Ziggy and Goals

If you like this, you can view other Ziggy comics by clicking here.

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Lateral Brain Teasers

Creativity is often about solving problems with non-linear thinking. One of my favorite techniques for warming up the brain is the use of “lateral” brain teasers. These are questions that can not be solved via traditional logic. Rather they require you to surface and challenge assumptions. Here are ten lateral brain teasers to get you started. After you have answered all ten, click the link at the bottom to get to the answers. No cheating! Have fun and don’t take it too seriously.

1. A sun dial is the time piece with the fewest moving parts. What is the time piece with the most moving parts?

2. A man walks into a hardware store to make a purchase. He can buy 6 for $6, 12 for $12, and 24 for $12. What is the man buying?

3. How could a baby fall out of a 20 story building and live?

4. In a town in ancient Greece, there was a law stating that all men must be clean-shaven and that no man might shave himself. The only person allowed to shave these people was the licensed town barber. Since the barber was bound by the same law. Who shaved the barber?

5. Back in old England, the rich poured the tea into the coffee cups first, followed by the milk. The poor did it the other way around, pouring the milk in the coffee cup first, followed by the tea. Why?

6. Train A and train B are crossing the country, from coast to coast, over 3,000 miles of railroad track. Train A is going from east to west at 80 miles per hour, and Train B is going from west to east at 90 miles per hour. Which train will be closer to the west coast when they meet?

7. Take two apples from five apples. How many do you have?

8. Do they have Fourth of July in England?

9. What was the biggest ocean in the world before Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean?

10. A dog is tied to a 15 foot leash. How can the dog reach a bone 20 feet away?

Ready for the answers? Click here.

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Good Advice from Kids

I, and others, like to “share” our advice with the world. But maybe the best advice comes from children. Here are some insightful and hilarious thoughts from kids. These were provided to me by Eolake Stobblehouse who translated them from Danish.

Making your bed is a waste of time.

Don’t ask your three-year-old brother to hold a tomato.

Don’t wear polka-dotted underpants under white shorts.

Don’t drink anything when you’re upside down.

Don’t tease your sister when she is holding a baseball bat.

A puppy has bad breath, even after a mint.

Don’t tell your mother her diet isn’t working.

Wear a hat when feeding seagulls.

Don’t eat prunes.

If you want to draw on the wall, do it behind the sofa.

If you want a cat, start by asking for a horse.

Listen to your brain; it has a lot of information.

You need to put your hand up, otherwise adults don’t listen to you.

Don’t sneeze when somebody is cutting your hair.

When your dad is angry and asks “do you think I’m stupid?” then don’t tell him what you think.

When mom is upset with Dad, don’t let her comb your hair.

Don’t let a dog stand guard over your food.

Keep asking “why” until you understand it.

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Goal-Free Fun

Here are two commercials for Kit Kat (a chocolate bar) that ran a few years ago in England. The first is the story about the life of a salmon. The second is based on the fisherman story I posted last year.

Click here to enjoy the salmon Kit Kat video (For those of you who do not speak British English, “knackerd” mean tired/exhausted)

Click here to enjoy the fisherman Kit Kat video (Clearly they are poking a little fun at Americans too)

NOTE: These videos require Quicktime to play. You can download a free copy here

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Fake Busy

I could get into a deep philosophical rant about how our achievement oriented society has people brainwashed into believing that they need to appear busy at work if they want to be successful. Instead, I will let this entertaining television advertisement say it all. Click here to enjoy the video

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