Trick Questions

How quickly can you find out what is unusual about this paragraph? It looks so ordinary that you would think that nothing was wrong with it at all, and in fact, nothing is. But it is unusual. Why? If you study it and think about it you may find out, but I am not going to assist you in any way. You must do it without coaching. No doubt if you work at it for long, it will dawn on you. I don't know. Now, go to work and try your luck. Answer

Mazes

Aerial of Corn maze in Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver, U.S.A.
Aerial of Corn maze in Denver Botanic
Gardens, Denver, U.S.A.
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Mazes are a simple kind of puzzle, where the goal is to find a path from a starting point to a finishing point, through a series of 'walls', usually drawn or printed on paper. They entertain young and old alike. Mazes for young children usually ask them to guide some character through the maze to some relevant reward - e.g. "Can you help Bunny the Rabbit get to the Juicy Carrot?". Mazes for older people are more complex, sometimes covering several pages. Labyrinths are unicursal. They have one well-defined path that leads into the center. There are no tricks to it, no dead ends or cul-de-sacs, no intersecting paths. Mazes, on the other hand, are multicursal. They offer a choice of paths, some with many entrances and exits.

Lateral Thinking

The term 'lateral thinking' was coined by Edward de Bono to denote a problem-solving style that involves looking at the given situation from unexpected angles. Sometimes a problem seems difficult or insoluble because our assumptions about it are wrong.
A classic example: A father and his son are involved in a car accident, as a result of which the son is rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. The surgeon looks at him and says "I can't operate on him, he's my son". Explain.

General Puzzles

One day a girl celebrated her birthday. Two days later, her older twin brother celebrated his. How is this possible? Answer

A three volume set of books stands on the bookshelf. Each cover is 1/4 of an inch thick and the pages of each book are 1 inch thick. A bookworm starts on page 1 of volume 1 and eats his way to the last page of volume 3. How far does he travel? Answer

Unstable Illusions

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Some two-dimensional figures can be interpreted as solid objects in more than one way. A well-known example of this is the flat representation of a wire-frame cube, which can be seen as if from above, or below.

Impossible Illusions

Triangle/
Impossible objects typically look at first as if they could exist in reality, but on closer inspection, you find some aspect that just cannot make sense... Artists have designed impossible objects, like the classic impossible triangle. M.C. Escher, created impossible objects, illusions, and tessellations. Swedish artist, Oscar Reutersvard, known as the father of impossible figures, was the first to purposely structure impossible objects.

Dynamic Illusions

Optical Illusions take on an extra dimension when they are animated. Sometimes the animation reveals the deception, perhaps by removing the elements that cause it, or by bringing in elements that allow a truer comparison. Sometimes the animation sharpens the illusion. See for yourself!

Moiré Patterns

Moir� fringes are an interference pattern that is formed when two similar grid-like patterns are superimposed.

Ambiguous Optical Illusions

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Ambiguous figures are 'two pictures in one' - looked at one way, you see one thing (e.g. a vase), but looked at another, you see something else (e.g. two faces in profile). They are somewhat similar to unstable figures, in that there are two ways to interpret each one, but unstable figures don't contain different subjects; they contain one subject that flips perspective.

Pen & Paper Games

These are games you can play anywhere, with just pencil and paper. Pencil and paper games are among the oldest and most popular, especially with children. The rules are usually very simple, but still the games are challenging and entertaining. Most of them are best for just two players, but sometimes can be played by more.

Puzzles

/Recreation/Puzzles/Quizzes/
A puzzle is a mental challenge, usually suitable for one person to solve alone. Puzzles encompass a wide variety of mental challenges, from crosswords to conundrums to jigsaws. They can be trivially easy, frustratingly hard, or anywhere in between. The greatest pleasure comes from those where the solution involves some novel way of thinking, or looking at the problem from an unexpected viewpoint.
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