• Washer Cylinder

    Updated: 2012-03-29 20:39:00
    : skip to main skip to sidebar Brian's Damn Puzzle Blog A chronicle of my descent into the realm of the . puzzle-obsessed March 29, 2012 Washer Cylinder Well I finally ended up purchasing this puzzle from Wil Strijbos at NYPP I had heard a lot about it since Wil was keeping track of who had solved it and sending regular updates to the NOBNET email list . Plenty has been written about it Allard's Puzzling Times Oli's Mechanical Puzzle Blog PuzzleMad and Jerry's Small Puzzle Collection but I tried not to read too closely for fear of getting accidental . hints I fiddled with it on and off for a few days , rotating the lid this way and that and shaking it around . I felt that I had a fairly good idea of how it was supposed to work , based on a few observations , but I couldn't quite figure out

  • Schmuckdose

    Updated: 2012-03-28 21:54:00
    : skip to main skip to sidebar Brian's Damn Puzzle Blog A chronicle of my descent into the realm of the . puzzle-obsessed March 28, 2012 Schmuckdose As much as I love fancy puzzle boxes , I'm always keeping my eye out for ones that are more reasonably priced . Puzzle Master is currently selling the Schmuckdose puzzle box designed by Jean-Claude Constantin , and they were kind enough to sell me a copy at a discount to . review It is a rather innocuous looking box , with a somewhat irregular shape . It is a bit hard to tell in the photo , but it has eight sides of varying lengths . The wood I'm guessing is maple , and has a nice smooth finish on it . There are two brass hinges on the back side . The inner compartment is circular , about two inches across , with felt on both sides . A nice

  • NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 25, 2012): In the News...

    Updated: 2012-03-25 06:09:31
    NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 25, 2012): In the News...: Q: Think of a much-discussed subject in the news. Two words (five letters in the first, six letters in the last). The letters of the five-letter word can be rearranged to get the first five letters of the six-letter word. The six-letter word ends in a Y. What's the subject?Kind of...<br/Edit: A kind of book or movie would be a genre which is an anagram of the 5 letters.A: GREEN ENERGY

  • Paper Cryptex Puzzle

    Updated: 2012-03-19 21:01:00
    : skip to main skip to sidebar Brian's Damn Puzzle Blog A chronicle of my descent into the realm of the . puzzle-obsessed March 19, 2012 Paper Cryptex Puzzle Recently a reader , Brad Pyle , contacted me and offered to send a puzzle that he had made . Of course , I gladly accepted , and was quite curious as to what it could be . I guess I could have asked , but I thought it would be more fun not knowing It arrived in this very small box , which was decorated like a puzzle box Since he told me to use caution with the puzzle , since it was delicate , I wondered for a bit whether the box might be the puzzle . As it turns out , that wasn't the case , but it is an interesting thought for you puzzle designers out . there What was inside was this nice little paper cryptex puzzle , along with a two

  • NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 18, 2012): This Puzzle is No Sweat

    Updated: 2012-03-19 16:52:29
    NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 18, 2012): This Puzzle is No Sweat: Q: Take the phrase "no sweat." Using only these seven letters, and repeating them as often as necessary, can you make a familiar four-word phrase? It's 15 letters long. What is it?Don't forget, you should use every letter at least once.Edit: In other words, don't waste any letters because you know what they say...A: Waste not, want not

  • NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 11, 2012): Warning! Puzzle Contains I-L-E-H

    Updated: 2012-03-11 16:58:22
    : Blaine's Puzzle Blog Weekly discussion on the NPR puzzler , brain teasers , math problems and . more Sunday , March 11, 2012 NPR Sunday Puzzle Mar 11, 2012 Warning Puzzle Contains I-L-E-H NPR Sunday Puzzle Mar 11, 2012 Warning Puzzle Contains I-L-E-H Q : The answer is a two-word name . Inside this name are the consecutive letters I-L-E-H . Remove these four letters , and the remaining letters in order will name something commonly found inside the original thing with the two-word name . What is it It may sound hard at first , but this is a piece of cake . Posted by Blaine at 6:35 AM Email This BlogThis Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Labels : npr patterns 5 comments : Blaine Mar 11, 2012 06:37 AM Here's my standard reminder . don't post the answer or any hints that could lead directly

  • Zen Magnets vs. The NeoCube

    Updated: 2012-03-08 21:05:00
    : . skip to main skip to sidebar Brian's Damn Puzzle Blog A chronicle of my descent into the realm of the . puzzle-obsessed March 8, 2012 Zen Magnets vs . The NeoCube The NeoCube left and Zen Magnets right Way back in October 2009, I wrote about a set of spherical magnets called The NeoCube Recently , the folks over at Zen Magnets set me two sets of their magnets , so that I could compare Zen Magnets vs . NeoCube . Zen Magnets claims to have superior dimensional tolerance , coating , and strength , so I tested each of these . I didn't expect to see much of a difference : I was quite happy with my NeoCube magnets , so could Zen Magnets be that much better Upon very close inspection , it is noticeable that Zen Magnets does have a smoother coating . From a distance , they look quite similar

  • NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 4, 2012): Can't see the Forest for the Trees

    Updated: 2012-03-04 13:27:59
    NPR Sunday Puzzle (Mar 4, 2012): Can't see the Forest for the Trees: Q: Take the trees hemlock, myrtle, oak and pine. Rearrange the letters in their names to get four other trees, with one letter left over. What trees are they?How about a monkey tree?Edit: If you take the consonants in "monkey" you get the last letters of each of the trees.A: ELM, LEMON, TEAK and HICKORY (with P left over)

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