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Holiday Songs

Games / Brain Teasers /

Below are six statements which, if reworded, are actually the titles of six popular holiday songs. Can you decipher them? (For extra points, try the bonus!)

1. Sir Lancelot with laryngitis.
2. Frozen precipitation commences.
3. Oh, member of the round table with missing areas.
4. I envisioned a trio of marine vessels.
5. Do you perceive the same longitudinal pressure that stimulates my auditory sense organs?
6. Leave and do a broadcast on an elevated peak.

Bonus: The apartment of 2 psychiatrists.

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White to Play

Games / Chess Puzzles /

This position is from a wonderful out-of-print tactics book called Tactical Chess Training by GM Leonid Shamkovich and Jan R. Cartier.

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The Lobster Mystery

Games / Brain Teasers /

A young woman went into a seafood restaurant, where she saw live lobsters in a tank. Rather than let other restaurant patrons eat them, she decided to buy them all and set them free in a lake near where she lived. However, her good intentions had unfortunate results. What happened?

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Odd Color Out

Games / Brain Teasers /

Which of these colors does not belong?

red
orange
yellow
green
brown
blue
purple

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Black to Play

Games / Chess Puzzles /

White has just played 1.Nf4, attacking the Black d5 pawn. How should Black respond?

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Scrambled Names

Games / Brain Teasers /

The names of four famous people have been scrambled. They are: an explorer, a Hollywood actor/actress, a sports figure, and a world leader (though not necessarily in that order). Who are they?

1) Find, name large land.
2) No, I marry ol' men.
3) Only a Brit.
4) Server itch.

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Special Paragraph

Games / Brain Teasers /

What is significant about this paragraph:

'I once found two tiny ferrets, bruised with dirt over them. I decided to help the poor mites by rinsing them off using some tinctured liquid. They soon seemed brighter. Within two weeks I set them free, into the wild. They seemed very delighted with this. I enjoyed it very much.'

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The Unicycle Race

Games / Brain Teasers /

Many contestants entered the unicycle race, but only the best multi-tasking clown came out on top, considering that each had to juggle clubs while trying to win the race! Most of the pack were soon disqualified after dropping a club or falling off the unicycle. In the end, four of the best clowns crossed the finish line. From this information and the clues below, can you determine each clown's full (real) name, club color (one is silver), and placement?

Places: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th
First Names: Kyle, Matt, Jake, Leon
Surnames: Turner, Pettle, Vertigo, Wheeley
Colors: Green, Orange, Silver, Red

1. Mr. Turner (who isn't Matt) finished one place ahead of the red club ...

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White to Play

Games / Chess Puzzles /

A longer than usual mating attack, but you have the weekend!

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What Are the Odds?

Games / Brain Teasers /

A bag contains 64 balls of eight different colours. There are eight of each colour (including red). What is the least number you would have to pick, without looking, to be sure of selecting 3 red balls?

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Common Link

Games / Brain Teasers /

Below are 3 pairs of words. Find the words that fit in the middle of each pair of words to create two new words, one front-ended and one back-ended.

Example: EVER - ______ - HORN
Answer: EVER - GREEN - HORN

1. BREAD - _________ - CAKE
2. WATER - _________ - READ
3. CHECK - _________ - LESS

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White to Play

Games / Chess Puzzles /

A kingside mating attack with a key lesson to learn.

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Pirate Pete and the Firing Squad

Games / Brain Teasers /

Pirate Pete had been captured by a Spanish general and sentenced to death by firing squad. The fifty-man squad were infamous for their terrible aim, and often failed to kill their victim immediately. The general's habit was to leave the prisoner to die -- slowly and painfully -- when this happened. Knowing this, Pete finally begged for mercy.

"Very well," said the general, "I have some compassion. You may choose where the men stand when they shoot you, and I'll add fifty more men to ensure that at least one of them hits you. Oh, and just so you don't get any funny ideas, they must all be within twenty feet of you, they must all be facing you, and you must remain tied to the post in ...

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This & That

Games / Brain Teasers /

Inside each set of the following words, there are a pair of smaller words. By putting & between them, lo & behold, you'll make a familiar phrase. For example, "Thighbone/Swallowtail" conceals "High & Low."

1. Skyrocketing/Trolleyman
2. Thermometer/Apoplexy
3. Delaware/Bordering
4. Surprised/Trashiness
5. Throughout/Stumblebum

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White to Play

Games / Chess Puzzles /

Mating attack time. You might easily find the first move, but you have to find the second move as well to continue the attack.

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Insanity Test

Games / Brain Teasers /

During a visit to a mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director what the criteria is that defines if a patient should be institutionalized.

"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub. Then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup, and a bucket to the patient and ask the patient to empty the bathtub."

Okay, here's your test:
1. Would you use the spoon?
2. Would you use the teacup?
3. Would you use the bucket?

"Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal person would choose the bucket, as it is larger than the spoon." What was the director's response?

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Composer Murder Mystery

Games / Brain Teasers /

Handel has been killed and Beethoven is on the case. He has interviewed the four suspects and their statements are shown below. Each suspect has said two sentences...one sentence of each suspect is a lie and one sentence is the truth. Help Beethoven figure out who the killer is.

Joplin: I did not kill Handel. Either Grieg is the killer or none of us is.
Grieg: I did not kill Handel. Gershwin is the killer.
Strauss: I did not kill Handel. Grieg is lying when he says Gershwin is the killer.
Gershwin: I did not kill Handel. If Joplin did not kill him, then Grieg did.

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White to Play

Games / Chess Puzzles /

Take out a stopwatch! I played this finish in a five minute game on the ICC and had 51 seconds left in the given position. 30 seconds later, my opponent resigned. Can you match that by finding the winning continuation in 30 seconds? Don’t forget, Black will offer to trade queens at every opportunity.

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Different-Colored World

Games / Brain Teasers /

Imagine a world in which the colors of things have changed from what we consider normal. Assume the following changes:

Snow is now red.
Grass is now black.
The sky is now brown.
Blood is now white.
Soot is now green.

In such a world, what is the color of dirt?

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Symbol Codes

Games / Brain Teasers /

In the following code, each symbol stands for one of five letters.

^ stands for M, O, I, U, or W
V stands for Y, U, F, E, or L
< stands for H, E, B, K, or T
> stands for J, A, G, N, or P

The four letter code word, <^>V, can be translated into two English words that are opposites. What are the two words?

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