher telling tbe lmlh?
A: Yes.
Q: Did he intend to keep Dana from hearing the concert?
A: No.
Q: Is it significant that the father was reading the T listings
at the time'
A: Yes.
Motorcycle . "ladness
Q: Did Amy know those particular motorcyclists'?
A: No.
Q: Was she as angry at the motorcyc1ist trespassers as were
Jamie and Peter?
A: Yes.
Q: Did the motorcyclists who t1 aged to escape kow Peter
or his jeep?
A: No.
A Crying Problem
Q: Did Sandra or her paentsinlaw mention any painful
subjecL< or otherwise de
p
art fom casual conversation?
A: No.
Q: When her husband's parents said that they YrC happy
for the telephone l:aLl, were they telling the truth?
A: Yes.
Q: Did Sandra explain her motive for making the cal
A: No.
45
She Never Fixed Him Up
Q: Was Mitch genuinely interested in a blind date?
A: Yes.
Q: Did he trust Anna's judgment'!
A: Yes.
Q: Was Mitch transferred or reassigned to a kind of work in
which a sotial 1ife would he unconventonal or impossi
ble?
A: No.
HapThat She Cursed Him
Q: Was the mn a masochist, who generally liked being un-
pleasantly leated?
A: No.
Q: Did the woman love him?
A: Yes.
Q: Did he believe that her angry 'rd were really directed
at him?
A: No.
Evicted
Q: Did the son live in the fther's hOllse?
A: Yes.
Q: Was there a physical danger in the house from which the
father wanted to protect his son?
A: No.
Q; Did the father O\'l the house and unquestionably have
the legal right to have his son Jive with him (son 10t a
fugitive from justice, etc.)?
A: Yes.
4
Crazy Cars and Tricky
Transport
Driving the Wrong Car
Q: Did each car have a hitch and compatible bumper, allow-
ing either car to tow the other ahile if both worked?
A: Yes.
Q: Was the broken car smashed so it would not tow casily?
A: No.
Q: Was the only problem with the broken car related to its
brakes, so the otber car could be towed with its brakes
partially set?
A: No.
Saf Smash-Up
Q: Was the car controlled by a radio-operdted device, ao for
a movie?
A: No.
Q: Was the car deliberately damaged?
A: No.
Q: Did the car catch fire after its fue1 1ine hurst?
A: No.
Contagious Carsickness?
Q: Was there something wrong with the car'
A: No.
Q: When Jan felt sick, were they all breathing fresh air?
A: Yes.
Q: Were they then outside the car?
A: Yes.
47
What Drained the Battery?
Q: When Walter returned to the car, was anything switched
on or the hood open?
A: No.
Q: Had anyone been in the parking lot ince Walter parked
his car and ran inside?
A: Yes.
Q: Did Walter lock his car?
A: No.
Sea.wnal Mileage
Q: Does the answer have to do with snow on the ground or
snow tires on the car?
A: No.
Q: Does Claude drive along exactly lhc same roads in sum
mer as in winter, and in the same car?
A: Yes.
Q: Are the windows open in suer, caw,ing much more
wind resistance, until closed at the end of a trip?
A: No.
4
She Arrived On Time
Q: Could Carol have driven fom home to the coffee bouse
in two minutes, at less than a hundred miles per hour?
A: No.
Q: Did :-he use unu:-ual tnsportarion, such as a helicopter?
A: No.
Q: Did Daryl dial her home number correctly and reach her
by doing so?
A: Yes.
A Token Wait in a Token Line
Q: Did Smart Stephanie have someone buy her tokens, or
go to the subvllY station at odd, "of-peak" hours?
A: No.
Q: Did she sneak under turstiles, otherwise evade the fare,
or hae permission to use the subway without paying (as
can some police officers, subway employees, and such)?
A: No.
Q: Did she live in a stictly residential district and work i na
strictly business dh.trict during ordinary business hours?
A: Yes.
The Lale Train
Q: Does the lateness have anything to do with te tain's
having crossed from one time zone to another?
A: No.
Q: At the time Amanda stepped onto te train, did it erew
expect it to become late before she got of it?
A: Yes.
Q: Could this incident, for this reason, happcn only at a par
ticular time of year'
A: Yes.
49
Odd Ofices
Stubborn Steve
Q: Did Steve choose paper that was multiple-part, tractor-
feed, o otherwise special or unusual?
A: No.
Q: WI the sales clerk completely honest and accurate?
A: Yes.
Q: Was the paper intended for an exotic usc that was not
reasonably expected by its manufacturer. such as papier
mache or analysis under a microscope?
A: No.
/laking the Grade
Q: Did Nell want a good grade on the course, so that she
was planning to have her paper properly \Titlen and
handed in on o before the deadline?
A: Yes.
Q: Did she hve any reason to doubt the receptionist?
A: No.
Q: Is her strdight-A average, which suggests good study
habits, significat?
A:Yes.
SpacedOut at the Computer
Q: Can it be done, i general, with only one "replace" com
mand?
A: No.
Q: Can it be done by typing the same "replace" command
over and over again?
A: Yes.
5
Q; ls there anothl: r way to solve the problem. one that
involves tping three diferent commands?
A: Yes.
The Fast Elevator Trip
Q: Was the elevator working properly and able to go to the
floor where Bill had his appointment?
A: Yes.
Q: \Vas Bill prevented from getting on, as by a work crew
loading a piece of heavy machinery?
A: No.
Q: Did Bill correctly reason that he 1uld get to his ap
pointment faster by not using that elevator'
A.- Yes.
The Non.\'top Elevator Trip
Q: Were they on a high foor in an ofice building?
A: Yes.
Q: Did the buiJding hae separate groups of elevators to
serve sepamte ranges of foors?
A: Yes.
Q: Could anyone get into a crowded elevator on the ground
foor and reasonably expect to get directly to the foor
where Bill was, without having the elevator stop at other
foors first?
A: No.
Too Precise
Q: Did Jerry and Mary correctly lhink that vagueness was
generaUy believed important t their business?
A: Yes.
Q: Did they intend to bring profit to their boss?
A: No.
51
Q: Were they paid for their work'
A: No.
Exce
p
tionally Vague
Q: Did Mary want part of the candidate's politit:al platform
to be obscured for any reason?
A: No.
Q: Was it part of a press release or interal memorandum'?
A: No.
Q: Did it consist of ten or fewer words?
A: Yes.
The Hostile Vour
Q: Had Charlie decided whom to vote for before receiving
the call?
A: No.
Q: Did he thin that the volunteer told the truth?
A: Yes.
Q: Did he notice an inconsistency in what the volunteer said
that alerted him to a problem?
A: Yes.
A Mystery Fax
Q: Was the call a wron o misdialed number'
A: No.
Q: If the executive had anticipated the call and connected a
[ax machine to his telephone line, then would the fax
call have resulted in his receiving a fax transmission?
A: No.
Q: Did the executive know who or what originated the fax.
cal1?
A: Yes.
52
A no/he, lter
y
Fax
Q: Was the fax a real one. intended to be received and read
juSt like an ordinary fax, with no codes or secrel mes
sages involved?
A: Yes.
Q: Did the colleague prefer or insist on a fax in preference
to an ordinary phone call. perhaps becaue of deafness?
A: No.
Q: Did the content n[ the fax include any tables or other
lengthy material that is more easily explained i writing
than by speaking?
A: No.
Problem.\ with Personnel
Q: Had the fuend seen the advertisement?
A: Yes*
Q: Had the frend follod its instructions and applied fOf
the position?
A: Yes.
Q: Did the pennnnel department exactly follow' the instruc
tions that Raymond had given?
A: Yes.
More Problems with Personnel
Q: Did the col1eage and the new person conspire to de-
fraud Raymond's company?
A: No.
Q: Was the colleague thoroughly honest'!
A: Yes.
Q: Although the reference-checking tured up no evidence
of a problem was the newly hired person honest?
A: No.
5
Dismaying Dizziness
Q: Was the dizziness caused by fmes from ofice machin
ery or any other source, or related to any toxic substance?
A: No.
Q: If Lc officc had not had the listed changes, ulen would
dizziness result from being in it?
A: No.
