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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