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. No item on the party agenda is better received than "Puzzle Cor- ner," for most of us enjoy puss- tling out the answers to tricky i problems and the solutions to bail- znng tricks and teasers. But some- one must set the puzzles and the attacks. and that is where YOU gccme in. Here are a few posers and teas- 'ers that ought to tickle the fancy to: your guests and get their grey .me'.iel' working. They are all quite simple and need little apparatus. but before you "do your act"; practise them again and again so ithnt you are ”word perfect," for -' nothing falls flatter than a trick lthat doesn't work the first time. I For this first puzzle, you need a jblscirbcard, or a sheet of paper -Vplnlled to a board. Now you must -call for a. volunteer iirour among Iyour guests, who will not mind an- tswering a few simple questions. Right -- of! we go! Ask your ftriend's age and write it on the I board. We will say that it is "41." 3 "Now," you continue. 'if you I are 41. you were D-n in 1908.? I Write down this date under- '-neath the age. 5: The next , estion you can de-' icide upon yourself, but what about isomething like this? '1-low long ;have you been working at your 1-present job?" The answer, we will ': say. is "21 years." Good enough - I write ihat figure beneath the I others. as though it were an addi- ; tion sum. I "Twenty-one years with your liltm," you say. "Then that means, lyou started that job in 1928. Right ii- we will put that date beneath 3 the other figures.” Q Now you will have a sum some- thing like this: 41

4 I5 8

1908 21

1928

3898 (total)

KW That done, you ask someone else to look behind the clock (or in some other place you have decided upon) and take out the

I niece 01 paper that is hidden there. in could even be sealed in an en-

; VEIOPG.) Tell your guests to take

, out the paper and read theunum- her that is written upon it

and watch them gape as the mm.

her is read out - 3098. the same as

,he answer to the sum. looks amazing. doesn't it? But

you cannot make a mistake.

The answer must always be the same - twice the figures , oi the 3"'""19Year. In other words I949 by 2 is 3098, so you can pre- pare the hidden piece of paper be- fore the trick and 'be quite sure that whatcver questions you ask. I”0V1d1n8 you do not make a mis- iake 1" your addition, the answer will always be the same.

Ii you are not sure, my it with other numbers. Supposing the West was liked in - born in "me --you could then ask: "How ineny years have you been .golng ,P"50h00l?" The answer might be H6 -which means that the fourth trllle of the sum would. be 1943, we date your young ri-ieno start- lmto sclboi. Now add 11. 1933, e,

. and the answer is 3898.

t Remember. however, that you

. '3' this little teaser in 1050. the Lorreci. answer in your sum must 9N3900. twice the current date.

marext trick - you want ex: mg.

may Postcard. Tell your friend; th you will stick. your head lamgzh it. and then hear them hill . But YOU will get the last much when you show them that can be one.

IPIER. 1) with a racer blade or ,”n”::'P Penknife. make a few cuts m he card - follow the diagram how '-'"With. and you will see Just com land where to cut. Having ems) eted them. pull gently st megcnd 0!. the card and it will mm It out into one long piece of

W!-fin the form of a ring. head 0 said you couldn't stiokyour cm? ihroush an ordinary poet-

. t I

uufhi u back of en-an Then use - the four "!iivu"'eud lay them

out on the

"men this time is

.,,.,.,. . .. -

a

When all your guests have tried ;:'.'d ""04. show them how sin!- ,n 3' I5 by setting-"out -the csmis as

so 9 next "diagram. (Dian) "mem9Itml?I I "INC GIIIONIIO lhll how-w m most know

an h w to main .. ::'tchstick float 0 in ' -I of wete.-9 , I” - when imam ""3 to meter the trick - is r ' th and

folded.

the pin underneath and float U?-I RIGHT. Well. if you don't believe. it. try it and see. and . then work it out on your friendsl (Diag. 3.)

While you prepare for your next punle. ask your guests if they can take ONE from ..NINE'I'.BEN a.nd.leave TWENTY. It sounds quite impossible, doesn't it? But write down "19" in Roman num- erals -' (XIX); now take the I away from it. and what have you left? Twenty -000.

Yes. of course it's a catch, but rather smart - and it will catch out your friends. ' ,l'ior the next trick you'll need three tumblers - no. not the sc- rcbatlc sorti stand two of them on the table about six inches apart. and then show your friends a sheet of ordinary notcoaiper (not too thin) and another tumbler and ask them to use the notcpaper to make a bridge between the two glasses and stand the other one on it.