Q: Would the dizziness probably be worse after sunset than
at midday'!
A: Yes.
Asinine Actions
Giving Wayne the Boot
Q: Were the police oficers honest and Wayne's neighbor
not politically infuential?
A: Yes.
Q: Was it the same person who ted on the loud music
and threw te boot through Wayne's window?
A: Yes.
Q: Was the neighbor happy when the police arrived?
A: Yes.
Raclng the Drawbridg
Q: Was Clarence sensible?
A: Yes.
Q: Did he tur away or Slop'!
A: No.
Q: [f the drawbridge was closed. thcn would Clarcnce have
approached the bridge?
A: No.
5
Recycled Salt
Q: Are we tlking about ordinary table salt, sodium chloride?
A: Yes.
Q: [8 the salt eaten?
A: Yes.
Q: Is the same saJt eaten twce?
A: Yes.
Scared ofHer Shadow?
Q: Does the sun shine brightly in Florida?
A: Yes.
Q: Is the reason for opening a car window concerned with
controlling the temperature in the car'
A: No.
Q: When the sun is shining brightly behind a car, which is not
the same as shining in a driver's eyes, is there potential
danger bcause something import.nt cannot be seen?
A: Yes.
Picture the Tourists
Q: Did Sherman want to change places so that he would get
beter pictres for himself?
A: No.
Q: Was Sherman originally sitting next t a window?
A:Yes.
Q: Was the window open?
A: No.
The Mirror
Q: [8 the mirror placed where anyone could look directly
into it easily?
A: No.
55
Q: Is it made from odina1y plate glass?
A: No.
Q: Is iL the only mirror that is mounted near the bed?
A: No.
The E
m
Wr
ape
r
Q: Was the incident an attempt to cheat the customer or
related to fraud in any context'
A: No.
Q: Did the woman who removed the wrapper from the cart
know that the \Tapper wa emplY?
A: Yes.
Q: Was the woman accompanied while she shopped?
A: Yes.
Secret Fuel
Q: Was the gasoline adulterated, the \rong octane rating_ or
othcnvisc intended to makc the car rW poorly?
A: No.
Q: Did the neighbor know of Mavins activities?
A: No.
Q: Was the car coered by a warranty?
A: Yes.
Forgot 10 Stop?
Q: One minute before Angus jumped out of the car, did he
expect to do so?
A: No.
Q: After he jumped out of the car, did he expect to get into
i again?
A: No.
56
Q: Uid more than two minutes pass between when Angu. s
jumped out of the car and when he reachell the ground?
A: Yes.
. No, I
SAID You IT A
" TUll f.$A T I
Shor(wLived lessages
Q: Does she show them to someone e1se, perhaps because
they are cue cards for a newscaster?
A: No.
Q: A the messages intermediate steps in mathematical
calculations or part of the process of encoding secret
data?
A: No.
Q: Are they intermediate steps in a electronic mcssagcw
handling process that is familiar to the public?
A: Yes.
57
More Sh(rt-Lived Writing
Q: Ar computers o any other electronic dev'ices involved?
A: No.
Q: By what se is doing, does she intend to conl icate to
anynne?
A: No.
Q: Although it is imediatel erased, does her output fom
the writing instrument in turn help erase something else'!
A: Yes.
Haphazard Happenings
The Mail ls In!
Q: Had Oscar put the order form into the outgoing mail slot
next to the mailboxes the previous day, after that day's
mail had been delivered?
A: Yes.
Q: Did the mailboxes have big pods nearby, so that a mail
carrier could put a parcel in one of them and the key to
that pod in that resident's mailbox?
.: Yes.
Q: Did Oscar pay particular altetio to the pods?
A: Yes.
Ma
g
azine Suhn'ripti(ns
Q: Coud te need anticipated by those \'ho sve them be
satisfied by blank paper of similar size and shape?
A: No.
Q: Are they used to call<e troublesome paperrk by wrt
mg someone else's name on them and then mailing
them?
A: No.
58
Q: Is their re
p
l
y
-paid stats very important, more ^ than
for an ordinary postcrd?
A: Yes.
Soliciting in Seattle
Q: Do the two friends have similar age and ethnicity, live in
similar single-family houses, and live in neighborhoods
that, though not close to each other, bave virtually iden
tical demographic statistics?
A: Yes.
Q: Is the explanation related to an anti-canvassing ordi
nance that affects ont neighborhood but not the other?
A: No.
Q: Can the diference be traced to the personal convenience
of the canvassers?
A: Yes.
J/S a Do
g
's Li fe
Q: Was the healthy.looking dog less than five years old and
truly healthy and uninjured?
A: Yes.
Q: Were both dogs o\ned by the same over?
A: Yes.
Q: If not for its serious injuries, would the puppy be expect
ed to live for more than one month'!
A: No.
Not [om the USA
Q: He was not from the USA, but would he necessarily
speak English with a recognizably foreig accent'?
A: No.
Q: \as he referring to dry non-USA land, and not an island?
A:Yes.
59
Q: Could the USA be reached by traveling tess than 150
miles north, south, east or west from one point in his
home country?
A: Yes.
Dots on the I's
Q: Is a small I with a dot over it commonly seen?
A: No.
Q: TfTimmy had written bis statement, instead of
sp
oken it,
then would the puzzle be easy?
A: Yes.
Q: In his retort, was Timmy talking about the same thing that
Jimmy had teased him ahout earlier?
A: No.
Power Failure
Q: Did Horace sleep away fom bis house and retur to it to
find the clocks aH stopped?
A: No.
Q: Was he of sound mind and with good vision?
A: Yes.
Q: Did he own a electic clok that had an hour hand and
a minute hand?
A: No.
Afaid ofthe Countr
y
Q: Is Nicolni 's background significant?
A: Yes.
Q: Had be been subjected to mistreatment o tortured on a
farm in Russia?
A: No.
Q: Would he have enjoyed visiting an actual livestock fam?
A: Yes.
6
LOlg-Li fe Bulbs
Q: Vlere te bu1b: totally ordinary?
A: Yes.
Q: The ordinary incandescent bu1bs screwed into ordinary
sockets, but could a fluorescent buJb that had a socket
base and that fit into the fxtures be used instead?
A: No.
Q: Does the ,er have to do with the stucture of incan
descent bulbs?
A: Yes.
They Had a Ball
Q: Did Ted intend to give Ned practice at running to catch
a high baH?
A: No.
Q: Cou1d Ted have ajmed the ball directly at Ned if he had
wanted to?
A: Yes.
Q: Ts theiT location significant?
A: Yes.
Bal/park Befuddlement
Q: Was the man unhappy -iL te resuHs of lhe first two
swings?
A: Yes.
Q: Did the final ball go over a fence?
A: No.
Q: Did the man run after the third swing?
A: No.
61
Crass Creditors and Dull
Debtors
Overdue Payment
Q: Did Jim use ordinary first-class mail and only firt-class
mail'
A: Yes.
Q: He reduced the chance ofbis payment being late because
of a postal delay, but did he eliminate it compJetely?
A: No.
Q: Ts it important that Jim sent a payment every month'
A: Yes.
Wrong Order
Q: Did Jim mail both checks, in sepamte envelopes with
ordinary firsl-c1ass pOSlage, to the same address, from
the same town
,
on the same day?
A: Yes.
Q: Did he mail the Jower-flUmbered check frst?
A: Yes.
Q: Did he put both checks intu mailboxes?
A: No
I've Gil Your Number
Q: Did Kingfist obtain the telephone number from confed-
erates at the phone company or from Sam's friends?
A: No.
Q: Did he enter the house?
A: Nu.
Q: Is the fact tht Sam's fence was climbable significant?
A: Yes.
62
Collel,ti"8 Backwards
Q: \Vas the check for more than the debt?
A; No.
Q: Was the deposit made hl cash?
A:Yes.
Q: Would Kingfist have preferred not to have made the
deposit?
A; Yes.
Belter Late Than Pmm
p
l
Q: lf t he debtor would have honored the originai contract,
then would Kingfist have offered the new one?
A; No.
Q: Did Kingfist collect more readily under the ne contract
than under the old one?
A: Yes.
Q: Did Kingfist collect completely legally'
A: Yes.
