Brain Teasers
The Case of Henry's Prison Messages
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
Henry is in federal prison on a charge of tax fraud. He is actually innocent and was framed by his dishonest accountant. He has been in prison for five years and is growing very weary of prison life. He is up for parole in 2 years. He has even thought about escaping over the years, but only one prisoner has ever made it out successfully. That person used to be his cellmate. Henry is still angry that the other guy didn't take him with him. At the time of his cellmate's escape, Henry had been sick in the prison hospital.
Each month, he gets to send 10 letters and postcards to anyone he chooses. He has used all of his quota for the month except for one. The mail-metering machine is broke, and the prison is passing out stamps to the prisoners instead. Officials always censor all outgoing mail and inspect it before mailing. Henry hates this and usually tries to hide messages in his mail that the prison officials are sure to miss.
He writes the following postcard to his wife:
I miss you so much.
Love you very much.
You are the best.
See you very soon I hope.
You are so wonderful.
Very much miss you and the kids.
Soon, I will be outta here on parole.
(If the board gives their stamp of approval)
Love, Henry
Henry has included two hidden messages on his postcard. What are the messages and where can they be found?
Each month, he gets to send 10 letters and postcards to anyone he chooses. He has used all of his quota for the month except for one. The mail-metering machine is broke, and the prison is passing out stamps to the prisoners instead. Officials always censor all outgoing mail and inspect it before mailing. Henry hates this and usually tries to hide messages in his mail that the prison officials are sure to miss.
He writes the following postcard to his wife:
I miss you so much.
Love you very much.
You are the best.
See you very soon I hope.
You are so wonderful.
Very much miss you and the kids.
Soon, I will be outta here on parole.
(If the board gives their stamp of approval)
Love, Henry
Henry has included two hidden messages on his postcard. What are the messages and where can they be found?
Hint
You probably found the first message very quickly. Now, the second is far more tricky, or even the prison officials would have found it.Read Henry's message carefully. He has provided his wife a clue to one of his messages.
Answer
The first message is "I Love You See You Very Soon." This message is found by simply taking the first word from each of line of the message to his wife.The clue for the second message is in Henry's very last line to his wife. He is not up for parole for 2 more years, so she knew the last line was a clue and not what it appeared. The second message is hidden under the stamp. You will not be able to solve what it says because it is hidden. Henry wrote, "Escaping on 4/15 Pick up at Grand Central Station 8AM under the clock"
Hide Hint Show Hint Hide Answer Show Answer
What Next?
View a Similar Brain Teaser...
If you become a registered user you can vote on this brain teaser, keep track of which ones you have seen, and even make your own.
Solve a Puzzle
Comments
Very fun! I got the first message right away. I almost had the second message but it was driving me crazy, so I read the answer. Good one!
I also got the first one right away. As for the second, I knew he didn't get out for 2 years and that the "stamp of approval" had something to do with it. I just couldn't connect them. Looked at answer and made perfect sense. Very good teaser.
Takes a long time to read.
I figured out the first clue but the second there was no way that I would get it.
the first clue was easy but the second one was kind of hard
i actually only got the 2nd clue but i knew the 1st clue had 2 to with the placing of letters or words
Very good, I got the first one, the second one I didn't.
First one was easy.
No way to guess the second, that's a lot to write on the back of a stamp. And try writing on the back of stamp, and then sticking the stamp on an envelop, and then peeling the stamp off and being able to read it. Paper always comes off too.
Or, maybe I'm thinking too hard??
No way to guess the second, that's a lot to write on the back of a stamp. And try writing on the back of stamp, and then sticking the stamp on an envelop, and then peeling the stamp off and being able to read it. Paper always comes off too.
Or, maybe I'm thinking too hard??
The first one was so obvious. But the second one proved to be a tad more tricky. I got the date of the breakout wrong.
Dude, how are we supposed to find the second message? (Igot the first one in a few seconds)
I agree with... ... ... ...
almost everyone.