Mind they don't smash the tumbler when they find that they cannot balance it on the note- paper. But the trick is as easy as most tricks - when you know how to do it.

All you do is to fold the note-l purer until it resembles corrugat- ed iron. and you.will find thet'it will hold the third tunbler bel- anced across the other two. The accompanying sketch will show you how. (Diag. 4.)

Now will try another numeri- cal puzzle. For this you need some slips of paper, each containing a square, divided into nine smaller squares. Hand these around to your guests and ask them to put the numbers 1. 2, 8, 4, I5. (I. '1. 8. 9. into the squares (one number- "in each square, of course) so that each line of three figures, wheth- er up or down. or diagonally adds up to is. I

Now sit back and leave your friends to-puule it out. By the way. here is the correct solution: .

(Diagram of 9 squares.) (Diag.! 5.) -

A box oi msuhns is always hen- dy apparatus for a few punling tricks. Here's.the first. .

(Ding. 8.) Lay out i matches as in the accompanying sketch "A". These represent 13 hurdles which are used to form separate pens for six goats. Now, you tell your guests, one of the hurdles is brok- en - (take one of the match- stlcks away) - and the farmer was left with 13 hurdles. But each goat had to have a separate pen. How did he use the 12 hurdles to make six pens for his goats?

'3' will show you how he did it. While, you've still got those 12

' ent old character.

The second part of the sketch;

1

C

EC

ORNER

I

A g, T-I-IE GUARDIAN. ACHARLOTTETOWN

, Party-Games

Continued from page 3 . Sione-4r any other H-lettered word ending in-one.

Because it works only when it plays.

One is stocking his mind. and the other is minding his stock.

Because they both make up stories.

A safe robbery.

PP 99'

Because the weight or the scales is included.

I. A yard measure.

from the pool. being carelul not to unfold it and look as it yet. When all have returned to their places. the leader gives the word of com- mand which sets than free to pro- ceed to the next state--which is the drawing of a composite-and imag- inary creature contsining some part or parts of all those named at the head of the paper.

A reasonable time-limit should be set and. when it is reached, the , , should again be given to the leader who holds them up suc- cessively so that the group may act as a jury and select the one that most nearly complies with some

, iiied description-e.g.” the clevetest, the funniest. the ugliest.

PAGE NINE;

the nicest, etc.

The results are nearly always amusing, and quite oitca little touches of 'ngenuity or s whimsi- cal choice of listed creatures pro- duces quite remarkable drawings.

MAGIC WITH DICE

It is always impressive in be able to guess names or numbers or cards that can apparently be known only to a single person or a confederate group. Here is an excellent trick of that kind. car- ried out with dice of the usual sort (is, numbe ed from 1 to 6 on the respective sides).

Hand them to the person or per- sons whom you went to mystiiy. or to whom you wish to display your skill. and ask ilhat they be thrown on to I table or some other flat surfacmthe resulting num-

-......3.i-.. ..-..-

bers being then noted, but not run vealed, to you.

"There's no need to tell me." yo) say. "I can guess then." And the you at once proceed to do. on on following lines.

"Choose either one. of the top- most numbers," you instruct. "and multiply it by 2 . . . Right? . . . Now add 5 . . . And multiply that result by 5 . . . After which you need only to add the numbe up- permost on the other cube, and tell me your final result. And the ans- wer is . . ." .

You can give that answer at once, but as a wise wizard you will keep the method to your All that you have to do is to - street 25 from the total lust an- nounced to you. The two digits 0! the number that remains are al- ways the numbers on the top faces oithc two dice.

Cries co

lit trick.

gh is the story of two 301 scouts who wanted to get across toan island in the middle of a 15”, so, with matches, lay out a. square” 3 matches forming each side. to represent the area of the lake. In the centre iorni another square. one match long and Wide. to represent the island.

Now then. hand two matches to a friend and tell him that they represent the Boy Scouts' D0193 with which they formed a bridge so that they could cross to the is- land. They used NOTHING ELSE so how did they get across?

There is only one solution and you will see it in the sketch.

Want another trick with those nuts? Rilghto. here you are.