The Debtor Paid
Q: Was Kingfst the actual creditor, not a collection agent
for someone else?
A: Yes.
Q: Can a creditor use colletion methods that a collecton
agent cannot?
A: Yes.
Q: Did Kingfist receive any of the money that was collect
ed?
A; No.
6
Daffy Doctoring
She Wa." in the Hmipital
Q: Did Alan and his wife genuinely love each other?
A: Yes.
Q: Nevertheless, was Alan pleased with the news?
A: Yes.
Q: Would his wife have been happy if Abn had tried to visit
her when she lef the operating room?
A: No.
Apendicitis
Q: Does removing the appendix make appendicitis perma
nently
impossible?
A: Yes.
Q: Did the physician confuse Zeke with someone else or
otherVi remember incorrectly?
A: No.
Q: Wnen the physician responded tn the call and saw Zekt's
wife, did he instantly consider appndicitis even before
examining her?
A: Yes.
Cr(.sed Vision
Q: Can you improve your vision by crossing your fingers
behind your back?
A: No.
Q: Can everyone benefit from cro!sing the fingers?
A: No.
Q: Do you need to do something wt your crossed fingers?
A: Yes.
6
!\ight Blindness Cllre
Q: Is medical knmvledge necessary to ak the questons or
interpret the ans\ .. ers'
A: No.
Q: Are drugs or nutritional supplements needed?
A: No.
Q: ls the setting in which night blindness occurs important?
A: Yes.
A Sweet Problem
Q: Is the sugar sWdllowed?
A: No.
Q: Can another common subtance substitute for the ugar?
A: No.
Q: Under specified conditions, can the sugar be similarly
used by people who are not diabetic?
A: Yes .
. Ylracle Cures
Q: Is the additional explanation known to those to whom it
applies?
A: Yes.
Q . "e that explanation applies to someone, does it always
work?
A: Yes.
Q: After it works, can it ever be identified, even with exhaus
tive medical tests and scientific scruliny?
A: No.
Not Trusted Doctor
Q: Are apparent cures for stmility likely l be fraudulenl?
A: Yes.
6
Q: Did Cassandra have any reason to believe the diploma to
be counterfeit, borrowed, or stolen?
A: No.
Q: Did the boyfriend ko much about Cassandra's past?
A: No.
The Plumber's Pres'ure
Q: Was the plumber's occupation relevant?
A: Yes.
Q: Was his reasoning correct?
A: Yes.
Q: Was the plumber's earlier ailment a common one'
A: Yes
Rx Lead POisoning
Q: Would lead poisoning, the only foreseen consequence of
eating lead-based paint, have helped Lreat the ailment?
A: 1" 0.
Q: [f not for the fact that his patient was cuvered by insur
ance, would there be any reason for the doctor's strange
suggestion?
A: 1" 0.
Q: Did the doctor intend 10 treat the lead pisoning?
A: Yes.
Ltlng Walk for the Disabled
Q: Did he park farther to walk more, for te sake of exercise?
A: No.
Q: Did he need to drive another kind of vehicle, perhaps
giving up an easily parked bit. -yc1e or motorcycle and dri
ving a car instead?
A: No.
6
Q: Did he own a car and have to ltl.'it because of his injury?
A: Yes.
Eccentric Electronics
H
ap
with the TV Ad
Q: Had an accomplice damage the television station, its
transmitter, or anything related to it?
A: No.
Q: Did the man hope to sell diagnostic television rpair ser
vices or TV sets?
A: No.
Q: Would he have been pleased if the test patter had ap
peared at a diferent lime or on another chalUlel?
A: No.
Tme [r Repairs
Q: Did the watch work properly, even though Dilton at first
didn't think it did?
A: Yes.
Q: Earlier, had DiIton properly set it to thc correct time?
A: Yes.
Q: When Oilton noticed something wrong, was the watch
showing an incorrect tme from running too fast or slow?
A: No.
Stran
g
e Sounds
Q: Are the sounds and picrures out of sync, as when words on
a foreign-language fl don'l match the speaker's lips?
A: No.
Q: Do mistimed sounds- ---too early or late ---give it away?
A: No.
67
Q: Are some sounds inappropriately absent?
A: Yes.
Watching the Game
Q: Did Elmer use an illegally manufactured descrambler?
A: No.
Q: Did he have an accomplice at a television station or at a
satellite company?
A: No.
Q: Did he have a noncompeting accomplice who ran anoth
er sports bar?
A: Yes.
Digital Downfall
Q: Do such disks have more background noise than non
digital media or supply the wrong frequency, as c
warped vinyl records?
A: No.
Q: Are the enthusiasts concered only with not replacing
their older electronic devices?
A: No.
Q: Can the enthusiasts trace their preference to a scientifi
caHy credible explanation?
A:Ye!.
The TV Obeyed
Q: Did Jake shout to operate a sOWld-sensitive switch or,
while shouting, manually operate a remote-control
device or an ordinary switch?
A: No.
Q: Did Jake see the television screen just before he shout
ed?
A: Yes.
6
Q; Vid(otap(d movies usual ly have their durations printed
on their boxes. Is that fact significant?
A: Yes.
"1 818' IA SUIU,1 SDl
ot SURRWtb
Ls,nl.
The VCR Tmers
Q: Is the device's nighty programming ability signifcant?
A: Yes.
Q: Was the new VCR regularly used to record anything
else?
A: No.
Q: Was the hardware store purchase used to alter or disas
semble anything?
A: No.
The VCR Remote Control
Q: Did JCmy have or know about a difierent remote control,
perhps a waH one or one otherwise dog-resistant?
A: No.
Q: Was the television beyond the foot of the bed well out of
reach of someone Lying in it?
A: Yes.
6
Q: Wa there something important about the bed?
A: Yes.
No Television Trouble
Q: Is it legal for a television s to be operated so that the
driver of a moving motor vehicle can see its screen?
A: No.
Q: Did Stuart kow the state trooper_ bribe him, or have any
special influence?
A: No.
Q: Did Stuart hear the theme music i stereo?
A: Yes.
Inef ciency Pays Of
Q: Docs le diference i efectiveness relatc to reliability or
to relative availability of parts in c
ase of a breakdown?
A: No.
Q: Is an expcnsive model of the object significantly more
likely to be stolen than a cheaper one, making the cheap
er one preferable i high-crime areas?
A: No.
Q: Ca the elaborate controls be more easily misused than
le simple ones?
A: No.
Mad Money
Worth Twenty Dollars
Q: Were some United States currency issues redeemable for
gold or silver'!
A: Yes.
Q: Could JTiek, observing that the Federal Reserve issued
7
the bill, exchange it at a Federal Re:crve ofice?
A: Yes.
Q: Are all United States currency notes legal tender in pay
ment of debts?
A: Yes.
Slow- Witted Customers
Q: Is the policy based on deeption or misleading advertis
ing. or otherwise actually or potentially illegal'!
A: No.
Q: Ar coupons, other marketng devices, o password ac
quired elsewhere required to qualif for special savings?
A: No.
Q: Is this policy, by its nature, impossible to use other than
by a fast-food restaurant'!
A: Yes.
Banking on the Boycott
Q: Had the fast-food chain borroed money from the bank?
A: No.
Q: Would the man's idea work only ifmany people took part?
A: Yes.
Q: Was any law broken?
A: No.
Old iWone But Good Money
Q: Were the changes deliberately made simultaneously and
with the same intent?
A: No.
Q: Did exactly one of tem afect the ideology of why money
is c{msidereu valuable?
A: Yes.
71
Q: Was the other considered desirable by some conserva
tives and ironic by others?
A: Yes.
Secret Business
Q: Did they use scramblers because they suspected that
their teJcphones were tapped?
A: Yes.
Q: In ts particular context, would the secure scramblers,
which were compatible with each other, have been as
u'eful as the ones that they actually used?
A: No.
Q: Did the men discuss all of their plans on the telephone?
A: No,
Gas-Station Glitch
Q: Was the attendant who announced the five-dol1ar limit
telling the trt?
A: Yes.
Q: Did George. afer receiving fel. receive five dollars in
change from the attendant'
A: No.
Q: Was George likely to be one of several angry customers
at the gas station?
