Every issue of our daily, Monday-Friday Puzz.com Newsletter contained a puzzle contest from 4/02 to 10/04. People who submitted their answers were entered to win, and the winner received a "Puzzle Piece," which could be redeemed for the prize of choice from our list of prizes.
5 of the words and names below relate to a word that
is not listed. Determine which of the 6 words and
names listed has no relationship with the missing
word:
Chef Puz D. Comm is preparing orders of toast for 3 customers, who for purposes of simplicity all ordered at exactly the same time, and the time to place bread in and remove toast from the toaster is negligible. Puz has two toasters that can each toast 2 pieces of bread at the same time, and 1 knife to apply both butter and jam.
It takes 1 minute to lightly toast 2 pieces of bread
It takes 1 minute, 30 seconds to moderately toast 2 pieces of bread
It takes 2 minutes to darkly toast 2 pieces of bread
It takes 10 seconds to apply butter to a piece of toast
It takes 15 seconds to apply jam to a piece of toast
Customer A wants 4 pieces of toast, moderately toasted, with butter on each piece
Customer B wants 2 pieces of toast, lightly toasted, with butter and jam on each piece
Customer C wants 3 pieces of toast, darkly toasted, with butter on 1 piece, nothing on the others
What is the shortest possible combined time that the customers will have to wait for their orders to be up? For example, if A had to wait 2 minutes, B 1 minute and C 30 seconds, total time would be 3 minute 30 seconds. You are encouraged to explain your answer, but it is not required.
UNSOLVED!! The puzzle will be reissued for 9/30-10/1 with a hint, and will be worth twice the puzzle pieces.
9/23-9/24/04 Puzzle Contest:
All puzzle makers are insane
Some people who solve puzzles are nuts
I am insane, but not nuts
Therefore, I am:
A. definitely a puzzle maker
B. definitely not a puzzle solver
C. both A and B
D. possibly not a puzzle maker
E. possibly a puzzle solver
F. both D and E
If a specific face of a cube is always painted
black, and the other faces are each painted either
red or green, how many distinct color patterns can
exist? Only 1 pattern exists where any 1 of the sides
adjoining the black side are painted red, and the
other 4 sides are green, for example, as regardless
of which of the adjoining sides were painted red, the
pattern can be duplicated by rotating the cube.
Apples, oranges, pears, and lemons are
respectively in descending order of price, each piece
of fruit priced exactly $0.05 less than the previous
one. If you spend $2.02, buy at least 1 of each
fruit, and none of the fruit is free, what is the
maximum total number of pieces of fruit you could
have purchased? What is the minimum number?
A wizard pops into his local magic store to buy a new
pet toad. Unfortunately, he only has �2 on him and
the toad costs quite a bit more than this. He
therefore asks the shopkeeper if he can pay �1 now
and the rest the following week. The kind shopkeeper
agrees to this and the wizard leaves the store happy
with �1 in his pocket and a toad. How much does the
toad cost?
One day a
saucy
sorcerer winks at a witch. She immediately pays him
back by turning him
into a toad. Can you take away six of the seven
shapes below to leave a
sort of toad?
Choose from the following to leave:
A. His hat
B. His brow
C. His right eye (his perspective)
D. His left eye (his perspective)
E. His nose
F. His moustache
G. His mouth
After hours of
searching the castle you eventually find the mysterious
Room 88 at the
end of a long gloomy corridor. Appropriately enough, it has
"R88" on it.
You try to open the door, but it is locked. Suddenly a
ghostly voice from
inside murmurs: "Say the magic word and the door will
open." What word
should you say?
Which other circle
should be black to complete the sequence below?
Choose from the following:
A. Top circle on the first figure
B. Top right circle on the third figure
C. Top circle on the last figure
D. Bottom left circle on the fourth figure
E. Bottom right cicle on the second figure
F. None of these
The unsung Greek hero MocTodZzup was placed on a
quest, and had to undergo many trials and
tribulations. This was because like Prometheus, he
had angered the gods, except in this case MocTodZzup
had not brought fire to mankind, but instead
ambrosia, which we know as chocolate (some
mythologists have suggested that ambrosia was
actually honey, but now you know otherwise).
MocTodZzup, who was simply called MTZ by his friends
(pronounced 'empty-Z'), was not forced to clean the
Augean stables, nor was he chained to a rock to have
his liver eaten daily by an eagle, or forced to push
a rock up a hill endlessly like Sisyphus. No, MTZ's
fate was much worse for bringing delicious chocolate
to mankind: he had to answer riddles.
On his second day of riddling, and again hungry, his
second inquisitor was Aphrodite.
