Brain Teasers
Domo Arigato?
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
On a clear December morning in Kansas, students filed into Science class ready for a good nap. Before the first student could get to sleep, the teacher, Mr. Roboto, walked in. Noticing his class seemed particularly sleepy this cold day, he decided that a nice trip outside should wake 'em up.
"Class! We are going to go on a little walk outside."
Hearing most of the class whine about the cold, he decided that he shouldn't be completely heartless.
"Ok, ok. We will still be going outside, but I guess we can have a little fire to keep us nice and warm."
This seemed to make the class a little more willing, so without further discussion, they all set out to the school's football field.
Mr. Roboto led them to midfield, where he seemed to have a little display set up. He turned to the class, and said:
"Class, I know you are all freezing, and are wondering when I'm going to start a fire. However, I seem to be in a bit of a jam. All I have is some water, wood shavings, and all ol' Mother Earth has to offer. How in the world could I make a fire?"
At this, most of the students began whining. But a few of them started yelling out ideas:
"Wait for it to start storming, and start one from the lightning!"; "Try to make super-hot steam!"; "Build a fire ray out of dirt and grass!" the students shouted out.
"All great guesses, but no. There is a much easier, faster way than all of that," Mr. Roboto replied.
After a few more minutes of wrong guesses, Mr. Roboto decided to go ahead and show them how to build the fire. It's your job to explain how it could be possible.
"Class! We are going to go on a little walk outside."
Hearing most of the class whine about the cold, he decided that he shouldn't be completely heartless.
"Ok, ok. We will still be going outside, but I guess we can have a little fire to keep us nice and warm."
This seemed to make the class a little more willing, so without further discussion, they all set out to the school's football field.
Mr. Roboto led them to midfield, where he seemed to have a little display set up. He turned to the class, and said:
"Class, I know you are all freezing, and are wondering when I'm going to start a fire. However, I seem to be in a bit of a jam. All I have is some water, wood shavings, and all ol' Mother Earth has to offer. How in the world could I make a fire?"
At this, most of the students began whining. But a few of them started yelling out ideas:
"Wait for it to start storming, and start one from the lightning!"; "Try to make super-hot steam!"; "Build a fire ray out of dirt and grass!" the students shouted out.
"All great guesses, but no. There is a much easier, faster way than all of that," Mr. Roboto replied.
After a few more minutes of wrong guesses, Mr. Roboto decided to go ahead and show them how to build the fire. It's your job to explain how it could be possible.
Answer
Mr. Roboto used a convex lens made out of ice - a form of water. This convex lens works just like a magnifying glass, it focuses the sun's rays on the wood shavings, and in a matter of minutes starts a small fire going. He just adds a few sticks lying around, and voila: he had himself a nice warm fire. The temperature plays no factor in this, he only needed sunlight, which he got on the clear day.Hide Answer Show Answer
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