What is in the Nugrys' Treasury of Puzzles, the rec.puzzles parody of its own most frequently asked questions?
trivia/nugry.treasury New
New entry, edited from material collected for the archive and not yet in a released version.
Problem
What is in the Nugrys' Treasury of Puzzles, the rec.puzzles parody of its own most frequently asked questions?
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[ Editor: a "nugry" is a newcomer who posts a frequently asked question
(see the entry "gry"). In 1996 David Spero collected readers' parodies
of the perennial questions. In the text below, stray characters from
transmission (e.g. a lone "q", "/", "W", "5", "HJLGC@CUNYVM", and "&",
"{", "$", "=" inside words, "R" after item 41, "M" after 79 in the
credits) are removed; a few missing final periods are added; quotation marks lost in
transmission are restored; spacing, line wrapping, item-number
punctuation and the credits layout are regularized; word-level
corrections are marked where they occur. ]
NUGRYS' TREASURY OF PUZZLES
On-Line Edition
Containing material never before posted to rec.puzzles [Editor: the
original has "rec. puzzles"]!!
EXPERTS' REACTION
"A unique and challenging collection." - Martin Gardner
"I learned a lot, though I couldn't say exactly what." - Scot Morris
"As you might guess, we don't laugh a lot around the clinic, with all
the starving and dying. But the Nugrys' Treasury never fails to bring
a smile." - Mother Teresa
"A man comes up to you and says "I loved the Nugrys' Treasury." Is the
man a knight or a knave?" - Raymond Smullyan
EDITOR'S NOTE
There were too many submissions to include all the worthy ones. If a
puzzle you loved doesn't appear here, either I didn't get it due to
newsreader problems, I lost it during downloading and editing, it was a
near-duplicate of another submission, or I just didn't like it.
To get maximum laughs out of the Nugrys' Treasury of Puzzles, it's
probably best to read a few at a time, but they're sort of like
popcorn. It's hard to stop.
Finally, there are a bunch of holes in the puzzle order. This is
because on the last edit, I ruthlessly eliminated about 10 puzzles I
considered weak, but I didn't want to go back and renumber them and
redo the credits, so I just left holes. Hope it's not too distracting.
- D.S.
THE PUZZLES
OLDIES BUT GOODIES
1. An Ancient Riddle
What goes on two legs, then on four legs, then on three legs?
2. The Hunter
A hunter leaves [Editor: the original has "leave"] his camp one morning and walks two miles south,
then two miles east. He shoots a moose, then drags it two miles
north to his car. What color was the moose?
3. The Lone Ranger rides into town on Friday on Silver. Two days
later he rides out of town... on Silver. Explain.
4. Which is worth more, 1995 dollar bills or 1996 dollar bills?
By how much?
5. Someone comes up to you and says they have discovered a rare coin
dated 2000 A.D. How do you know that it's a fake?
6. There are two pieces of rope, each 20 feet long, fastened to the
floor 15 feet apart. Armed only with a penknife, how much of the
rope can you steal?
RELATIONSHIP PUZZLES
8. Bob likes Bill, but Bill don't like Bob. Buck likes Bob and Bob
likes Buck. Does Bill like Buck?
9. A man looks at a picture and says: Brothers and sisters have I
none, yet this man's father is my son. Whose picture is he looking
at?
10. You meet a man looking in a mirror. When you ask who he is looking
at, he responds:
Brothers and sisters have I none
but the man in the mirror is my father's son.
Who is the man looking at?????
THERE ARE THREE WORDS....
11. What is unusual about this sentence?
12. There are three words in the English language ending in -asm. Two
of them are chasm and spasm. The third is something you have every
day, and if you've been paying attention, I've just given you one.
What is the third word?
13. There are three words in the English language that end in -griest.
Angriest and hungriest are two of them. What is the third one?
14. There is a two letter word in the English language that starts
with i and ends with t. What is it?
16. Punctuate the following so that it makes sense: Fred said had had
had had had had had had had had had had.
18. Their is two errers in this sentence. Explain.
19. Anagram these letters to spell the name of a state: DakotaNorth
THERE ARE THESE THREE DEAD GUYS.....
20. Vehicular homicide
A man is run over by 53 bicycles. Explain.
21. A Bar Story
A man walks into a bar and asks for a glass of water. The
bartender gives it to him, and he drinks it. A few moments later,
the bartender pulls his gun from under the bar and points it at the
man. The man immediately pulls his own gun and shoots the
bartender. What were the grand jury's conclusions?
22. A man pushes his car up to a hotel, and immediately realizes that
he's out of gas. Explain.
23. A man walks into a restaurant and orders albatross. He takes one
bite, then goes into the kitchen and shoots the cook. Why?
24. A man walks into a gun store and orders a pistol. The clerk gives
him a glass of water. Why?
25. A man lies dead in an oblong box. On top of the box are some
flowers. Explain.
