From My Email Box - "Puzzles - Just for Fun!"

Genealogists are detectives... puzzle solvers! I thought it might be fun for visitors to have a few puzzles to sharpen their puzzle solving skills.

Telephone Mathematical Puzzle

Grab a calculator. (You won't be able to do this one in your head)

1. Key in the first three digits of your phone number(NOT the Area
code...)
2. Multiply by 80
3. Add 1
4. Multiply by 250
5. Add to this the last 4 digits of your phone number
6. Add to this the last 4 digits of your phone number again.
7. Subtract 250
8. Divide number by 2

Do you recognize the answer?
- Submitted by Sherri Bradley

From Alice Warner comes the mathematical explanation how the above puzzle was developed and how it works... she makes it all quite simple!

When done properly, it should concatenate the two numbers used (the
first three digits, and the last 4 digits) so that you wind up with
your 7 digit phone number.

The way this works is through algebra. Assume the first three digits
to be "x" and the last 4 to be "y". The instructions lead you to this:

Step 1: x
Step 2: 80x
Step 3: 80x+1
Step 4: (80x+1)*250 = 2000x+250
Step 5: 2000x+250+y
Step 6: 2000x+250+2y
Step 7: 2000x+250+2y-250 = 2000x+2y
Step 8: (2000x+2y)/2 = 1000x+y

Then, since multiplying by multiples of 10 shifts the decimal point
one number, 1000x means that your three digit exchange becomes
###0000. Then by adding the last 4 digits you wind up with #######,
which will always be the first three digits concatenated by the last 4
digits, on the assumption that the first number x is ALWAYS a 3 digit
number and the second number y is ALWAYS a 4 digit number.

My cousin Beverly Justus Jones sent me this great puzzle that will help you learn the locations of exactly where each state fits in our country - it is kind of a geography puzzle.

Place the States!

This is fun, lets see how good you are.!!!

Place exactly on the spot....

Wonder how a high school senior would do on this one. See how you do in placing the states of the United States of America. All you do is look at the top of the page and "drag'n'drop" the state where it belongs. Smart map, varies the order of the states' placement with each new try! Look across from the word Place to see the state!

It isn't easy mostly because placing a state in the precise location when it as yet has no boundaries in place is a bit tricky! No half credit for close but over a tad....If you get it wrong, click and drag to the correct area which will show up in red.

http://jimspages.com/States.htm
Click on the above site.

Have some fun and improve some of your genealogical skills! - JGWest