A: Yes.
Marketing Muddle
Q: Is the car a recent model in the USA?
A: Yes.
Q: Would lhe name pnNoke concern if it was displayed, in
advertising, only with ordinary letters?
A: No.
72
Q: I knowledge of a foreign alphabet important?
A: Yes.
Easy Mone
y
Q: Would Butch keep his word and deliver am: compl:te
and wrking television set for each S30 you paid him?
A: Yes.
Q: Did he obtain the set fo the inventory that had cost his
employer $45 each'
A: Yes.
Q: Did Butch lose money 011 the transaction?
A: No.
Too Much Money
Q: Had the investor any reason to suspect shady financing,
a confict of interest, frauL, or anylhing even remolely
dishonest?
A: No.
Q: \ould the investor, as a limited partner, give up control of
the investment if someone else lm'ested more than he did?
A: No.
Q: Was the money that stopped the investor from investing.
money that was already invested in the company or ws
going to be invested in i Jater?
A: No.
Goofy Gambling
Lottery Logic
Q: Does it have anything to do with the practice of paying
lottery winners in monthly or semi-annual installments?
A: No.
7
Q: Can lOllery tkkets be a sensible investment, despite their
payouts being biased against their pwchasers?
A: Yes.
Q: Are they a good investment for everyone?
A: No.
Youthful Gomble
Q: Is the gambling sometimes managed or controlled by a
state government or one of its agencies?
A: Yes.
Q: Are certain young adults not only peritted but also re
quired Lo gamble?
A: Yes.
Q: Can the gambling be repeated by putting one's winnings
at fmancial risk?
A: No.
Staged Roulette
Q: Could the skit be rewritten s lhat the roulette bt was
concealed fom the view of the audience, or removed
entirely?
A: No.
Q: Could the f{ulette wheel be partially hidden'
A: No.
Q: Was gambling a sigificant problem in that town?
A: Yes.
74
SOL UTI ONS
,
We/came, Sla!her
A hurricUne emergency had been dedared, and poorly constructed
buildings were at risk of major stuctuml damage. Screens imposed
wind resistance which could stress buildings enough to wreck them.
Removing screni from screened porches b correctly announced as a
safety measure, even irthe screens were pcrmanenUy staple in place,
so the boy had an opportnity to divert his destuctve lendcnc. ics to
a good cause. The policem knew that the frantic absent homeowners
had requested the boy's help with this potential problem.
Evicted
The son, in his late teens, was spoile and idle. The father correctly
inferred thai evicting him and forcing him 10 er his 0\11 way would
benefit him, however unplcsnl it would be at frst. When the son
found a job and had wrked at it fr a while, he understood how his
father's action had made his life more respchlble and constrctive.
Therefore, he thanked his father.
What Drained the Battery?
Walter. in a rush. forgot to tur of the hedligt. :0 one else entered
the parking lot until lunchtime. when managers customarily ^ .. ent out to
eat. One of them turned of \ .. . alter
'
s hedlights, although by then the
battery didn't have enough po to start the engine.
Dismaying Dizzine.'.\
The lamp was fuorescent, and the new wallpaper had closely spaced
vertical stripes. Fluorescent bulbs do not glow steadily, but fash 120
tmes per second. When \iewi ng vertical strpes in fluorescent light, the
inlennittent lighting ca make the stripes seem to turn as you tum your
head, when they really stay fastened 10 the \'IL This inconsistency is
disturbing and is what caused the diziness. The simplest remedy i" to
use only dayligt. A more practical solution is to replace the fuorescent
lamp with an incadescnt one.
75
Smashed Tailights
Bob had been kidnapped ad locked in a car trunk. A\lr or police
department recmmendations. he fumbled for the tre wrench and hav
ing losened it from its storage bracket. broke the taillights and side
markers from inside. Then he was able to wave the wrench to pacn
by and to call f help.
No Ransom Demand
The man was a cancer patient ad gettin! weaker and weaker He
had no medical insuranee ad would oon nod hospital L1. Confined
to a wheelchair, he sat on the gun as he entered the goernment build
ing. He treatened poople in a room next to the district attorne' ofce
so that he would be appn:hcnded as quickly D possible, and he happily
went to prisn. He knew that while he ws Zprisonr, the government
would pay his medil exptnSs and that life as a hospital patient is
essentially identicl with or without serving a prisn sentence.
" LL SET
Contagiou.'i Carsickness?
Si had as he had planned. stopped the car on a ferry boat. Jan bcame
seasick.
76
Tile Nonstop Elevator Tip
The floor was at the top of one range of for served by one group ofele
\':tors. Jill instead used the adjacent group of elevators, going to the 10
est floor served by tem, which was one foor abe her foor+ Then, afer
her nonstop ekvlto ride, he merely waked duwn one flighl of stars.
Giling Wayne the Boot
BurglZrs had cut the neighbor's tTlephone wire and broken into his
houses I self-efense,
h
e barricade himself into an upstairs room and
sucessflly povoked Wayne to call the police.
The Mail ls In!
Oscar knew the procedure for receiving a package b mailv Youtake the
key from your mailbox, unlock the pod, and take the package fom the
pod. Th key slays in the pod door. Only a mail carrier L1 remove a key
from a pod door. When Oscar saw a pod without a key and remembered
that the p had had a key on the previous day, he knew that the mail
carrier ha delivered the day's mail.
A
fraid ofthe Country
:icolai ws afraid ofiJencc. Wile on a farm during World \ar II, he was
exposed tothe sOllilds of livestock. Under nonnaJ circumstances, fnn ani
m;is move around and m;ke noise from time 10 time. RUI when scared,
t
h
ey do not. They could her German bombr airples when people could
not and beame silt Silence, to Nicolai, meant that air raid ws
imminent a that he "ld hae t hide in the bment Despit many
decades since te \ Nicolai never recovere from his fear.
Not a Tru!ted Doctor
Cassandrn unknown to her recntly met boyfrieml had completed med
i(al s(hool and was U licCnsed physiLian. She carefl y hid her income
earing ability from men whom she did not kmw,: well be1ause she did
not wanL to he cl.ploitcd. Shc was as mu$h a do(tor al .. -al any other
mediLal schol grduate and was telling the truth. She considered tho
senility treatment wonhless, and she >aid so.
Easy ,oney
Butch stoIc the television scls from his employcr, making a profit 01$30
for each ct that h sold.
77
Supposed to Kill?
.A. scene was being filmed for a movie. For the protection of ctors, it
was universally agreed that anyone on the recei\ing end of a firean had
t load it personally \vith nonhazardous "blanks." 1i: particulr actor
had forgotten to load the gun, and the scene had to be refilmed.
Escaping the Kidnappers
A dial rapidly braks and reonnects the telephone circuit. When you
dial a number, you make the dial spin at a controlled rare and temporar
ily break the circuit that number of time when the dial i released.
Without access to the dial, Brenda placed her fingers on the telephone
switch-hook (where the hndset is plced when the phone is hung up)
and rl oveJ them mpiJly exactly len rimes, dialing "0" as to reach
th operator. The operator quickly connected her to the police depat.
menl.
Seasonal MUeage
Claude lIses the air conditioner during summer. Just before the end of a
trip, he turs it of so as nOI t wastc fuci. He docs not want to pay to
keep the car cool while he is not in it. He is sensitive t cold however;
and he keeps the het un whenevt. "T he nccd il in winler, including when
he is just abut 10 get out of his car.
Too Precise
Tn a politician's campaign ofice. Tey werc volunteers for a candidat
who believed in stmightforrd platorms instead of vague speches+
Racing the Drawbridge
Clarence was navigating a boat, and the drawbridge was opened to let it
pass.
Shllrt-Lived Menages
Yolanda has an IBM-compatible computer and an Apple computer and
want: 10 transmit dt between them. With only one modem and little
technical knowledge_ she sends the data t herself through an on-line
electronic-mail service with onc cOmputer and reccives the data with the
other computer.
Ballpark Befuddlement
The nine men were pmctcing golf swing: on a driving range.