Hand twelve nuts to a guest and ask him to place them on the tab- le in six straight lines. with four nuts in each line. You can be sure that unless your friends. have seen the trick before. they will fail to do what you ask. but it is quite simple- All you do -is to lay the nuts in the

is no deception.) Now lay a pen-

conclude your "puezle corner" with this cute catch.

Get s. piece of notepaiper and cut a hole in the centre of it the same size as a smiling. (You can use a shilling to mark out the hole, to prove to your audience that there

ny over the hole - and tell your friends that you will pass the pen- ny through the hole without tear- ing the paper. It looks impossible, doesn't it, and yet there is a. sim- ple way of doing it

Fold the paper, so that the hole is in the centre of the told. as in Fig. 1 of the sketch. The penny is now lodged in the hole. but still it will not pass through. Take the top corners of the folded paper and press inwards (as in Fig. 2.) The hole will now stretch enough for the penny to slip through quite easily, and the paper is not darn- aged in any way. (Dies. 19.)

If you practise up these few puzzles: poser: and teasers before you try them on your guests, your party should not lack for laughs.

formation sketched herewith - to form six straight lines.

Christmas Queries

Continued from page 8

WHY do some people see Father Christmas INIERY DAY? Because there is a. statute to the benevol- ent old gentleman in the little town of Santa Claus. in Indiana. USA. Originally named Santa Fe, it had to be renamed because there was another Santa. Fe in Assent-ins. The residents chose the name Santa Claus - and their town became world furious.

WHY is the Yule log burned at ttYule-tide"? This lovely old custom dates back to the Pagan Norsemen. During the closing hours of each year they gathered around a bias- irig log, in the flames of which all their enmity and hatred of the previous months vanished-or were supposed to! Thus, with much feasting and ceremonial rite, the New Year was heralded in a. spirit of "peace and goodwill" to all men.

WHY do we decorate the house Iwith holly at Christmas? Icgend (tells us that Christ's "crown oi theme" was of 'Koly evergreens”. Ior, as we know it tcday. holly. Many nmerstitions are connected with holly. The ancient Kelte placed it

-in their homes to ward off evil spirits. According to an old rhyme: "should a scarlet berry fall.

A D:l(l)!"pGT'0lll year is pledged to

r to tiny electric bulbs.

Good luck to all you erstwhile party magiciansl

Carol, and it is thought that the songs sung while the Druids cut the i ' for their uca ' I end- cf-year rites, were known as carols. WHY do we sing about "Good King Wenceslas"? The ever-popular carol is is tribute to a former King of Bohemia. who was regarded as the world's most benevolent mon- arch He, used much of his vast riches to start and maintain many churches throughout his kingdom. which so angered his Pagan rivals. that Wenceslas was assassinated by his jealous brother around the year 336. His fame remains. however. WHY do we decorate our Christ-I mas trees with lights or candles? This colorful custom is attributed to Martin Luther. one n-osty night this great Protestant Reformer was walking through a wood near his home. when he stored up at the tall fire, which seemed to be decorated with tiny sparkling lights. Actually. he was seeing the stars twinkling through the branches. but the re- ligious significance of the stars so appealed to Luther, that he vowed always tohave asmall iirtree decor- ated with lighted candles, in hh home during the celebration or Christ's birth. The custom has be- come universial, although in these rncdern days candles have given way

WHY did turkey become the most, common Christmas dish? some say

10. When it is e eimnroeirj ms: zoo rna-r Never was

This is an excellent round game for parties and similar social gath- crinss. Where the mxnber of anti- cipunts is more than family size. a 00IiV9Yi5H1Ii Way of carrying it out is to divide them into groups. each of wluch numbers five or six per- sons, and has I leader. Everybody should be provided with a sheet or paper and'a pencil.

As an initial me e the plny- era are instructed-by one gener- al announcement. or by the more intimate instructions of the group leaders-to write down at the top of their papers the names of an animal. a bird, a reptile. an in- sect and some other creature sel- ecled according to individual choice. The papers are then folded and Riven to the group leaders and put into hats, boxes or some other simple form of container.

