Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Nevertells

maze.jpg"Nevertells, also often called Open-Ended Stories or One Minute Mysteries, are short little stories that create a puzzle or seem illogical until some assumption is removed. There is some quick little answer that once figured out makes everything fit together. While the stories usually only take a minute to tell, they can drive people nuts for hours or days while they try to figure them out. The answer should never be given to someone, though, that's why they are called Nevertells. ...

For a more lively version, you can play in teams. You want to form at least two groups. Then you tell the groups you will read them an open-ended story. You need to read it to them once. Each group will get a chance to answer questions about the story. The group?s task is to figure out the missing part of the story. The catch is they can only ask yes or no questions. The leader of the game can only answer yes, no, or not significant. The groups will take turns asking questions. Then the group to first correctly answer the question will win the point. - campresources

I enjoy these riddles which force lateral thinking. Here are over 120 of them, but it is most fun to make up your own. There are some good ones here.

Here's one I learned this weekend: If you have only some extra clothes, a box of latex gloves, scouring powder (Ajax) and lots of time on your hands, how would you escape from Alcatraz?

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