78
The Debtor Paid
He went to small claims court, got a judgment, and sold the Loan, with
its judgment, to a racist extremist group of a ethnic background dif
enl from that of the customer. The extremist group was happy to recive
the right to harass legally someone of its least-favored race, exce<ded
the limits or the law in ils enthusiasm, and sred the debtor into pay
ing. Laws that restrict collection agents, those who ae hired to collect
money on behalf of someone else, do not apply to creditors diretly.
Selling ajudgent a a heavy discount can therefore be a prudent busi
ness practice. foit bypasses the collection-gent restriction: and may
scare other debtors into paying promptly.
Rx Lead Poisoning
Chelation with fDTA is the m;ommended treatment for lead poisoning,
and most insurance companies pay for Ihat treatment. II is also, accord
ing to mdny doctors. a useful ttment for Itherosc1erosis; hut most
insurance complnies don't plly for it for that diagnois. The doctr wa'
unwilling to falsif. a laboratory test, but crafily noted that thc ptient
could be maneuvered into receiving appropriate tTCtment that would b
insured without the necessity for making any false statements whatever.
Too Much Money
The investor going to be a limited partner. Somene who invests in
d compny as H limite partm:r docs not have the right to manage the
(ompany, not even partial or \oting rights. Sueh an arrangement is com
mon and completely legal and ethical. Witout management authority,
the investor wouldn't be concerned about losing control to other
investor. What worried him were the personal finances o the peo
p
le
who ,ere going to maage the company. They could have invested all
of their money in it, but didn't. If they had a lot of money outside the
company, then the investor feaed that they expectd the company to
Jail.
Youthful Gamble
College students, despite uniform room charges. are ofen assigned dor
mitory rooms of unequal sizes by lonery. Similarly, equal tuition pay
ments do not necessarily result Mequal education, be(lIse lotteries aTC
used to select which students get access to ppular courses that have
enrollment quotas.
79
Burning Down the Building
The landlord set fire to his own building. It b ocupied by tenants
who paid a low rent that was restricted by law. Tfthey moved out, then
hc \\' \uld havc VlClml llplrlmcnl< thllL cnuld be offered lt a much high
crren! than bfore. Incurring fire damage ND ) sensible inve.!rnent, tor
it would remove the low-rent tenants and permit elegant remodeling into
luxury apHTlmcnts IhHt could fetch H \t.'fy high rent.
Hearing Them Quickly
The father had noticed the planne< livc conccrt and notice thll it
also to he on television. Microphones would be a ffect from the per
formers and would capture the sound for television tran.missioll. Tile
audience. potentially inLludig D. would be farther from tile per
formers thn the microphones would b. Sound travels at about 800 feet
per second. Television wave and the electric currents that create and
respond to them travel over a million times faster than sound. The father
crrectly figured that the television audience would hear the perfor
mance woner than the live audience, for there would be less delay while
sound waves tavel the short distanc to the microphones and fom TV
speakers to viewers tha while sound "' aves travel the full distance fom
performers to the live adience. The diference is only a fraction of a
seond, but the father was nevertheless telling Ihe truth.
She Arrived On Time
Carol was not at home. She had had her telephone calls diverted t her
cellular phone and simply happene to be in the cofee house when Dary\
calle her.
Exceptionally Vague
It was a laoci lnached to key to the politician's other campign ofic.
Keys lre bestllbded crtiLally or so as to mislead, so thlt they will i
.sily ud legitimately but will be worlhk'S 10 someone who should
not have them. Jerry insisted tillt the key to the other ofice, which was
at the rivc. be labeled Ri N er Dlnk lml Trust."
Recycled Salt
Bread recipes LustoUarily call for small amounts of salt. Dy vigorously
kneading bread dough and working up H sweat, one can add previously
eaten salt to the dough W that it will bt eaten again.
8
More Short-Lived Writing
Erasing clored chalk from a hl<lckhoonJ. Yol<nd< is teU\her <lnd some
times drnws diagrams on t he blackboard using diff erent colors of chalk.
Emsing such diagmms leves colored smudges on the blackboard.
Yolanda discovered that scribbling over the colored smudgs with white
(hlk ml then erasi ng the scribbling helps to remove the colored
smudges and, unlike wiping the blackboard with a wet rag, pennits
immediate reuse of it.
Long-Life Bulb!'
Moder incandescent bulbs have a coile filament that glos as current
is passed through it. A coil, hO\er, radiates and absorbs magnetic
impulses as the current through it is changed. It thereby not only resists
chges in current (the ele0rical euiYlent of inertia), but also shakes
slightly as the voltage changes. The voltage changes with altertng
current between +166 volts and -166 volts and bck again 60 times pr
second, placing mechanical slress on the filament. [ric merely used
direct current, so that the filaments would nol be shaken by voltage
chags ad would last longer for Ihal reason.
She Was in the HO!pital
She was a reently hire trauma surgeon and was working in the oper
ating room.
Long Walk for the Disabled
He injured his neck and could no longer lurn his hed far enough t
drive hackwards easily Therefore, he favored parking spaces that he
could enter and leave without driving backward:, even if the were a
long "dlk from his destination. To warn awy children yen he N
torced to drive bckwards, he installed a warning-tone device on his
hack bumper and wired it to his hackup lights.
Worth Twenty Dollars
Any Federal Re5erve bank would have eXChanged the 520 bill, but
would have inistcd that ordinary currency is legal tender in payment of
debts and replaced it wit another $20 bill. Unless the original biB was
damaged by fire or otherwise hard to spend, there is little reason to
make such an exehange.
81
Caught in the Act
In this true story, a neighborhood pickpocket was caught by a woman,
the wife of eighteenth-century inventor Peter Cooper, who sewed fish
hooks into her coal pocktt. \Vhen he cught his h,mJ on tht hooks, she
told him, "I a going to the police station, and you are coming with
me." He cooprated to prevent seriOlls injury to his hand.
,t/otorcyc:e Madness
Amy knew that the official penalty [or trespassing merely a
small
fine. She reasoned thai, unable to identiry Peter or know whetht.- or not
he was armed, the moton. yclists might count themselves lucky 10 have
ecaped apparent great danger and wold spread the wonl that ta piece
of land was unfriendly, tJlereb encouraging other to stay away.
A Token Wait ;n a Token Line
Smart Stephanie observed that most commuters bought tokens as they
entered the subway from the street. She merely bought tokens as she left
the sub\'l Y, when few other commuters did so.
The Hostile Voter
Charlie heard an aggressive ales pitch ahout a candidate who suppos
edly believe in keeping government a unobtrusive as possible. The
volunteer was engage in a meddlesome act, that of telephoning voters
at home. Because the candidate approe such intrusive actions, Charlie
deduced that the candidate was not going to keep his word about
unobtrusive government and decided not to vote for him.
Scared {fHer Shadow?
She drives an old car. with taillight lenses that have not ben cleaned
from the inside for perhaps ten years. Sunlight shining on tillight lens
es can make brake and tum signals nearly impossible U see, particular
ly with dirty lenses or the dim bulbs in very old cars. Hand signals,
under those circumstances, an:more easily seen. Florida law permits
hand signals for sufficiently small cars, even if the taillights work.
Jlagazine Subscriptions
Postage for a first-class item with a reply-paid address must b paid by
the recipient. City residents may hoard the cards in case of a garbage
collectors' strike, perhaps believing that those who contribute to the
garbage problem should help solve it at their own expense.
82
Dots on the 1\'
A small I has one dol over il. A smHll 1 with a uol o\\:r itq therefore, Hctll
ally has t'WO dOIS, one above the olher. Timmy tok a pen and put two
dots on his forehead, one over each eye.
They Had a Ball
The two men were not alooe. Ted saw a teammate behind ''ed and
feared that if Ned missed the high ball, then the teammate might be hit
by it. A throw directly to someone's ldy `as diferent. for it \oold at
le<st be deflecte if it VS missed Ted aimed his high throw ^ that if
Ned missed the ball, it \vould not hit anyone.
Appendicitis
Since the earlier surgery, Zeke had remarried.
Happy with the
TV Ad
The man was a political candidatc running for a local ofice, Tippe ol
that his rival had bought a 30-minute infomercial ti me slot. he bought
the minute just before it and broadcst a test pattern, hoping to induc
television viewers not to continue watching that pat1iculaT channel.
