[OT} Puzzle thats driving us nuts

"Mark Edwards" wrote in message
...
No cluons were harmed when "Yoj" said:

A late member of GLAAM used to have a program called "Stupid Things
Mensans
Do" at our RG every year. People would get up and tell about something
stupid they had done, whereupon they would be presented with a "Densa"
certificate.

In the late seventies, there was a column in the national Mensa
Bulletin, called "Turn of the Table" ('Mensa' being Latin for
'table'). It told many a tale of stupid things done by other Mensans.

One of my very favorite stories (and no, it isn't about me - grin) was
about the person who found a wasp's nest outside the kitchen door. Not
wishing to be stung, they used the vacuum cleaner, with all extension
tubes, to suck the wasps into the vacuum.

This would have been great, but they now had a vacuum cleaner, full of
angry wasps, which they could now NOT turn off.

Oho! No problem! They decided they could suck natural gas from the gas
stove, into the vacuum cleaner. That would kill the wasps for sure!

So there they were, merrily sucking gas into an electrical appliance,
wondering "Gee, what is the critical volume of gas necessary, to cause
a spark from the motor in the vacuum cleaner, to ignite the gas?"

At which point, the vacuum exploded.

But, according to the story, it DID kill the wasps...


Hugs and Purrs,
Mark

That makes me feel better about some of the stupid things *I've* done. G

Joy

Seanette Blaylock wrote:

"Yoj" had some very interesting things to
say about [OT} Puzzle thats driving us nuts:


Tolerant and accepting is good. Many Mensans are, but some are snobs, and
truly believe they are both smarter and better than everybody else.
Actually, your entire gang, including you, would probably qualify for Mensa
membership - both in intelligence and eccentricity. I actually know two
Mensans who are millionaires. One of them buys all his clothes at garage
sales, goes to Happy Hours so he can fill up on free food while nursing one
drink, and leads "urban hikes" that always end up at a buffet restaurant
just in time to get the lunch prices.


What's wrong with not wanting to pay more than necessary? ;-)

Yeah, maybe that's how he *became* a millionaire.

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

Marina wrote:
Seanette Blaylock wrote:

"Yoj" had some very interesting things to
say about [OT} Puzzle thats driving us nuts:


eccentricity. I actually know two Mensans who are millionaires.
One of them buys all his clothes at garage sales, goes to Happy
Hours so he can fill up on free food while nursing one drink, and
leads "urban hikes" that always end up at a buffet restaurant just
in time to get the lunch prices.


What's wrong with not wanting to pay more than necessary? ;-)

Yeah, maybe that's how he *became* a millionaire.

And *stayed* a millionaire!

Jill

"jmcquown" wrote in message
news
Marina wrote:
Seanette Blaylock wrote:

"Yoj" had some very interesting things
to
say about [OT} Puzzle thats driving us nuts:


eccentricity. I actually know two Mensans who are millionaires.
One of them buys all his clothes at garage sales, goes to Happy
Hours so he can fill up on free food while nursing one drink,
and
leads "urban hikes" that always end up at a buffet restaurant
just
in time to get the lunch prices.


What's wrong with not wanting to pay more than necessary? ;-)

Yeah, maybe that's how he *became* a millionaire.

And *stayed* a millionaire!

Jill

Yeah, sometimes I think about how my life would change if I won the
lottery. Sure, I'd get a nice house and nice car, etc... but I think
I'd still seek out "Cheap Chicken Wing Wednesdays" and beer specials
in pubs and get clothes on sale and all that stuff. Somehow getting a
bargain makes it more fun! Which is probably why I shop so much here
in Thailand because it always seems that I'm getting a bargain ;-)
--
Britta
Sandpaper kisses, a cuddle and a purr. I have an alarm clock that's
covered in fur!
Check out pictures of Vino at:
http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album

No cluons were harmed when Yoj! wrote:

[Mensa 76]

Hi Mark! Would that be Philadelphia? I'm not familiar with a
numeral
designation for a group. I'm part of GLAAM - Greater Los Angeles
Area

Oops, sorry. That's the 76xxx zip-code area, which is basically Fort
Worth, Arlington, and a few isolated towns in the west end (or
thereabouts) of the Dallas/Fort Worth area, in Texas.


