A few months ago, I posted a video of various bar bets that are perfect for the puzzle-minded prankster looking to earn a buck or two from an unsuspecting friend.
The same people behind that video have produced another, featuring 10 tricks and brain-teasers with which to baffle and challenge your friends. (Of course, if you keep bamboozling them out of money, they probably won’t want to hang out with you anymore, so use these tricks sparingly.)
Enjoy the following ode to visual trickery!
The above video contains a couple of naughty words, and you may be tempted to utter a few yourself as you watch in disbelief.
Seriously, there’s the one with the cabbage, goat and wolf (and variations thereof), there’s the Bridges of Konigsberg, and this one. When it comes to weirdly common puzzle scenarios, it’s right up there with drawing paired socks at random and turning two triangles into four. Puzzlers might have too much free time on their hands. *laughs*
ANYWAY. I digress.
A buddy of mine sent me a brain teaser the other day, and it seemed like the perfect challenge for my fellow puzzle fans. Although it tends a bit more toward the mathematical-word-problem side than a straight brain teaser, I think it will get your deductive juices flowing!
Bridge and Torch
Four people come to a narrow bridge at night. Among them, they have one torch, which has to be carried in order for anyone to cross.
Only two people can cross the bridge at a time. Person A can cross the bridge in 1 minute, B in 2 minutes, C in 5 minutes, and D in 8 minutes. When two people cross the bridge together, they go at the slower person’s pace.
How can they all cross the bridge in 15 minutes or less?
(Oh, before I go… a quick bit of internet sleuthing reveals that this puzzle originated in Garth Sundem’s Brain Candy: Science, Paradoxes, Puzzles, Logic, and Illogic to Nourish Your Neurons. Credit where credit is due, always. Enjoy!)
There are puzzles to solve and mysteries to unravel… and then there are the mindboggling optical illusions that play with your perception.
Stationary things move, items big and small end up being the same size… it’s simultaneously fascinating and a little unnerving.
The folks as Gizmodo assembled a gallery of twenty optical illusions of all sorts, including several favorites of mine like the Fraser Spiral and a neat variation on the Necker Cube, and you should definitely check it out, if only to challenge your eyes and your brain in a different way today.
Two interesting bits of news from the world of Across and Down:
1) Constructor Erik Agard put together a small crossword where every clue is represented by a short YouTube video, featuring a great many well-known puzzle constructors and solvers. Go solve!
2) Michael Sharp, aka crossword blogger Rex Parker, has assembled a set of brand new crosswords from folks like Merl Reagle, Liz Gorski, and Brendan Emmett Quigley. Twenty-four crosswords in all! The puzzles are free, but since this is a fundraiser for the American Red Cross, specifically to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy, I imagine you’ll throw in a few bucks, right? Right. Suggested donation is $20. Go solve!
Artist Olly Moss was commissioned to produce this poster, featuring 85 Oscars, each customized to the Best Picture winner for that year. How many of the movies can you name? (Click here to enlarge the poster.)
PuzzCulture 