Brain Teasers
Clever Jenny XI
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
It was a warm, sunny afternoon when Jenny came home from work and parked in front of her apartment house. As she walked toward her door, she heard a sharp exclamation in Spanish from next door. She thought, "Uh, oh! Ricardo must be having a bad day!" Walking into the yard next door, she saw Ricardo on his knees, muttering and waving his hands.
"Hi, Rick! What's up?
"Oh, hello, Jenny. I must have a hole in my pocket! My keys came out and fell into this pipe!" He indicated a small hole in the ground, less than two inches wide. "Stell took Raul shopping a little while ago, so I'm locked out!" He waved his hands some more. "I need to get some parts to fix the washing machine, but my truck keys are down there!"
Jenny tried to peer into the pipe. "How far down are they?"
"Around three feet or more, I think. I'm not sure why it's there. I thought about using tongs, but the key ring's too far down! I'd need a pole with a hook to get them out! I guess I'll have to call some sort of a service to help me!"
Jenny looked down the hole and asked, "Do you think there's anything besides keys down there?"
"No, that's all I had in that pocket. Can I use your phone to call somebody?"
"Hold on a minute, I just had an idea. Let me see if it works first!"
Jenny left and came back a few minutes later holding a cardboard tube, a flashlight, and a ball of string.
"What on earth are you going to do with all that, Jenny?
"Well, let's see if this idea works!"
A few minutes later, Ricardo had his keys and was excitedly asking Jenny how she had done it.
What had Jenny done?
"Hi, Rick! What's up?
"Oh, hello, Jenny. I must have a hole in my pocket! My keys came out and fell into this pipe!" He indicated a small hole in the ground, less than two inches wide. "Stell took Raul shopping a little while ago, so I'm locked out!" He waved his hands some more. "I need to get some parts to fix the washing machine, but my truck keys are down there!"
Jenny tried to peer into the pipe. "How far down are they?"
"Around three feet or more, I think. I'm not sure why it's there. I thought about using tongs, but the key ring's too far down! I'd need a pole with a hook to get them out! I guess I'll have to call some sort of a service to help me!"
Jenny looked down the hole and asked, "Do you think there's anything besides keys down there?"
"No, that's all I had in that pocket. Can I use your phone to call somebody?"
"Hold on a minute, I just had an idea. Let me see if it works first!"
Jenny left and came back a few minutes later holding a cardboard tube, a flashlight, and a ball of string.
"What on earth are you going to do with all that, Jenny?
"Well, let's see if this idea works!"
A few minutes later, Ricardo had his keys and was excitedly asking Jenny how she had done it.
What had Jenny done?
Answer
Jenny said, "This flashlight is one that charges itself when you shake it. What makes it charge is a powerful magnet that passes up and down through a coil of wire to generate electricity. All I did was tie a string around the top of the flashlight, feed it into the tube, and lower it all into the hole. The cardboard tube kept it from sticking to the sides of the pipe, and the big magnet at the end of the flashlight picked up the key ring."Ricardo exclaimed, "Jenny, you must have a bottle of the wine I made!"
"Oh, no, thanks, Rick! It wasn't anything!"
"Well, then, you must drink a glass with me to celebrate!
"We-e-ell! Twist my arm!" And they both laughed.
Just then, Rick's wife, Estelle, and Raul, their son, drove up, and they all went into the house together.
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Comments
I love your "clever" series!
Nice one, the cardboard tube had me stumped...but I figured it had to involve a magnet in the flashlight.
Hope he remembered to fix the washing machine...good teaser!
I've never heard of that kind of a flashlight.
This seems like a "science" teaser....
I have a flashlight like that. They are so cool cause you don't need batteries and all you need to do is shake it up and down to recharge it!
Thanks everyone, for the notes! I really like the flashlights; they are neat. I bought several from a catalogue and keep them in different rooms in the house and in my car. Used to have batteries all worn out when I needed a flashlight!
But now, no more!
But now, no more!
I ACTUALLY GOT IT WOW i got 3 teasers in a row! i feel so happy lol. i love these teasers.
Nice one!
Just remember doing the "Right hand thumb rule" in physics.. xD
Just remember doing the "Right hand thumb rule" in physics.. xD
Great teaser! I liked it A LOT!
Clever. Very McGyver.
please stop posting these stupid clever jenny brain teasers. or at least post them in a different catagory. i dont see why anyone likes them, i think all the comments you are getting are coming from sub accounts you have.
That must be quite some cardboard to keep the flashlight from sticking to the walls of the pipe...
Even thin cardboard, like the stuff they use for wrapping gift paper around, gives enough distance, along with the flishlight housing, to keep the magnet from sticking. I tried this at home!
If I could give you a thumbs up... I would. Good job - nice teaser
Are keys actually magnetic? I don't think I've got any keys with iron in them...
Good question, Swithie! The ring part pf most keyrings is steel, and often the little doo-dads on the ring will be too. I tried the lift with nearly all of my key rings and there was enough steel to get grabbed by the magnet. Now, if you have 20 or more heavy brass keys, maybe not!
Maybe a hint could have been that the flash light was one that charged by shaking?
Nice teaser. I enjoyed it.
Nice teaser. I enjoyed it.
The magnet was brilliant. Great Teaser. Who Knew?
Ya stop posting in this catagory. Flashlights do NOT typically have magnets in them. You should have just said magnet and not flashlight. Heck, flashlights these days are LED anyway. I have had two of those shake lights and they are terrible. The capacitors in them don't last very long and you don't get much out of 60 seconds of shaking...even the LED ones...except a good workout maybe ;-)
...and Estelle flipped out and divorced Rick because she thought that Jenny and Rick were having an affair. She was probably right.
Aha! Why do you think I made sure she snd Raul came back before they went into the house?
Good one! The Clever Jenny teasers are my favorite!
i have never heard of these flashlights.
i did it again guys
My only question is whether the magnetism from the torch would be strong enough given that the charging mechanism might not be close the end... did you try it? But it's a brilliant idea anyway. I like the Clever Jenny puzzles.
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