The TV Obeyed
Eager to show of his e1abor, ue new equipment, Jake had fiends oveT.
Not only did he sct up his videocassette player, but also he carfully
reviewe the instructions fOT his television set, whieh included a timer
that would turn it orra specified time later. He carefully sct the shutorr
timer w outlast the movie by a minut )two and, when the ad ,'me on@
sw a wrning on the screen that the television would turn itself off in a
couple of seconds. He knew that it would b shutting off immediately
so he shouted at te television set jUst for the fn of it.
Old Money But Uond Money
United States currency formerly included silver certificates. which
stopped being redemable for silver in 1968. Since then, there has ben
no formal precious metal backing to guarantee its \'lue. The year 1968
was also the first year that denominations higher than one dollar sug
gested the fear of currency devaluations by carrying the words "In God
We Trust." Religious zClots favored the wording; some conservative
economists took warning,
B
Slippery Sidney Slipped Up
Sidney was arrested for turing back the odometer and understatng the
number of miles that he actually drove_ While at a distant city, he
received two parking tickets from two diferent oficers and didn't pay
them. The city charged the fines to the rental-ar company, and the com
pany infrred that Sidney had driven the ca there. But Sidney had not
put enough mileage 01 the car, according to the odometer, to have beel
able to do so. The evidence was strong enough to convict him.
A Crying Problem
After he :md her huband had a particularly nasly argument, hc had
stormed out. She suspected tat, as he had done pre .. . iously, he had
retumeli W his pan,nts. Therefore, she called them hoping that they
would tell h1r where he `~ When they did not, she beVam1 vcry
upset.
The Late Train
During the night. which was th: last Saturday i n March, the timC W" .S
ad\doced from standard tme to daylight saving time. The cngnl"T
gained fifeen minutes during the nigt, but the lTain b still late when
Amanda got off it.
A ,Yystery Fax
Quietly interested in changinB jobs, the executive arranged for a coop
erative recruitCr tu try to fax him a hlank sheet or paper when trying to
reach him. Ifhe could talk, then he announced himself over the fax sig
naL If not, he $alled te recruiter later when he could discreetly do so.
Picture the Tourists
Sal's camera focused by measuring the distance to the object in front of
it, which V'uld be thc window of the bus. Sal's pictures of objects oul
side the bus would, therefore, be badly out Ilffocus. Rut autofllcliS docs
not work when the distance is very small . Sherman wanled Sal to sit
close to the window, b that the camera would ignore it and focus tor
great distace and would take go1d pictures
Forgot to Stop?
The car ran off a bridge and fell into a lake, and Angus jumped nut just
as the car hit its surface.
8
Overdue Payment
.im mailed a check for the Ille pll)Imcnl. Then he wenl aemss lown and
sent another check Jor the same amount. If either check `D delayed
then lhe other would probably arrive quick.ly. He figured that it \as
unlikely thaI both checks, If" mlilcd From sepaate place. would be
delaed. And te creditor would have reived the net payment early,
so that Jim woliid not ha N V to ai for a refund.
Crossed Vision
If you cross your fingers, then there will be crcaes at the joints that
will allow a small amount of light to pass bety.'Cen your crossed fin
gers. By looking at objects through the gaps between your fingers, you
will expoe your eye t only those rays olligln that .nl through one
small space. By doing so. you will see a sharply focused image even
without wearing eyeglasses. This fact is unimportant except to people
who need strong eyeglasses, but who are not we<lnng them <t a par
ticular time.
Time for Repain
When he first looked at his watch in the moring, it shO\ e the time
10:01 Later that moring, it shod I I : I I. During his lunch break, it
showed 12:21. The rest oflhe morning, it did not show the correct time.
Dilton unkn1ingly wearing hi digital '>"atch upside down.
The VCR Timer.
Jenny noted that the device \"as bttery-poered and could be pro
grammed to tell the VCR to recod Benny's favorite show every night.
But if the VCR wasn't plugged in, then it wouldn't record anything.
Therdore, Jenny gut two 24-hour timers and set them ech to be on for
12 hours. She plugged one timer into the wall, the other timer into the
fiNt timer, and the VCR into the second timC. Decause the first timer
deli
'
ered power unly 12 huuN out of 24, the seond tim(r would do <
complete cycle in 48 hours. It would deliver povr to the VCR during
12 of those 48 hours, and Jenny set the timers s that the 12-hour peri
ods included lhe time of Bey' IUW during alternate nights. It was
easy to plug the VCR temporarily into an ordinary outlet when playing
tapes or for oth(r purposes.
8
Honest Ivan
"-otng te mueh lower per-day eot of renting a ear J Florda than In
Washingtonhan renh:d the car in Florida. He had il shipped from cen
tral Florida to a lown in northern Virginia, where he retreved it. The
shipping cost Vias less than the total savings from renting the car in
Florid and r<turning it to whCe he got il. By proving that he h:d senl
the car by tmin, he convinec\ invcstigmors that the oliomc\:r reading
^ genUIne.
She Never Fixed Him Up
Mitch and Anna got married and lived happily ever afer.
Stubborn Steve
Steve was going to usc the paper in airmail letters to correspondents
overeas. To Ive postage, he wante paper as light as posihle, even if
it ` Lpcnsi^e and ocasionally jammed his printer.
Another l'fystery Fax
The exeutive, aware of how easy it is to communica with outsiders
for undesirahle purposes, warned emploees that calis would be moni
tored. A subordinate. aware of the dilriculties of monitoring a fax mes
sage, bypassed the monitoring by faxing instead of speaking his per
sonal messages.
The Mirror
It is one of tw mirrors, both made of special optical-grade glas to pre
vcnt eCstran. The mirror that is not C the headboard is mOWltcd, on
a flexible bracket, nClr it. After adjusting the second mirror, one can lie
L ones back and look in it and see the relectoll fom the first mirror.
R looking through two mirrors, one sees un reversed image. This
arrangement is useful lor someone with bld back who wants to lie in
bed and watch television, for one need not be propped up but can lie
trly flat.
Soliciting in Seattle
In Settle, one building houses the headquarters of se\erl 1harity can
va
ssin
g organizations. They send workers out t ollet money, and
those workers usually ",k from the bilding when they start canvass
ing and retur to it on foot when they Hre finihed. Only one of the
friends' two houses wa within ea."y walking ditacc of that building
8
Wrong Order
He put the lowernumber check into a mailbox near hii house. Then he
drove to the post office and milcd the other check there. Reeuse the
cllnd check did not have to wait ror mailbox collection, Jim expected
it to be deli\"ered sooner than the first check.
Night Blindness Cure
L Do you gel night blindness only when driving your car!
2. \en did you last clen and aim your headlights?
The Plumber's Pressure
He had arteriosclerosis. which made his arteries more rigid than those
of most people. Measring blood pressure by compressing an artery and
listening is unreliable if the artery is inflexible. The plumber reca1ied his
use of presiure gauges while a w(lrk and the inefectiveness or measur
ing .. . ater pressue in steel pipes by merely pinching them, and he very
sensibly wondered if his blood pressurt "S relly high
'HAT AE
'ou 'OltC
Staged Roulette
lo TOlb Me
T WATc1
I.E SAlT.
The polic chief had a crooke gmbling joint raide and easily obtined
a rigged roulette whel for the show.
Robbing the Bank
The organization Dthe local JJLlice force, and the numerous otficen
who "''ere standiJg in line to cash their paychecks easily captured all of
the would-be robbers.
Happy That She Cursed Him
She was married to another man, and he suggested that she pretend
that he N^ U obnoxious telephone solicitor if he c<lled while her
husband might ovcrhear. His ruse apparenlly worked and he b
please.
Making the Grade
Nell could not had in a IlOlcard with her Icnn par because, all$ugh
the paper ,, not due roanoth.,. week, she had HlrcHdy h<nded it in.
She was then free to write othC
term ppers ad study for exams in
other courses.
Problem!' with Personnel
Rmond, who was in charge 01 researh, had requested and expected
to hire someone with a master's degree. The ap
p
licant who had a doc
torate. was rejected by te personnel department because he didn't have
a master's degree even though the doctorate was, M Raymond's opinion,
prefXrable.