Hugs and Purrs,
Mark
--
Proof of Sanity Forged Upon Request

"Seanette Blaylock" wrote in
message ...
Mark Edwards had some very interesting
things to say about [OT] Stupid Mensan tricks:

In the late seventies, there was a column in the national Mensa
Bulletin, called "Turn of the Table" ('Mensa' being Latin for
'table'). It told many a tale of stupid things done by other Mensans.
One of my very favorite stories (and no, it isn't about me - grin) was
about the person who found a wasp's nest outside the kitchen door. Not
wishing to be stung, they used the vacuum cleaner, with all extension
tubes, to suck the wasps into the vacuum.
This would have been great, but they now had a vacuum cleaner, full of
angry wasps, which they could now NOT turn off.
Oho! No problem! They decided they could suck natural gas from the gas
stove, into the vacuum cleaner. That would kill the wasps for sure!
So there they were, merrily sucking gas into an electrical appliance,
wondering "Gee, what is the critical volume of gas necessary, to cause
a spark from the motor in the vacuum cleaner, to ignite the gas?"
At which point, the vacuum exploded.
But, according to the story, it DID kill the wasps...

This is hilarious, but sounds a bit like an urban legend. :-) Hang on
while I check Snopes.

Hmmm, Snopes doesn't have anything on this. Might even be true. :-)

Nope, I know the column Mark is talking about. There are actual things that
actual Mensans have done - and are some of the most incredibly stupid things
anyone could imagine doing. I hate to perpetuate the myth that smart people
have *NO* common sense, but, here's just one of the things I've done...

Right after my divorce, I started seeing the oil light come on in my car.
I'd seen my ex check the oil, so I felt competent enough to do so for myself
and the dipstick showed fluid all the way up to the little line that
indicates "full" - this went on for a couple of weeks and that darned light
just stayed glowing brightly.

I had been warned repeatedly that any mechanic would surely take advantage
of a woman bringing in a car with mysterious problems, so I researched what
it could possibly be before bringing the car in to be serviced. At the
repair shop I hopped out of the car and told the mechanic, in an
authoritative manner, "There is a fuse burned out in my dash that's causing
my oil light to stay on."

The mechanic asked if I had checked my oil and I replied, "Of course." At
that point I popped my hood, removed the dipstick, wiped off the excess
fluid, put the dipstick back in then pulled it out to show the man that the
fluid was all the way up to the little line that indicates "full".

"See, I said, it's topped off with oil, so it must be a burned out fuse -
I'm not paying for any other work on this car, just change the fuse and I'll
be off." The mechanic was clearly trying to hide the grin on his face as he
told me, "Lady, you just checked your transmission fluid." He then proceded
to pull out the *actual* oil dipstick to show me that my oil pan was bone
dry!!!

Hugs,

CatNipped

--
"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be
doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding.
:-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL

"CatNipped" had some very interesting things
to say about [OT] Stupid Mensan tricks:

The mechanic asked if I had checked my oil and I replied, "Of course." At
that point I popped my hood, removed the dipstick, wiped off the excess
fluid, put the dipstick back in then pulled it out to show the man that the
fluid was all the way up to the little line that indicates "full".
"See, I said, it's topped off with oil, so it must be a burned out fuse -
I'm not paying for any other work on this car, just change the fuse and I'll
be off." The mechanic was clearly trying to hide the grin on his face as he
told me, "Lady, you just checked your transmission fluid." He then proceded
to pull out the *actual* oil dipstick to show me that my oil pan was bone dry!!!

Sounds like something I'd do, which is why I leave car care to DH
[who's actually competent :-)]. I also don't deal with mechanics
without backup [last time I was faced with having to do so without DH
available, DFIL was nearby, so I asked him to come along, which he
did].

--
"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be
doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding.
:-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL

Try this for fun. Write the letters A through Z.

Number them A = 1 through Z = 26.

Add the values of each of the letters, and then compare the sums to the
prices given. I suspect it's a quarter per letter, but I'd ahve to run it
out on paper to be sure.

I'm nto a Mensa person.