Eich Dlilyer now comes forward in turn and takes a folded paper

mixture that was detonated when the cracker was pulled. Papers caps and tiny toys took the place of sweets and a new Christmas Indus. try was born. WHY do we give presents as Christmas? Blame the Romans for this e , 'vr: custom. The Satur. nalian feasts held to celebrate the end of the year were very much akin to our present Christmas (as. tivities. Masters mingled with their servants, all social ties were ban- ished. and amid drinking and merrymnkins. gifts were handed round by rich and poor duke. WHY Christmas cars? More than 100 years ago, it was the custom for Christmas "pieces" to be sent. to one's friends. They were mere:y "home-made" messages adorned -with decorative borders and it was the delisht oi the kiddies to colour them. In 134. however, J, c.'1-mu. ley,'a member of the Royal Amide- my. decided to design a coloured card which could be printed. thus a timing and a great deal of trouble. The valuable Christmas card industry is the result

Roddy Kilewoit, Your Servant of the Cen- tury, is a worker with a thousand iobs on today's forms. I Treat yourself to a Christmas that lasts "all year. Add some electrical appliances" for your . . home and electrical tools for yourwork. . . .' They use REAL Christmas gifts that let Roddy, x work longer hours at his usual low wages.

g .

Iii THE MARITIME ELECTRIC COMPANY lug -

SHOPPING HOURS

matches. lay them on the table to' WEY kl” l”"”m I'M mkueua

that the Pilgrim Fathers celebrated

table in shiny. The show

form the word 1"I!'f'Y. Now teke' C away seven matches and tell your friends to make 80. Actually. you do not mean quite what you say, for all you do is to form the let- ters A T - eighty. see?

(Ding. 7.) Still using your mat- ches. lay out eight of them in the form of a rectangle, 3 matches wide and one match deep, as in the sketch 'A'.

Here's the story you tell your friends. A farmer planted six young trees in pairs, and placed 8 hurdles around them. (You can use nuts to represent the trees.) A few days later he decided to double the number of trees. which meant doubling the sine of the en- closure. Now how many more hurdles did he need to carry out the Job - in other words. how many more matches would be needed to double the size of" the rectangle?

Watch the surprise on the faces of your guests when they realise that only TWO additional match- es areneeded. (sketch '3').

. Beiore you but those nut! been in the dish. keep three of them for. the next. trick. Lay the .three nuts on the table and ask whether anyone can countup to ten with thein counting one ever! time a nut is lifted or laid down. with ihethreenutelyingontbe table when "ten" is counted no to one they will ,not be able to do it. so

them. . Nllow this system carefully. Plckupthenutsoneetehsnses you count "one, two, three." New lay, themvdown again. ting "laur. five, six," Pick up only'two nuts this time - "seven. eight." and lay them down sgsin, - 'NI.ne. tan." 'l'here' are the three nuts, lying on the table. Quickly-plek up the three huts and hand them to one of your friends, end'Meslr than to repeat nhst you - have hast dorm Jenn surprised -- an IQ ay- vwsta they find

on start

hat his sauna! ri t. Y see. 183 main were of pagan origin. Ind for! ling ci a blazing log fire. he hit

custom of ancient origin. !'llhe Druids of 2.000 years ago con- 'sidered there -was a magic charm labout -mistletoe. and a marriage sealed with a kiss under a hanging I sprig of the silver-berried plant. iv.-ouia be blessed by the gods. But did you know that each time u. loouplo kiss beneath the mistletoe. a berry should be plucked? If this is not done, the charm cannot wcrlr -or so says the old lekend. With imp last berry plucked. the mistle- toe is useless..... WHY should the holly and mistle- too be taken down immediately af- ter New Year's Day? Another silv- erstitious belief of the Middle A398 It was believed that if the holly and mistletoe Christmas deocrltlons iwere left in the house aftcr mid-

night on.New Year's Day. bad luck would descend upon the household! - The oustom stil-1. persists.

- the Christmas tree? Today.

no.child'e restive Season is com- Ipieie without the gaily-decorated ' tree. although the crlginsl signific- Ienee is forgotten. it is thought um. lthere was a religious reason for the people of Btreeboug adopting ' the custom manytyeers ago. for the .flr tree has been sacred since 'the .old Testament days when the great Temple of Jerusalem was ' built from the timber cf hewn firs. it was introduced into England in "mo by Queen Charlotte. wife or 090110

111'.

l war are carol-singers called "Waits"? It is thought that the derivation of word meant "watch". for centuries ere. minstrels were attached to the King's Court to keep order and to patrol the streets at night proclaiming the time to the people -- "piping the watch”. as it was called. For this they received em. a day! Another definition of the word is "wayghtee" ' or lhntbvys. cld-time musical in-. etrumentl which were, used most nearly mlnetrels.