There was no way to find the second message unless you tell us that the parole was not for 2 years which you didn't.
So There.
jk!
almost everyone.
There was no way to find the second message unless you tell us that the parole was not for 2 years which you didn't.
So There.
jk!
Hi. I am glad that most of you like the teaser. I am posting this comment in response to many of your comments.
The teaser does tell you that Henry is up for parole in 2 years and that he is not happy.
Also, if you read carefully, you will find that Henry, if he had not been ill, was to have escaped with his cellmate--the only prisoner to have ever escaped and really got away. He has been waiting for another chance to escape ever since.
As for the second message, you are only expected to figure out its location and that it deals with escaping. In the answer, you are told that you will not be able to get it exactly. It is written under the stamp on the envelope--very tiny of course. As for removing the stamp, there are many ways this can be done without damaging either the stamp or the paper.
All teasers that I write require that you read carefully and notice even the smallest of details. A good teaser makes one think and problem solve without providing too many clues.
The teaser does tell you that Henry is up for parole in 2 years and that he is not happy.
Also, if you read carefully, you will find that Henry, if he had not been ill, was to have escaped with his cellmate--the only prisoner to have ever escaped and really got away. He has been waiting for another chance to escape ever since.
As for the second message, you are only expected to figure out its location and that it deals with escaping. In the answer, you are told that you will not be able to get it exactly. It is written under the stamp on the envelope--very tiny of course. As for removing the stamp, there are many ways this can be done without damaging either the stamp or the paper.
All teasers that I write require that you read carefully and notice even the smallest of details. A good teaser makes one think and problem solve without providing too many clues.
funny, the first one i saw by reading code book in third grade a long time ago, the second one was not taken literally. when you said "LAST SENTENCE" i read the 2nd to last sentence, not the one in the parentheses
ALL I SAY IS DUDE YOU TOTALLY ROCK THIS 1.
I am just guessing before I see the answer. I think the first message is:
I LOVE YOU
and the second is:
SEE YOU VERY SOON
I wonder if im right?
I LOVE YOU
and the second is:
SEE YOU VERY SOON
I wonder if im right?
oops i guess I was wrong! That was only the first one!
got the first one....second one stumped me....well done
The first one was hard, i guess for everyone it was easy. The second one was easy for me.
i got the first one only
good 1!
Another good one Myst! It's funny... I got the SECOND clue right away... that a message was on the back of the stamp (why else would you have mentioned the stamps!) But I totally missed the first clue!! I just figured the line, "see you very soon I hope" was his way of telling her he was going to escape... because two more years is NOT soon!! Silly me!
Depends. Years may seem short to other ppl.
Myst, I like the teaser overall, but I hope you realize that it is impossible to satisfy the conditions set forth by the teaser itself.
The teaser asks the reader to provide the following information in response to the teaser: "WHAT are the two messages and WHERE are they located."
Many of the comments on this teaser address the fact that there seemed to be no way to discover the content of the second message. You responded (which I admire) but in your response you stated:
"you are only expected to figure out its location and that it deals with escaping. In the answer, you are told that you will not be able to get it exactly"
This essentially says that the answer to the question is that it is impossible to answer.
Still a fine teaser overall, but impossible to answer, given what the answer is supposed to contain.
The teaser asks the reader to provide the following information in response to the teaser: "WHAT are the two messages and WHERE are they located."
Many of the comments on this teaser address the fact that there seemed to be no way to discover the content of the second message. You responded (which I admire) but in your response you stated:
"you are only expected to figure out its location and that it deals with escaping. In the answer, you are told that you will not be able to get it exactly"
This essentially says that the answer to the question is that it is impossible to answer.
Still a fine teaser overall, but impossible to answer, given what the answer is supposed to contain.
Maybe if i had gone back and read the whole thing I could of solved the second part. oh well.
Belongs in Language....Found the second one, couldn't find the first for some reason...
To post a comment, please create an account and sign in.
Follow Braingle!