"The chocolate you might receive today is also the
name of a Lady," the alluring goddess said, "one who
is said to have ridden naked through the streets! Who
was she?" Could you have earned the tin of this
chocolate, which lay on a pedestal just out of reach
from our hero, or would you instead have had to go
hungry for the day? ;-)
The unsung Greek hero MocTodZzup was placed on a
quest, and had to undergo many trials and
tribulations. This was because like Prometheus, he
had angered the gods, except in this case MocTodZzup
had not brought fire to mankind, but instead
ambrosia, which we know as chocolate (some
mythologists have suggested that ambrosia was
actually honey, but now you know otherwise).
MocTodZzup, who was simply called MTZ by his friends
(pronounced 'empty-Z'), was not forced to clean the
Augean stables, nor was he chained to a rock to have
his liver eaten daily by an eagle, or forced to push
a rock up a hill endlessly like Sisyphus. No, MTZ's
fate was much worse for bringing delicious chocolate
to mankind: he had to answer riddles.
So, with a box of delicious truffles just out of reach, a
very hungry MTZ was faced with his first riddle. Answer it,
or go without his 'fix' for the day (egads!). His first
inquisitor was Athena.
"I am not talking about the journey and trials of
Odysseus," the powerful goddess said, "but of how God can
be good if there is evil in the world. What am I?" Could
you have earned the box of truffles, or instead have had to
go hungry for the day?
I am ground spiced chickpeas shaped into balls and fried,
or, in the spirit of Blue Collar TV and
the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, I might be used in a sentence
as follows: "I woke up with the most
terrible ache after eating all those ground spiced
chickpeas shaped into balls and fried... I
just BLANK." What am I? (7 letters)
Below is the 8/4-8/5 puzzle, which is unsolved. Hints: what is the shape that is formed below? Assume each side of that shape is given a letter that is the equivalent of a number. A certain mathematical function has been applied to each letter/number, resulting (in all but one case) in a larger letter or number. The function applied is the same as the shape below. This puzzle is now worth 2 puzzle pieces.
Determine what letter should replace each of the question marks below:
Below is the 8/3-8/4 puzzle, which is unsolved. I am surprised that it was not solved, as it is not that hard. But as hints, where are the 3 items listed below, and what is that thing around them? This puzzle is now worth 2 puzzle pieces.
This is the 7/21-7/22 puzzle, reissued, as it was never
solved. It is now worth 2 puzzle pieces. I typically
provide hints on reissues, and this is no exception. The
word below just before the question mark is a good hint,
especially in its plural form. Somebody win this thing! :-)
What does the following mean?
(12 + 8 + 4)/3 = Your 8
(5 + 10 + 15)/3 = Your 10 *YOU RESIDE HERE*
(32 + 8 + 5)/3 = Your 15
One of my sons is a pyromaniac, the other a big dummy who
has never robbed a liquor store, yet tries to hold up our
entire planet! But I guess it's no surprise they turned out
that way, given that I'm two-faced and all... who/what am
I?
You lose 3/4 of your money at a certain game, then double
what remains by winning, then lose 1/3
of it, and end up with $15.00. How much did you start out
with?
If you work for a strange employer (Puzz.com, for
example) who pays you $1 for your first day of work,
$2 for your second day, $3 for your third, and so on,
how much would you have earned in total after 2 years (730
days)?
Where's Waldo? He was eaten by a creature who he said was
"foolishly consistent" and had a "small brain." Not one of
Waldo's better moves. Who is Waldo, and what creature ate
him?
The man from the country at the top of the Himalayas came
by plane to meet the man from the Far East who was wearing
a chain round his neck. What was the weather when they met
the man from the Middle East?
Batwinkle the wizard adds 27 identical cubes together to
form a large cube. Then, without touching the sides of the
large cube, he takes away the center cube to leave 26. How
does he do it?
A soldier in Iraq has been given very good news: he can go
home! However, the devious scoundrel
known as the Puzzler has stolen his orders, and hidden
them. The soldier finds a note where his
orders should be. It shows 4 cities just outside of Iraq,
which the Puzzler has replaced with
these names: Soft Spot, Solid Location, Difficult
Intention, Silly Relation. It then
reads:
"Ha ha, you aren't going home!! Your orders are in an
abandoned house along the road to one of
the cities, but you'll never guess which one, and you have
no time!"
Indeed, the soldier has only enough time to search for the
abandoned house on one of the roads.
Knowing the Puzzler often plays on words that relate to
common expressions and sayings, he wisely
chooses the right road, and days later, is safe at home
with his family. Where did he search, and
what saying or expression explains why?
In the 1980s, Action questioned Randy, Michael,
Marlon, Janet, Jackie, Rebbie, LaToya and Tito about a
stolen collection of valuable records. He is about to
question someone else, but was told it wasn't relevant. How
so?
Years ago, a band was on tour, and one of the band members
found a threatening note in his
dressing room after a show. It read:
I'm going to get you \ for stealing my girl!