--

Christopher A. Young
This space intentionally left blank
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"Yowie" wrote in message
...
For Christmas, my parents were given a Mensa calender with a puzzle for each
day. They haven't opened it yet, but the sample question was:

A toy shop prices toys on the whim of the owner:
A doll is $12, a kite $15, a skateboard $34, and a ring toss $24. How much
is a blackboard?

My whole family has been working furiously on this puzzle, but even though
we know the answer (it was printed on the box) we have no idea *why* $31
right

Can anyone out there in RPCA land explain the solution? It will save the
Greater Chapman Clan from going utterly bonkers.

Yowie


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"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
Right after my divorce, I started seeing the oil light come on in my car.
I'd seen my ex check the oil, so I felt competent enough to do so for
myself and the dipstick showed fluid all the way up to the little line
that indicates "full" - this went on for a couple of weeks and that darned
light just stayed glowing brightly.

I had been warned repeatedly that any mechanic would surely take advantage
of a woman bringing in a car with mysterious problems, so I researched
what it could possibly be before bringing the car in to be serviced. At
the repair shop I hopped out of the car and told the mechanic, in an
authoritative manner, "There is a fuse burned out in my dash that's
causing my oil light to stay on."

The mechanic asked if I had checked my oil and I replied, "Of course." At
that point I popped my hood, removed the dipstick, wiped off the excess
fluid, put the dipstick back in then pulled it out to show the man that
the fluid was all the way up to the little line that indicates "full".

"See, I said, it's topped off with oil, so it must be a burned out fuse -
I'm not paying for any other work on this car, just change the fuse and
I'll be off." The mechanic was clearly trying to hide the grin on his
face as he told me, "Lady, you just checked your transmission fluid." He
then proceded to pull out the *actual* oil dipstick to show me that my oil
pan was bone dry!!!

Hugs,

CatNipped


LOL! It is just not possible for *women* to understand cars...(not).
Dec 26th my car, a Citreon AX that I call Mr F - not just because his
registrations letters are MRF but because I bought from from a very nice
elderly gentleman called Mr Field - refused to start after an initial Ruh,
ruh, ruh.. weather -6C.
New battery required, but nowhere open. The following day my brother Andrew
came to fetch me to take me to get a new battery for Mr F.
We got to the garage and I queued up at the sales desk. When it was my
turn, I said I needed a battery for a Citreon AX, year so and so. P reg
anyway, those in UK will know.
Can you believe that although he heard what I said, he immediately ignored
me and started talking to my brother about it!!!!
Like why would he know? The garage chap just assumed that my brother was
"the Man".

I was amused in one way, and annoyed in another.
So as he was looking over my head and talking to my brother, I waved to him
and said "excuse me, it's *my* car, and * I* will decide whether I want a
two, three or four year warranty on my new battery."
I suppose you have to laugh, but sometimes it's a forced one.

Oh, just to keep on the Mensa thread. I took a test and was invited to
join, but turned it down when I realised there was a membership fee. I
lurch from financial crisis to financial crisis because of my sight and all
the ops I've needed, so the Mensa membership fee was out.
Anyway. most of the people who post here, IMHO, would qualify and we have
lovely intelligent debates, so why do I need Mensa?

Tweed

I thought that, but it isn't.

Tweed




"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
Try this for fun. Write the letters A through Z.

Number them A = 1 through Z = 26.

Add the values of each of the letters, and then compare the sums to the
prices given. I suspect it's a quarter per letter, but I'd ahve to run it
out on paper to be sure.

I'm nto a Mensa person.

--

Christopher A. Young
This space intentionally left blank
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"Yowie" wrote in message
...
For Christmas, my parents were given a Mensa calender with a puzzle for
each
day. They haven't opened it yet, but the sample question was:

A toy shop prices toys on the whim of the owner:
A doll is $12, a kite $15, a skateboard $34, and a ring toss $24. How much
is a blackboard?

My whole family has been working furiously on this puzzle, but even though
we know the answer (it was printed on the box) we have no idea *why* $31
right

Can anyone out there in RPCA land explain the solution? It will save the
Greater Chapman Clan from going utterly bonkers.

Yowie


---
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