puzzle

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Brain Game: Water, Water Everywhere

The photograph of a crane dangling dangerously above Manhattan is one of the iconic images of the damage Hurricane Sandy caused along the East Coast. Today, we've worked those keywords into a new Word Ladder puzzle as today's mentalfloss.com Brain Game Wednesday Wordplay challenge. Good luck: By changing one letter in each step to form English words, and leaving all other letters in their original positions, convert PHOTO into CRANE in the fewest possible steps. P H O T O _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _... READ ON

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Brain Game: Two Letters, No Stamps

We've been all about the alphabet in our recent Tuesday Test Time challenges. This time around, you need rattle off just two letters to solve today's mentalfloss.com Brain Game. Good luck! What TWO letters appear in the modern Roman alphabet (the same one we use in today's English), but did NOT appear in the Classical Latin alphabet? Here are the ANSWERS. THE ANSWERS: J and W. Thanks for playing! Tomorrow, it's Wordplay... READ ON

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Brain Game: Math Square #144

Best wishes to our East Coast readers as they brace for a nasty bit of weather. Here's today's mentalfloss.com Brain Game Monday Math Square challenge: Place the digits 1 through 9 in the white blanks so that the mathematical equations work both across and down. Each digit 1 through 9 should appear only once in the main grid (the red square). Here is the SOLUTION. NOTE: These puzzles rarely (but occasionally) have alternate solutions that fit the rules. If you find one of these, first make... READ ON

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Brain Game: Meet Jill

Say "hi" to young Jill, whose likes and dislikes will help you solve today's mentalfloss.com Brain Game Free-for-all Friday challenge. Good luck! Jill likes to color but isn't a fan of finger-painting. She would rather wear pajamas than a dress. She enjoys traveling by airplane but not by train. Jill would rather swing on an old tire than go down a slide. With all these in mind, which part of Mr. Potato Head does Jill like best? mustache, nose, eyebrows Here is the ANSWER. THE... READ ON

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Brain Game: The Scrabble Screw

Last week's open-ended mentalfloss.com Brain Game Think Thursday challenge went so well, we thought we'd try it again. Have you ever played Scrabble, and opened the game with an utterly horrible rack of letters that greatly limits your options on your first turn? Then try this: Using the 100 available tiles in the game (see below), invent your own "worst" possible rack of SEVEN Scrabble letters that contains exactly FIVE consonants and TWO vowels (A, E, I, O, U). Here's the distribution of tiles... READ ON

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Brain Game: Boy or Girl?

Enjoy a new Word Ladder puzzle as today's mentalfloss.com Brain Game Wednesday Wordplay challenge. Good luck: By changing one letter in each step to form English words, and leaving all other letters in their original positions, convert PINK into BLUE in the fewest possible steps. P I N K _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ B L U E Here is an 8-step SOLUTION. AN 8-STEP SOLUTION: P I N K F I N K F I N D F E N D F E E D F L E D F L E E F L U E B L U E Did you... READ ON

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Brain Game: A Nu Challenge

Last week's mentalfloss.com Brain Game Tuesday Test Time challenge asked about the four letters of the Greek alphabet that were represented by two-letter English names. Today, we try the other extreme: What THREE letters of the Greek alphabet are represented in English by SEVEN-letter names? Here are the ANSWERS. THE ANSWERS: EPSILON, OMICRON, and UPSILON. Thanks for playing! Tomorrow, it's Wordplay... READ ON

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Brain Game: Math Square #143

Here's a brand new mentalfloss.com Brain Game Monday Math Square challenge. Good luck: Place the digits 1 through 9 in the white blanks so that the mathematical equations work both across and down. Each digit 1 through 9 should appear only once in the main grid (the red square). Here is the SOLUTION. NOTE: These puzzles rarely (but occasionally) have alternate solutions that fit the rules. If you find one of these, first make sure that you've followed the instructions to the letter, then pat... READ ON

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Brain Game: The Upside-Down Mirror

If you know the English alphabet and can visualize a bit (or stand on your head), you can solve today's mentalfloss.com Brain Game Free-for-all Friday challenge. Give it a shot: Which capital letters of the English alphabet look identical when viewed upside-down (turned 180 degrees) in a mirror? Here are the ANSWERS. ANSWERS: B, C, D, E, H, I, K, O, and X. NOTE: B, E, H, K, and X may not look identical in some fancier typestyles, but will in most basic sets. Thanks for playing, and have a... READ ON

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Brain Game: Heartstrings

Today's mentalfloss.com Brain Game Think Thursday challenge is an open-ended question with no set answer. We haven't done one like this for a while, so it's time. Enjoy: Name a non-hyphenated English word of 2 syllables or more that has at least 6 times as many letters as syllables. EXAMPLES: straightedge, bloodstained (both 12 letters but only 2 syllables) Please limit yourself to one answer, and share it with us in the comments below.... READ ON