Tuesday Tangle: The Strangest Speed Date Ever

Today's tangle is two puzzles - one fairly straight-forward, the other more difficult. I couldn't figure out the second one until it was explained to me, so well done to you if you manage it!


The Strangest Speed Date Ever

Mallory, tired of spending her Saturday nights sitting on the coach and watching reruns of bad movies, decided to give speed dating a try. But on the first attempt, all she seemed to meet were weirdos...

Her first speed-date partner, Ewan, was odd. He told her straight off that he liked balloons, but hated parties. She asked him if he liked books, and he said yes – but he didn’t like reading. When the conversation turned to sport, Ewan told her that he liked swimming, but didn’t like water.
Weird, Mallory thought. “Do you like towns or villages?” she asked.

What did Ewan say?


Hint: (scrollover to reveal) If you’ve never come across one of these puzzles before, they can be maddening. Look at the names of the things Ewan does like, and see if you can spot any similarities.


Next Mallory talked to Gerald, a biologist. He liked toads but not frogs. He said he ate berries, but not fruits. He liked the colour orange, but not purple.

Uh-oh; another live one. Mallory changed the subject to poetry.

Can you figure out whether Gerald likes Byron or Shelley?

(Solution below)

Tuesday Tangle: You Better Get Your Story Straight

As I write this, it occurs to me that it is actually Wednesday. But last night (my usual Tuesday Tangle timeslot), domestic life became bogged down in a quagmire of confusion: 

Was it really the final of America's Next Top Model?***

Who was going to set up the newly-bought microwave to make the popcorn? 

And was microwave popcorn even palatable, when watching a show about The World's Skinniest Girls?

Turns out:

1. No - the big finale show is next week

2. My husband, that's who

3. Actually, popcorn is even tastier when you're watching ridiculously thin people on TV. I kind of felt like I was feeding them, vicariously.

Anyway.... Here's today's Tangle. I included this one because I figured it out on the first try (pause for clapping). This is a rare event, so I have a place in my heart for the puzzle.

***I'd just like to point out that my husband and I watch ANTM for the irony value. Honest.

You Better Get Your Story Straight

Store detective Eric Capeesh has been working in the local bookstore, hot on the trail of a serial book-thief. He's narrowed it down to three suspects: Pinky Fastfinger, Dan Dastard and Graham Larceny.

Graham says, "I'm innocent, but I saw Dan do it."

Dan says, "Graham did it, and Pinky is innocent."

Pinky says, "I'm innocent. So is Dan."

The guilty person is lying, and both the innocent people are telling the truth.

Who is the book-thief?

(Scroll down for solution)

Tuesday Tangle: Book Launch Juggle

Gentle Reader,

this week's Tangle is my publishing-obsessed twist on an old favourite. See if you can figure it out (and if you remember the original):

You are a literary agent, whose author client has written a fabulous new novel, a massive hardcover tome of two thousand pages. 

Tonight is the novel's launch party, across town. You need to bring with you the author, the novel, and your annoying cousin who happens to be a very scathing book critic. However, all you have for transport is your aging (but tres chic) Vespa, so you can carry only one thing with you at a time (the author, the novel, or the critic). 

BUT if you leave the author alone with the critic, there will be fireworks. If you leave the critic alone with the book, he'll rip it to pieces. How do you get all three to the book launch, with the minimal amount of damage?  

Scroll down for solution...

Tuesday Tangle: Lose Ten Brain Cells in Nine Minutes a Day!

Gentle Reader,

This week's tangle is dedicated to the amazing strength of will that stopped me from succumbing to an infomercial yesterday. Said infomercial featured the *amazing* Ab-Circle Pro. They were on special! Everyone on the ad was so thin! And they promised me masses of weight loss in just three minutes a day. Three minutes a day. Heck, even I have that kind of time lying around. 