26. A man is hanged to death in a room containing nothing but a big
ol' block of rapidly-melting ice. What happened?
29. A man lies dead in a completely enclosed room without any doors or
windows. Explain.
32. A Restaurant
A man goes into a restaurant, intending to order albatross soup.
But before he can even order, the waiter brings him a glass of
water. Explain.
33. You are at a bar with a serious case of hiccups that has been going
on for the last hour. The bartender pulls out a gun and you are
thankful, because the hiccups immediately cease. Then he shoots
you. Why?
34. The man was afraid to go home [Editor: the original has "go go home"] because of the man with the catcher's
mask. Explain.
BASEBALL
35. A team scores 20 runs, but loses the game. Explain.
36. What is the minimum number of bases needed to play baseball
(including first, second, and third, but not home)?
37. Given perfect conditions, what's the maximum number of double-plays
allowed in an inning?
38. Given perfect conditions, what's the maximum number of triple-plays
allowed in an inning?
39. A pitcher never throws a pitch and loses a game 9-0. How?
41. At the end of a baseball game, the winning team has 1 run. How
many runs did the losing team have?
42. What is the smallest number of strikeouts that you can have in a
game?
43. What is the fewest number of games that baseball players can miss
through a players' [Editor: the original has "player's"] strike over a 162-game regular season?
MORE SPORTS
44. You have 11 baseballs and one softball. One of the balls is either
bigger or smaller than the others. Which one is it?
45. There are two players in a single-elimination singles tennis
tournament. How many matches must be played to determine the
tournament winner?
46. You want to place bets on the Super Bowl, such that if your team
wins, you make $1,000, and if your team loses, you lose $1,000.
Which team do you bet on, and how much?
47. What is the greatest number of outs there can be in one inning of
horseshoes?
THERE ARE THREE DOORS.....
48. You are on Let's Make a Deal. Monty Hall offers you a choice of
Door Number 1, Door Number 2, or Door Number 3. Which door do you
choose?
50. You are on Let's Make a Deal. Monty Hall shows you three doors,
behind two of which are goats and one of which is a car. You pick
a door, and Monty opens that door to show you the car. He then
gives you the option to take one of the other two doors. What do
you do?
THERE ARE THREE COINS.....
51. (Easy) You are given two coins, and told that one is heavier or
lighter than the other. Determine which it is and whether it is
heavier or lighter in one weighing.
52. (Harder) You are given one coin, and told that one of your coins is
heavier or lighter than the others. Determine which it is and
whether it is heavier or lighter in no weighings.
53. (Expert) You are given two coins and told that one is heavier or
lighter than the other. Determine which it is and whether it is
heavier or lighter using a cup of water.
54. (Impossible) You are given one coin, and told that one of your
coins is heavier or lighter than the others. Determine which it is
and whether it is heavier or lighter using half a cup of water.
55. You are given twelve gold coins and a balance. One of the 12 coins
is a phony, and is painted either red OR blue (you are not told
which one it is). Using the balance, can you tell which coin is
the phony?
56. You have two coins that total 15 cents. You look at one of the
coins, and it is not a dime. Then you look at the dime, and it is
not a nickel. What are the two coins?
57. Alternative:
You have two coins that total 15 cents. One of them is a dime.
What is the other coin?
58. You have twelve coins, one of which weighs more than the other
eleven. With a balance scale, and in less than four weighings, how
do you determine which one is the quarter?
CATEGORIES
59. Arrange the following words into 2 sets of 3 each:
alpaca, armadillo, antelope, cauliflower, cucumber, carrot
60. Arrange the following words into 3 sets of 1 word each:
angry, hungry, nugry
RARE ENTRIES
61. Answer the following questions. For each question, a score is
computed which is the number of times somebody gave that answer to
that question. Your overall score is the lowest score that you got
on any question.
A. How many common words ending in -gry are there?
B. How many doors does Monty Hall use?
C. What is your name?
NO CALCULATORS ALLOWED
62. You have two dice with ones on all sides. What are the odds that
one throw of the dice will yield a total of two?
63. Two integers greater than 1 are chosen. Mr. S is told their sum,
Mr. P is told their product. The following conversation ensues:
Mr. S: I know your product.
Mr. P: I know your sum.
What are the two integers?
64. Complete the following sequence:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, __, __
Hint: if you fit it to a polynomial, I'll tell you you're wrong.
You have to guess what I was thinking when I wrote it.
65. Consider this proof:
x = x
2x = 2x
2x^2 = 2x^2 + (1 - 1)
x^2 = x^2 + (1 - 1)
1 = 1 + (1 - 1)
1 = 1
How can this be?
66. You have two pails. One can hold 5 liters, and the other can hold
3 liters. How can you use them to carry exactly 8 liters of water?
