AnswErs: Finally

By Kristin

For thosE of you who havE not yEt read last wEEks post asking thE quEstion, "What is wrong with this paragraph", I havE coppiEd it below in hopEs of stumping nEw rEaders. For thosE patiEntly waiting, the answEr is waiting bElow. BasEd on the commEnts, I fEEl that rEadErs arE on the corrEct path. Good work all and thank you for indulging mE.

WHAT'S UNUSUAL ABOUT THIS PARAGRAPH?
In the paragraph below there is something quite unusual. Set a timer for two minutes. Read the paragraph over and over and see if you can solve this mystery before your time is up.

A Most Unusual Paragraph
What is so unusual about this paragraph? You won't find too many paragraph similar to it. Look at it and study it. You may not find out what is unusual right away. Study it again. At first you may fail in your task. But if you stay with it, you will find a solution. Think. What is odd about it? Look and look again. Do you want a hint? Sorry. No hints for you today or tomorrow. You must do this without asking for hints. It's a most unusual paragraph, would you not say so? Buy why? That's what you must find out now. Good Luck!

Answer: There are no E's, the most common letter in the alphabet.

Last Week's Quiz Answers

By Mitchell

Congratulations to Badda for coming closest in Wednesday's 4th Grade quiz. (Yes, I know he was the only entrant, but kudos anyway on doing an excellent job.) In case you're curious, you can still bypass the rest of this piece and check out the quiz.

For the rest of you, here are the answers:

1. The longest river in the world is the Nile.
2. "Wood" and "Would" are homonyms.
3. Besides the Atlantic and Pacific, there are two other oceans. One is the Indian.
4. The other is the Arctic.
5. Maine was not one of the thirteen original colonies.
6. One gallon, two quarts and four pints equal two gallons.
7. Above the equator is the Tropic of Cancer.
8. Below is the Tropic of Capricorn.
9. In no particular order, the other two types of rock are metamorphic
10. And sedimentary.

On the original quiz on I've Got a Secret, Bess Myerson and Henry Morgan tied at 70% each, as did Badda when he took the test. How did you do? How would today's fourth graders do?

In case you're wondering, Sam Levenson does return later in the IGAS run with another quiz, and we'll bring it to you when it happens.

What's Unusual About this Paragraph?

By Kristin

I traveled to the great city of Milwaukee this weekend to visit my parents. One of the items on the ajenda was to sort through the last few boxes and piles of my belongings left behind from my youth. The greatest part of this adventure in to the distant past is finding old school papers and pictures and talking about where they all came from. In a pile of old notebooks, I came across a piece of paper that based on the handwriting, came from early middle school. During the homeroom hour, we were given little riddles and puzzles to help "wake up our brains". I read it several times, as stumped now as I am sure is was then. Now, I will retype the riddle in hopes of passing on a question that will help "wake up" those who read it now. (I have since flipped over the paper, to find the answer on the back).

_________________________________________________________

WHAT'S UNUSUAL ABOUT THIS PARAGRAPH?

In the paragraph below there is something quite unusual. Set a timer for two minutes. Read the paragraph over and over and see if you can solve this mystery before your time is up.

A Most Unusual Paragraph

What is so unusual about this paragraph? You won't find too many paragraph similar to it. Look at it and study it. You may not find out what is unusual right away. Study it again. At first you may fail in your task. But if you stay with it, you will find a solution. Think. What is odd about it? Look and look again. Do you want a hint? Sorry. No hints for you today or tomorrow. You must do this without asking for hints. It's a most unusual paragraph, would you not say so? Buy why? That's what you must find out now. Good Luck!

__________________________________________________________

I will be providing the andwer to this puzzle on Thursday, May 22. If you need a clue, don't ask me, ask yourself.

Go Fourth

By Mitchell

Regular readers will remember that we're suckers for the grade-school quizzes that humorist (and former teacher) Sam Levenson would occasionally present on I've Got a Secret. In previous apperances Levenson had given the panel typical questions that fifth and sixth graders would be expected to answer; earlier this week, GSN replayed the May 24, 1965 show in which Levenson attempted to stump the panel (and, in all likelihood, most of the viewers) with a fourth grade quiz. Remember as you attempt these questions that these were written for fourth graders in 1965; do you think today's fourth graders could answer them?

Ready? Here we go:

1. Name the longest river in the world.

2. "Big" and "large" are called synonyms. "Hot" and "cold" are antonyms. What are "wood" and "would" called?

3 & 4. There are four oceans in the world. Name two of them besides the Atlantic and Pacific.

5. Which of the following was not one of the original 13 colonies: Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, or Georgia?

6. What do you get when you add one gallon, two quarts and four pints?

7 & 8. There are five major circles of latitude: the Arctic Circle, the Equator, the Antartic Circle, and two tropical circles. The answer to question #7 is the one is above the Equator, the Tropic of ________; the answer to question #8 is the one below, the Tropic of ________.

9 & 10. There are three classifications of rock. Igneous is one, name the other two.

As always, no Googling, no encyclopedias, no cheating. Answers later this week.