The Empty Wrapper
She had her two-year-old son with her. When he son got hungry, she
got permission fom a Siore manager to buy a sdwich at the deli
1tessen counter, give it t her son, and pa for it later at the checkout
counter with the rest of her merchadise.
It's a Dog's Life
Ty wre at an Cimal shelter "-hieh had a surplus of unwanted pes
and had to kill those tht it wuld not give to willing owners. Fred knew
that people wer1 onen more willing to adopt a disfigured pet than an
in1et nne. The injured puppy was likely to be taken by a loving family,
but the helthy dog had no speci 1l claim rorcompassion and was too old
t hond to its o\vners :S strongly as d young pUppies. Therefore Fred
c.>pc(ted the older dog to be humanely killed.
8
I've Got Your Number
Kingfist found the telephone wiring that led into Sam's house and put
one pin into e(ch .. 1re_ Then he 1onneled tdephom: tn the pin^ (OU
dialed a long-distance number that ws SUB! 10 answer, carefully charg
ing the cll on telLphone calling cau. A few days later, he calle his
long-ditanec carrier and asked about possible misuse of the card and
name the number that he had called. He easily learned the numbr that
he hOd called frm.
A Sweet Problem
Diabetic ulcers. According to alternative-medicine practitioners, sugar
is U good medicine In apply to skin ulc<rs, blisters, and other opn
sores.
Strange Sounds
Some mO\iies in the 1 980s had senes in which someone was tying
q but
the oul1d nftlle keys \-re unrelated to the motion oflhe typist's fin
gers. Novdays, scenes of typing conceal the hands to prevent that
error. Reverberations remain a clue, as when a person walks from the
outdoors into a narrow corridor and the foostep do not reverberate
indoor. Another clue is the absence of a companion sound, as when
several people are walking and only one set of footsteps is heard Or
when a horse-drawn cart is shown and horses' hoofs are heJrd-but the
cartwheels themselves are totaly silent.
Lollery Log;
Lottery tikts or other risky investents very scn:ib1c wkn bank
ruptcy is imminent. Suppose for example. you have S I 0,000 in assets
and $20,000 in liabilities. If you merely pay your debts to the best of
your ahility, then you arc ccrtain to go hroke. But if you buy as many
lotery tickets as you can afford, then you have a chance of winning
more than what you owe. Then you would be able to pay your debts and
have sume money left over. Although winning a lare amount of money
is unlikely, it is possible. That possibility converts certain bankruptcy
into a chance 10 be rich.
Not from the USA
Windsor, Canada. adjacent to Detroit. Michigan, is directly both south
and east of parts of Michigan. 1 is north and ",-st of other USA states.
89
He Called the Police
Once inside the house, he fell, breakng his leg. Pulling a telephone
down Irom a table, he called an emergency police number lor help and,
though arrested. received treatment for his leg.
Driving the Wrong Car
The battery on the broken car was dead, and Hennie ke that the elec
tical system N D suspect. He wanted the car checked thoroughly. He
jump-started it with the working car, afer which it could be driven. The
working car had a manual tansmission and could be towed without
transmission damage. Out the jump-started car had an automatic trans
mission, which is afet-ied by to .. .. ing. Hermie, therefore, towed the car
that had the manual transmission.
Spaced-Out at the Computer
Firsl solution: If you know the maximum nuber of spaces in a row,
take the exponent of the next highest powerof2 and enterthe command
to f1. l'lace 1wo spaces with onc space that number of times. (Example:
seven spaces maximum. Next 11ighest power of two is eight, which is
2x2)2, so use the command tl1ree liml>.)
Second SOlulion: Choose Iwo characters that are never adjacent in either
order (in this example, &%). First cmmand: replace each space with
&%. Second command: replace each %& (revere the orr of the char
actr) with nothing (delete %&). luird command: replace each &%
with space.
More Problem.< with Personnel
The applicant had had a roommate who was transferred overseas and
who had impeccable credentials, but he himself was less scrupulous. He
applied for work and gave his former roommate's name, background
and references. lIe 1,.'[ote to Raymond's colleague and asked about
work; they had nev(r met. When the cotleague saw that her apparent
friend WdS an impostor, she said so; and Raymond promptly fired him.
Collecting Backwardy
Not enough money in the debtor's account for the check to clear.
Kingfi!l merely found out how much money he needed to depoit for
the check to be good. then deposited it and quickly cashed thc check.
This procedure reduced. although it did not eliminate, the debt.
9
Miracle Cures
Afer pretending to have a serious back injury and collecting a large
judgment, a malingerng patient can go to a "ell-known source of mir
acle cures and pronounce himself recovered without leaving illy e
dence of fraud.
WaLL'hing the Game
Satellite signals a generally scrambled. To receive them in usable
form, you buy an electronic device (a transponder) and pay royalties to
the satellite company, which in tur sets your tanspunder to unscram
ble the approprate signals. Elmer's accomplice r a sports bar in a dis
tant city and also had a transponder. To obtain unscrambled signals of
locaUy blacked-out games, tl1y merely swappe transponders.
No Television Trouble
A pocket-size television set ws on top ofthe dashboard, and it was of.
Stuar was listcning to all audiocasctte with his favorite show's theme
music.
Banking on the Boycott
As the first man suggested, a grup agreed to place special orders and
overwhelm the help. The second man's strategy involved unusual
denominalion of mone. Te nrst people to place special orders wre
equipped with fif- and hundre-dollar bills to force the cash registers
to r out of small denominations. By taking bite out of fOd before
ofering to pay for it, the group members would lorce acceptance or
their large bills. The next people in the group gOt Susan B. Anthony
dollars, whieh are easily confused with quarters, and half dollars and
tw-dollar bills. These unfamiliar but legal denominations would not fit
easily into cash registers and would confu the cashiers, who would
be out of ordinary denominations. Properly done, 'th angr customers
demanding their change, this meu .. er would force the chain to gen
erate ill will and lose money.
Marketing Mudd/I
The Kia is marketed with the crossbar of the A missing: KA. The A is
the Greek-alphabet equivalent of our letter l, yicb means that USA
customers who kow te Greek alphabet may read K-J-L and wonder
about the auto's safety.
91
Arre.fted Anpvay
Rocky took one airplane to an intermediate stop, got out, and got into a
seLond airplane to his final destination. I f he had told the airline that he
N doing so, then his fare would have been higher. He was trying to
save money by noting that the fs for the separate parts of his trp were
les. than the equivalent fare for the whole trip. Therefore, he could not
check the suitase directly to the final destination, but had to retrieve it
and re-check it a the interediate stop. Rocky did not have a firearm
permit for the state in which he made the intermediat top, hut was car
rying the gun. He b arested tor that relson.
Safe Smash-Up
No one was in the en I had heen parked on a hill, and the driver whu
parked it forgot to 8t the brakes. Since the ignition was not on, there
was no spark or other flame source to set fire to the ruel.
The Fast Elevator Trip
When the elevator arrived, other people crowded into it: and Bill critj
cally watched them push buttons for several for. Bill figured that the
eletor would stop at the most for at which it could stop. Therefore,
noting that another elevator was approaching. he decided 10 get onto it
instead; for he would share it with fewer passengers while it made far
fewer intermediate stops on the way to his appointment. Avoiding the
intermediate stops was worh the wait.
Secret Fuel
Marvin's neighbor had recently bought an extavagant sports car and
bragged about it constantly. Hoping to quiet him don, Marvin poured
a gallon of fuel into its fel tnk every few nights. Afer the neighbor
began to boast about his new car's outstanding mileage. Marvin kne
that his plan would work: me1ly add fuel quietly, then stop and let the
neighbor wonder why the mileage suddenly deteriorated just as the war
ranty expire.
Power Failure
Power failurs occurred ofen. Horace, therefore, did not bother reset
tng clocks every time the power D restored. When the pwr railed
during the night, the clocks had not been reset frm the previous power
failure and looked unchanged in the morning.
92
Better Late Than Pwmpt
Kingfit kncw that the paymcnts on the original contract "'re higher
than the limit at the small claim. " court He restructured the loan so that
he LUld cin small claims court every time a payment WlS missed. A
small filing fe would induce major inconvenience for the debtor, who
would have to repay the filing lee also. Ry Istfcing the loan,
Kingfst avoided all collVction expenses which he could not reco ..