- Mr. X
While to this day it remains a mystery who Mr. X was (after
all, the band member in question
dealt with so many "girls"...), can you figure out who the
note was intended for?
James Watson & Francis Crick, who cracked the DNA
code, are attempting to escape from a cave guarded by the
Cyclops Multitibias. While James makes it out
safely, Francis is captured and quickly swallowed by
Multitibias. However, he becomes lodged in the
Cyclops' throat, causing a muscle spasm. The Cyclops
coughs up Francis, who (in need of a shower) escapes.
Question: why did this happen to the Cyclops?
Vince, Sally, and Crazypuzz are having dinner. The
doctor is wearing a Tommy shirt, the vegan-politico is
wearing a "Beam me up, Scotty... there's no
intelligent life down here!" t-shirt, and the
crypto-maniac is wearing a tie-dye t-shirt. Vince is
having a salad, Sally is having a turkey sandwich, and
Crazypuzz is having a chocolate shake. The doctor's name
rhymes with a word that can mean 'count'. List each
person's career.
The following series of numbers represent the results when
a certain number is repeatedly divided
by 2. The first number in each 2-number set is the first
digit in the actual number, and the the
second number in each 2-number set is the last digit in the
actual number, even if that number
comes 1 or more spaces after a decimal. 50 represents the
first result after the original number
was divided by 2, and so forth. What is the original number
(hint: it is greater than 5, but less
than 5,000,000)?
If ppp is what you do with your boat, gently down
the stream, what letter might you use to express your
surprise when your god, kron, suddenly appeared?
If circle triangle(20) triangle(4) is what you are most
likely doing now
triangle(4) triangle(20) square is a spasmodic muscular
movement
and pentagon triangle(20) circle is to show disrespect
to
what shapes would represent the spoken representation of
the dot in radio and telegraph code?
Agents Puzz and Chimera are on a stakeout to observe the
activities of the dastardly criminal mastermind Yoopee.
Because the Crime Reduction Agency of Puzzcom has recently
become aware of
potential leaks, the agents speak in various codes in case
their room is tapped. Looking through
binoculars, Chimera flatly says "I drink container." After
thinking for a few seconds, Puzz
responds with "Good one. Took me a bit to spell that one
out. Let me see the binoculars so I can
have a look for myself." What had Chimera told Puzz?
With 4 perfect slices a clay cube is cut into 27 identical smaller cubes, but the cubes are not separated. How many total cube faces can you see by
rotating the sliced cube, but without taking it apart? Do not count the original cube's faces in your total.
Alabama Smith, world renowned treasure finder, bounty hunter, escape artist, and philandering philanthropist, is deep in the
jungle searching for the tomb of the vertically challenged King Neehitoabugsi. With the help of a local tribe, the Village People, Smith and his unusually clad cohorts locate and enter the tomb.
After (mostly) surviving halls filled with pitfalls, poison dart traps, and much worse, the party comes upon the miniature throne of the king... which is made out of pure diamond! As the tribal members break out in song about the YMCA, Smith sets about trying to decipher the runes at the foot of the throne. If his hunch is correct, he must set the loose flagstones in front of the throne in a certain order prior to its removal to avoid springing a most deadly trap. The stones are marked with the following symbols:
! @ # $ % ^ & * ( )
The runes read:
^ $ * = )!^
& % @ = ()%
$ # * = )%#
) ( * = %
! @ # = !
Below this is an incomplete set:
$ & # =
What symbols complete the set, indicating the order that the flagstones should be placed in?
The First Scribe of Puzzledom has hidden a word in this paragraph. Word wisdom will assist you in finding it. You
should start from the beginning and search in order. Are you up to this challenge? Looking from beginning to
immediately following the end is the correct way. For there is no other. Is this tough enough? Tell me the answer!
If my last name has happened to someone, they are most likely dead. I am now famous, although it may not last that
much more than 15 minutes. However, I am a banging idol to many. Who am I?
Each of the following puzzlers hints at 2 words. The second word is the same as the first word, but with one letter
removed.
Example: A type of thief : Talk too much (6 & 5 letters)
Answer: PIRATE and PRATE
You must get the following 3 right to be entered to win:
1. A place to moor a ship : Mr. Holliday (4 & 3 letters)
2. Egyptian nature goddess : Sister (4 & 3 letters)
3. A great quantity : A foam formed by soap (7 & 6 letters)
Each of the following puzzlers hints at 2 words. The second word is the same as the first word, but with one letter removed.
Example: A type of thief : Talk too much (6 & 5 letters)
Answer: PIRATE and PRATE
You must get the following 3 right to be entered to win:
1. A light snowfall : Covered with fur (6 & 5 letters)
2. To disfigure : 90 degrees, for example (6 & 5 letters)
3. Vertically challenged : An attempt to score (5 & 4 letters)