Brain Teasers
Clever Jenny XIV
Situation
Situation puzzles (sometimes called lateral thinking puzzles) are ones where you need to ask lots of yes or no questions to figure out what happened in the situation. These are good puzzles for groups where one person knows the puzzle and answers the questions.Situation
Dana led Jenny up the stairs to the new apartment she and Tom had rented.
"This place is much nicer than our old place, and it's closer to Tom's work."
"And it's in a quieter neighborhood, too," Jenny added.
"Hey, want to stay for dinner?"
"Love to, but I need to wash my hair; it's getting too oily, and I want to look good for a big meeting tomorrow."
"Got it. Here we are!" Dana fished out her key and put it into the lock.
The key did not turn; Dana wrestled with it a while.
"Uh-oh! The lock seems to be stuck."
"Is it an old key? If it's worn, it might not work."
"No, the landlord put in a new lock, and the keys are new too."
"New key? Umm, can I see it a minute? Maybe one of my magic tricks will work here."
"Yeah, right!" But Dana held out the key.
Jenny took the key, pushed it through her hair, held it to the side of her head, and closed her eyes in an attitude of mock concentration.
"Hocus-pocus, dominocus;
Concentrate and try to focus!"
Then she raked the key through her hair, mumbling as she did.
"OK, try it now, Dana."
The key turned the way it should and the door opened.
"All right, Jenny, what on earth are you up to now? Don't expect me to believe that magic story!"
What had Jenny done?
"This place is much nicer than our old place, and it's closer to Tom's work."
"And it's in a quieter neighborhood, too," Jenny added.
"Hey, want to stay for dinner?"
"Love to, but I need to wash my hair; it's getting too oily, and I want to look good for a big meeting tomorrow."
"Got it. Here we are!" Dana fished out her key and put it into the lock.
The key did not turn; Dana wrestled with it a while.
"Uh-oh! The lock seems to be stuck."
"Is it an old key? If it's worn, it might not work."
"No, the landlord put in a new lock, and the keys are new too."
"New key? Umm, can I see it a minute? Maybe one of my magic tricks will work here."
"Yeah, right!" But Dana held out the key.
Jenny took the key, pushed it through her hair, held it to the side of her head, and closed her eyes in an attitude of mock concentration.
"Hocus-pocus, dominocus;
Concentrate and try to focus!"
Then she raked the key through her hair, mumbling as she did.
"OK, try it now, Dana."
The key turned the way it should and the door opened.
"All right, Jenny, what on earth are you up to now? Don't expect me to believe that magic story!"
What had Jenny done?
Answer
Jenny replied, "Dana, Honey! You heard me talk about my oily hair! Pushing the key through my hair put it into contact with that oil and coated the business end with a tiny film of oil. A lot of times new locks and new keys don't have enough lubrication on them to allow the lock to work properly. Often, only a small bit of oil will help a new key to fit into a lock and do its work. The hocus-pocus was just goofing around! Ask Tom to squirt some oil into the lock to make double sure you don't have any more trouble. Now, let's see that apartment!"And they went inside, laughing.
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