.
er.
The debtor knew that major credit problems would exist from multple
unpaid judgments and scrupulously repaid the debt.
Inefficiency Pay, Off
An air conditioner. The models with the most cooling power have
stronger motors and cost more than those with less power. But because
they cool air substantially, only a small fmetion of the air i n a room
needs to pass through the mechanism to cool a room by a SpC1 (ied
amount. Most of the air in the room does not pass through the air con
ditioner as the room gets cool. What dos paiS through it is suficieHtly
cold to cool the entire room
.
But as temperature goes do
.
..
.
n. relative
humidity goes up. The dissolved moisture in most of Ihe air is not
removed, and a too-t1rong air conditioner makes a room fed not only
cool but also damp.
Stcret Business
The men .. 're plning a big business deal, and they were preny sure
that their telephones tappe. They used a simplc scr.mbler that
could easily be obtined by an eavesdropper. But before the telephone
cot'!rsation, th!} wrote script for a fake conversation in which the),
discused doing the opposite of what they rlly plannLd to do. The)
wanted eavesdroppers to anticipate the wrung plans and lose money,
which the two men would gain. A LL scrambler ' .. ould not ha .. e
allowed eavesdropprs to hear the staged cOll'iersation and would not
have helpd the two men.
The VCR Remote Control
E}cept for the nuisance of long cables and a all loss of signaL there
is no reason lor a videocassette record 10 be close to a tele ... ision set.
Jenny merely moved the VCR to a shelf built into their headboard,
where they could both easily reach it while in bed, and connected it to
the TV with a long cable+
93
Digital Downfall
Non-digital media merely reord the sound waves as heard. Sound waves
consi of fluctuatios in air pressure. and a microphone can translate
tho fuctuations to fluctuations in an eletical signal that i! in turn >torcd
on magetic tape or on a vinyl disk. Digital recording, however, tanslates
the fuctations to sgals that represent the amplitudes and frequencies of
the variou: components of tlte sound. But those signals don't malch the
timing of the wve cycles properly, so that the diferent pure tones that
constitute a composite sound m b reorde ot of phase and sound dif
ferent when plaed hack 111111 when first recorded. Paially for that reason,
they don't prorly rr oertones, which high-fquency sounds
that resuh fom two or more lower-fqucy sounds in hannony.
Gas-Station Glilch
The mal whom George paid was not an employee or the sttion, but a
con artist who got a unifonn, asked everyone i line for ten dollars, and
left quickly
Slow- Witted Customen"
The menus of the fast-food restaurants ofer sof dns in diferent-sized
cups, labled "Small," " Mcdiwn," ad "Largc." with correspondingly
diferent prices. Te the restaurants also ofer unlimiedfrerefills 011
the same sof drinks!
9
I N DEX
Afraid of the Countr, 25-2(1, 60,
11
Another Mystery Fax, 18. 53, 6
Appendicitis, 30, 64, 83
Arreste Anyway, 7-8, 44, 92
Hallpark Hefuddlement 27, 61,
78
Banking on the Bocoll, 37, 71,
91
Hetter Late Than Prompt, 28-29,
63,93
Burning Down the Building, 5,
42, 80
Caught in the Act, 6, 42, 82
Cullecting Backwards, 28, 63, 90
Contagious Carsickness?, 12, 47,
"
Cros>ed Vision, 30, 64, 85
Crying Problem, A. 10. 45, 84
Debtor Paid, The, 29, 63, 79
Digital Downfall, 35, 68. 94
Dismaying Diz iness, 19, 54, 7S
Dots on the I's, 25, n, f
Driving the Wrong Car, 1 1 , 47,
90
Eay Money. 39, n 77
Empty Wrappr, The, 21 , 56, 88
Eaping the Kidnappers, 9. 44,
18
Evicted, 1 L, 46, 7S
Exceptionally Vague, 17, 52, 80
fast Elevator Trip, The, 16, 51,
9,

Forgot to Stop?, 22, 56- 57, 8
(ia.<-Statiotl nlilch, 31 72, 94
Giving Wayne the Boot, 1 920.
54, 77
Happy That She Curd Him, 1 I,
4f,88
Happy with the TV Ad 32-33,
67,10
He Called the Police, 7, 43, 90
Hearing Them Quickly. 9, 45, 80
Honest Ivan, 7, 43, 86
Hostile Voter, The, 17, 52, K2
Inefcieny Pays Of, 36, 70, 93
I's a Dqs Life, 24, 59, 88
I've Got Your :umber, 28, 62, 89
Late Train, The, 14, 49, S
Long Wk Cor the Disableu, 32,
66-67, 81
Long-Life Bulbs, 26, 61, 81
Loter Logic, 3!0, 73 74, 89
Magine Subscriptions, 2],
58-59, 82
Mail ls In!, The, 23, 58, 77
Making the Grad, 15, 50, 88
Marketing Muddle, )8, 7 73, 91
Miracle Cures, 31 , 65, 91
Mirror, The, 21, 556, 86
More Problems with Personnel,
19, 53, 90
More Short-Lived Writing, 22,
58, 81
Motorcycle Madness, 10, 45, 82
Mystery Fax, A, 17-18, 52, 84
9
Night Blindness Cure, 30, 65, I
No Ransom Demand, 8-9, 44, 76
No Television Trouble, 36, 70, 91
Nonop Elevator Trip, The, 16,
51, 77
Not a Trusted Doctor, 31, 65-<6,
77
Not from the USA, 24, 5960, 8
Old Money Aut 000 M1Mey, .8,
71-72, 83
Overdue Payent, 27, 62, 85
Picture the Tourists, 20 55, H4
Plumbers Pr(ssure, ThV, 31-32,
66. 87
Power Failure, 25, 60, 92
Problems with Persollnel, IS, 53,
""
Racing the Drawbridge, 20, 54,
7.
Reycled Salt, 20, 55, 80
Robbing the Bank, 7, 43, 88
R T .ear Poisoning, 32, 66,79
Sate Smash-Up, 1 1 -12, 47, 92
Scared of Her Shadow?, 20, 55,
82
Seasonal Mileage, 12, 48, 78
Secret Business, 38, 71, 9:
Secret Fuel. 22, 5t, 92
She Arrive On TimC. 13, 49, 80
She Never Fixed Him Up, 10, 46,
8.
She Was in the Hospital, 3C1, 64,
HI
Short-Lived Messages, 22, 57, 78
9
Slippery SidnCy Slippd Up, 6,
42-43, 84
Sl1w-Witte Customers, 37, 71,
.,
Smash<d Taillights, S, 41, 76
Soliciting in Seattle, 24, 59, 86
Spaced-Out at the Computer, 16,
5(51, 10
Staged Koulette, 40, 74, 87
Strange Sounds, 34, li-Ni, 89
Stubbo SI.'Vc, 14-1 5, 50,86
Supposed 10 Kill?, 5, 41-42, 78
Sweet Problem, A, 31, 65, 89
They H<d a Dall, 26, 61, 83
Time for Repars, 33, 67, 85
Token Wait in a Token Line, A,
14, 49, 82
Too Much Money, 39, 73, 79
Too Precise, 17, 51-52, 78
TV Obeyed, The, 35, 6-9, 83
VCR Remote Control, The. 36,
69-7(, 93
VCR Timers, Tile, 35, 69, 85
Watching the Game, 34, 68, 91
Welcome, Slahcr, 4, 41, 75
What Draine the Dattery?, 12,
48, 75
Worh 'enty Dollars, 37, 7071,
81
Wrong Order, 27-28, 62, 87
Youthful Gamble, 40, 74, 79
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alld Y(IU'U go <:raz-r ll"yin L figure out why!
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111CY 111 6rt w,th ,crr olinll.r sitllltiCn .
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f(w ctlS lfl JI" riF"w, wht's .. Ily going | ,
Hti Bub. Iur exaple. HI' JJrt x the l aillit
of l tr he's never 6e ll bro. Of curse the cop
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:oew York
55.95
Ca. $8.95