67. What is the first number in this five-number sequence?
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
68. Which is bigger e^1 or 1^e ?
69. If there are two locomotives on the same track, each traveling
towards the other at a combined speed of 60 mph, and they are 60
miles apart, how long will it be before a fly on the front of one
locomotive gets squashed (no need to sum an infinite series)?
70. A car goes up a 1 mile hill averaging 30 miles an hour. How fast
does it have to come down the hill to average 30 mph for the entire
round trip?
71. A woman is playing outside with her three children, all of whom are
at least one year old. A guy stops and asks "How old are your
children?" She says, "The sum of their ages is 11." The guy says,
"I don't have enough information." The woman says, "My oldest
child is nine years old." The guy says "Thank you!" and drives
off. How old are the children?
72. I have two children. The younger one is a girl. What is the
probability that at least one of them is not a boy?
73. A man in a jeep wants to cross a 200 mile stretch of desert with
gas stations on each end and none in between. The jeep has a 20
gallon tank and gets 5 miles to the gallon. The man also has two
10 gallon gas cans and a 5 gallon gas can. How can he do it?
74. Sarah has sixteen sisters. Sarah's mother is expecting. What is
the probability that Sarah's seventeenth sibling will be a sister?
PENCIL PUZZLES
75. Connect the dots: . . . . .
76. Can you arrange these three lines to form a square?
---------------
---------------
---------------
WHAT DO WE REALLY MEAN BY TRUTH?
77. You are on an island where everybody tells the truth. How can you,
in one question, find out the name of the island?
78. You are on a planet where everyone sometimes tells the truth and
sometimes lies. What is the name of the planet?
79. You are in a strange land where everybody is a liar. You are
brought to two large doors, each one guarded by a gatekeeper.
Gatekeeper of door #1 says, "Enter this one for everlasting life",
while gatekeeper of door #2 says, "He is a filthy liar. Enter this
door for everlasting life." As a nugry, you are extremely confused
but must choose a door immediately. Which door do you choose?
80. You are on an island where some of the natives always lie and some
of them always tell the truth. You are lost. You come across two
natives, and you ask them, "How do I get back to the visitor
camp?" The first native says, "F**k You!" and the second native
gives you the finger. Then they beat you up and take your
travelers checks and credit cards. Now what do you do?
THERE ARE THREE LIGHTS AND THREE SWITCHES....
81. You have the task of assigning switches to lights. Each switch has
an "on" and an "off" position, and operates one and only one light.
The room with the lights cannot be seen from the room with the
switches. Assuming everything is in working order, and there are
two switches and two lights, how can you assign the switches to
lights in the minimum number of trips?
82-83. Follow up puzzle:
What's the minimum number of trips to assign two lights to one
switch? What's the minimum number of trips to assign one light to
two switches?
84. There are 10 wires with different-colored insulation that run from
the basement of a building to its attic. What is the minimum
number of trips you need to make in order to label each wire?
(AT LEAST) THREE TRIPS ACROSS A RIVER...
87. Ten cannibals and nine nusgry are standing on one side of a river.
They all want to get to the other side. But the cannibals are
hungry and angry. It is known that when cannibals outnumber
nusgry, the nusgry get eaten. There is one boat which can seat ten
cannibals and one nusgry. How many trips are required to get all
the cannibals safely to the other side of the river?
88. In the jungle, you come across a river which must be traversed by
boat. You are with another guy, but there is just one boat that
can only take one person. How many trips does it take to get you
both safely to the other side of the river?
ENDGAMES
89. What is the name of this book?
90. And, the hardest puzzler of the entire book:
What does FAQ stand for, and where might you find one?
CREDITS
Paul Abrahamse - 10
Rick Adamson - 14, 43
Seth B. - 84
Bill - 26
Chris Brand - 41
Chuck Carroll - 32, 45
acclay - 4, 8, 33, 74, 79, 87, 88
Matthew Daly - 42
Tim Firman - 64, 90
Paddy Fotovic - 37, 38, 39, 81, 82, 83
Jonathan Haas - 16, 22, 23, 24, 46, 50, 63, 71, 72, 77
James Hammond - 78
Derek Holt - 51, 52, 53, 54
Dale Johannesen - 59, 60, 61
Admiral Jota - 35
Karen Lingel - 44, 48
Max from S. Cal - 62
Myron Meyer - 18, 19, 47, 58, 75, 80, 89
Gerry Quinn - 25
Matthew Russotto - 29, 73, 81, 82, 83
Scott Sauyet - 6, 34
Naeem Sheikh - 13
Daniel Smith - 9
David Spero - 1, 2, 11, 12, 20, 21
Ira Stein - 3, 70
Peter Van der Linden - 56, 57, 67, 68, 69
David White - 5, 16, 55, 65
Barry Wolk - 66
-- David Spero (mrrogers@igc.apc.org)
[ Editor: no answers were posted with the collection. ]