However, just as I was reaching for the phone, the rational side of my brain spoke up (which was a damn-near miracle, since I could swear I'd left it chained to a radiator somewhere). So, long story short: I'm still as flabby as ever, but I'm loving that bonus three minutes a day that I don't have to exercise.

And what did I use today's three minutes for? Why, to furnish you with this week's tangle, of course...

Lose Ten Brain Cells in Nine Minutes!

Tanya is a sucker for TV infomercials. Her latest purchase is an exercise machine which, the sellers claim, will enable her to lose 10 pounds in one week. All she needs to do - so they say - is use the machine for nine continuous minutes each day.

On the first day, an enthusiastic Tanya throws on her track pants and searches the house for a timer. But all she can find is two old fashioned egg timers. The smaller egg timer takes four minutes for the sand to go through, while the bigger takes seven minutes for the sand to go through.

If Tanya cannot stop or slow down the sand while it is falling through the egg timers, how can she know when she has been exercising for nine minutes? (Presume that Tanya is able to flip the egg timer without getting off the machine, so it doesn’t interrupt her exercise.)

(Solution below)

Tuesday Tangle: Short Stories and Busy Librarians

Double trouble this week! These Tangles are a little shorter and – possibly – a little simpler, so I’ve put in two...

Tangle the First:

Jane has written two stories. Story A is 20,000 words shorter than Story B. Story B is three times as long as Story A.

How long is Story A?

Tangle the Second:

If five librarians can shelve 50 books in five minutes, how many books can one librarian shelve in one minute?

(solutions below)

Tuesday Tangle – Time to hire a Maid

Gentle Reader,

I was once again thwarted by this week’s Tangle. This is one of those puzzles where it just doesn’t seem as if the solution should work – but it does, and it’s incredibly simple...

Time to hire a Maid

Two flatmates, Andrina and Luke, hate housework. One Saturday morning, when their flat is in a terrible state, they finally decide to tackle the mess head on.

They have three tasks:

Wash the dishes.

Mow the lawn.

Vacuum the carpets.

They have only one vacuum cleaner, one lawn mower and one sink with room for one person. Each task, when done by one person, takes one hour. What is the shortest amount of time Andrina and Luke will need to complete the tasks?

(Solution below)

Tuesday Tangle – Much Ado about Lighting

Today’s Tangle doesn’t involve any mathematics, but does require lateral thinking (I was hopeless at it, but Handsome Husband triumphed). I’ve included the answer in today’s post, for those who just can’t wait until tomorrow.

While renovating a house, Meryl discovers three light switches, side by side, on the second floor. When she asks the builder what the switches are for, she learns they control the three bare bulbs that hang in the attic, one floor above. He can’t, however, tell her which bulb is controlled by which switch.

Meryl, being lazy, wants to climb the attic stairs as few times as possible to solve the mystery. Is there a way she can determine which light switch controls each light bulb, with only ONE TRIP up to the attic?

(Solution below)

Tuesday Tangle Solution

Gentle Reader,

As promised, here is the solution to yesterday's Tangle brainteaser. If you haven't already seen the Tuesday Tangle, check out the post below before reading on.

Tuesday Tangle: Sing a Song of Sixpence... er, Six Dollars

Gentle Reader,

Welcome to the first Tuesday Tangle of the year!

What is Tuesday Tangle?

The Tangles were prompted by some sad news: a friend's father was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Syndrome. Alzheimer’s is a form of senile dementia, which affects about 26 million people sufferers world-wide. At present it is incurable; however, it is possible to decrease your chance of being affected. The key is keeping your mind active throughout your life, whether by trying new experiences, learning a second language, reading widely, travel, and anything else which challenges the grey matter.

With this is mind, I decided I’d start the Tuesday Tangle: every Tuesday, I will post a logical brain-teaser. On Wednesday I will post the correct answer (with an explanation of how to get there). In this small way I hope to stimulate your grey matter... or at least help you to procrastinate from writing :)

This Tuesday’s Tangle: