alex atkins bookshelf words Afterwards weeks of sheltering in place yous may have exhausted all the ways of killing time — binge eating, binge watching Netflix shows, binge watching featherbrained pet videos on Youtube, scrolling through mind-numbing social media posts, and so on. You tin can practically count the cells in your brain dying by the hour. Would you like to boot-start your brain and test your creative thinking? Let me introduce you a really fun brain-edifice word game you tin play and share with your friends. Ladies and gentlemen, run into the obscure and disregarded ditloid. A ditloid is a curious and clever puzzle — something that would have greatly amused Lewis Carroll'south Mad Hatter. Specifically, a ditloid is a give-and-take game in which a phrase, term, title, quotation, proverb, or fact must be deduced from numbers and abbreviations in the clue. Here are some examples (answers in parenthesis):
60 = Southward. in a M. (threescore seconds in a minute)
99 = B. of B. on the Due west. (99 bottles of beer on the wall)
vii = A. of 1000. (seven Ages of Man).
Yous get the idea. The give-and-take game was named after the following puzzle: i=D. information technology L. o I. D. (1 Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich), by the Daily Limited, a London newspaper. This word game is also referred to as a "linguistic equation" or "numerical phrase."

The most famous ditloids — indeed, the ditloids that launched a thousand ditloids — were created by puzzle primary extraordinaire Will Shortz, former editor of Games magazine and current crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times, puzzle master on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, and author of more than 100 books on puzzles. (Incidentally, he is an avid puzzle book collector, owning more than  xx,000 puzzle books and magazines). Shortz introduced the word game, which he initially chosen an "Equation Assay Test" , in the May-June 1981 issue of Game magazine. Since this was the time before the nascency of the Internet, the puzzle was circulated the old fashioned way; Shortz elaborates: "Some anonymous person had retyped the puzzle from Games (give-and-take for word, except for my byline), photocopied it, and passed it along. This page was and then rephotocopied ad infinitum, similar a chain alphabetic character, and circulated around the country. Games readers who hadn't seen the original even started sending it dorsum to Games every bit something the magazine ought to consider publishing!" Interestingly, this "photocopied" list still gets forwarded, albeit equally an image file in chain emails.

Shortz'south inspiration for the word puzzle came from Morgan Worthy'south AHA! A Puzzle Arroyo to Creative Thinking, published in 1975. Worthy introduced the Formula Analysis Examination that had a slightly different construction: M. + M. + N.H. + Five. + C. + R.I. = N.E. (Maine + Massachusetts + New Hampshire + Vermont + Connecticut + Rhode Island = New England) and 1 B. in the H. = 2 in the B. (A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush-league). Worthy, in turn, was inspired by obscene graffiti in a higher bathroom; Worthy explains in his book, "I first became interested in aha! thinking x years ago while a graduate educatee at the University of Florida. Function of the graffiti in the men'south room of the psychology edifice was a ambiguous formula someone had written in large letters on the wall. I was intrigued by this little puzzle and, of course, had occasion to be reminded of information technology from time to fourth dimension. Finally, one mean solar day, the reply (yes, obscene) suddenly came to me. It happened that I was studying creativity at the time and I realized that my response to solving the graffiti puzzle was very like the 'aha! effect' about which I had been reading… I constructed a test of times like in principle to the one I found on the rest room wall." In order to develop his Formula Assay Examination, Worthy followed this criteria: the puzzles practise not require special information or a large vocabulary, the puzzles cannot exist solved past footstep-past-step process, and each puzzle is relatively easy in that information technology is brusque and contains few items. Based on research by Worth, scores on solving these type of tests are not correlated significantly with I.Q. scores, but rather validated tests that measure creative thinking.

Without further ado, hither are the original 24 word puzzles, the Equation Assay Test, created by Shortz. Give it a shot, and see how many you can solve. The answers are presented beneath. And no cheating (i.e., using Google to solve the equations). Remember, solving the puzzles is not most being smart — information technology is near beingness creative. And so clear your listen, put some music on, chill, and allow the letters and numbers speak to you… and be sure to share this with your friends, to come across how they do.

1 = W. on a U.
3 = B.M. (S.H.T.R.!)
4 = Q. in a G.
5 = D. in a Z.C.
seven = Due west. of the A.W.
8 = Southward. on a S.S.
9 = P. in the S.S.
eleven = P. on a F.T.
12 = S. of the Z.
thirteen = S. on the A.F.
eighteen = H. on a M.C.
24 = H. in a D.
26 = L. of the A.
29 = D. in F. in a L.Y.
32 = D.F. at which W.F.
40 = D. and Northward. of the Thou.F.
54 = C. in a D. (with the J.)
57 = H.V.
64 = S. on a C.
88 = P.G.
ninety = D. in a R.A.
200 = D. for P.Grand. in One thousand.
1,000 = W. that a P. is W.
1,001 = A.N.

Let me know if yous enjoyed these discussion puzzles and if yous would similar to run into more of them.

SHARE THE Beloved: If you enjoyed this post, please help expand the Bookshelfcommunity by FOLLOWING or SHARING with a friend or your readers. During the coronavirus pandemic quarantines, it is a perfect time to explore the more ane,600 articles on Bookshelf. Cheers.

Read related posts: Words for Superior Persons
Rare Beefcake Words
Words Oddities: Fun with Vowels
What Rhymes with Orange
Words that Audio Naughty But Are Not
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For further reading: Aha! A Puzzle Approach to Creative Thinking past Morgan Worthy
Will Shortz's Best Encephalon Busters by Will Shortz
http://thebiggamehunter.com/main-carte du jour-bar/mechanical-puzzles/mechanical-puzzle-collectors/shortz-volition/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditloid
https://www.braingle.com/news/hallfame.php?path=language/english language/meaning/equations.p&sol=1
http://www.greenleecds.com/rgbest/NumAKey.pdf
https://world wide web.puzzlemuseum.com/singma/singma5/Language/NUMPHRAS.DOC

Answers here.

alex atkins bookshelf words A ditloid is a curious and clever puzzle — something that would take greatly amused Lewis Carroll'south Mad Hatter. Specifically, a ditloid is a word game in which a phrase, term, title, quotation, saying, or fact must be deduced from numbers and abbreviations in the clue. For example (answers in parenthesis):
threescore = Due south. in a M. (sixty seconds in a infinitesimal)
99 = B. of B. on the West. (99 bottles of beer on the wall)
seven = A. of K. (7 Ages of Human).
You lot get the idea. The discussion game was named later on the following puzzle: one=D. it L. o I. D. (one Solar day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich), by the Daily Limited, a London newspaper. This word game is as well referred to as a "linguistic equation" or "numerical phrase."

The most famous ditloids — indeed, the ditloids that launched a thousand ditloids — were created by puzzle master extraordinaire Will Shortz, former editor of Games magazine and electric current crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times, puzzle master on NPR'due south Weekend Edition Lord's day, and author of more than 100 books on puzzles. (Incidentally, he is an gorging puzzle book collector, owning more than than  xx,000 puzzle books and magazines). Shortz introduced the word game, which he initially called an "Equation Assay Test" , in the May-June 1981 issue of Game magazine. Since this was the time earlier the birth of the Internet, the puzzle was circulated the one-time fashioned manner; Shortz elaborates: "Some bearding person had retyped the puzzle from Games (discussion for word, except for my byline), photocopied it, and passed information technology along. This page was then rephotocopied advertizement infinitum, like a chain letter, and circulated around the country. Games readers who hadn't seen the original even started sending it dorsum to Games as something the magazine ought to consider publishing!" Interestingly, this "photocopied" list still gets forwarded, admitting as an image file in concatenation emails.

Shortz's inspiration for the discussion puzzle came from Morgan Worthy's AHA! A Puzzle Approach to Creative Thinking, published in 1975. Worthy introduced the Formula Assay Test that had a slightly dissimilar construction: One thousand. + Thousand. + N.H. + V. + C. + R.I. = Northward.E. (Maine + Massachusetts + New Hampshire + Vermont + Connecticut + Rhode Island = New England) and ane B. in the H. = 2 in the B. (A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush). Worthy, in turn, was inspired by obscene graffiti in a college bathroom; Worthy explains in his volume, "I first became interested in aha! thinking ten years ago while a graduate student at the University of Florida. Function of the graffiti in the men's room of the psychology edifice was a cryptic formula someone had written in big letters on the wall. I was intrigued by this piffling puzzle and, of course, had occasion to be reminded of it from time to time. Finally, one day, the respond (yep, obscene) suddenly came to me. It happened that I was studying creativity at the time and I realized that my response to solving the graffiti puzzle was very like the 'aha! consequence' about which I had been reading… I constructed a test of times like in principle to the one I found on the remainder room wall." In order to develop his Formula Analysis Exam, Worthy followed this criteria: the puzzles do not require special data or a big vocabulary, the puzzles cannot be solved by footstep-by-step process, and each puzzle is relatively easy in that it is brusk and contains few items. Based on research past Worth, scores on solving these blazon of tests are not correlated significantly with I.Q. scores, just rather validated tests that measure out creative thinking.

Without farther ado, here are the original 24 word puzzles, the Equation Analysis Exam, created past Shortz. Give it a shot, and see how many you lot can solve. The answers will be presented in this post in a few days. And no cheating (using Google to solve the equations). Remember, solving the puzzles is not about being smart, merely rather, virtually existence creative. So clear your mind, put some music on, chill, and let the letters and numbers speak to you… and exist certain to share this with your friends, to see how they do.

1 = W. on a U.
3 = B.M. (S.H.T.R.!)
4 = Q. in a One thousand.
v = D. in a Z.C.
7 = W. of the A.W.
8 = S. on a Southward.S.
9 = P. in the S.S.
eleven = P. on a F.T.
12 = S. of the Z.
13 = Southward. on the A.F.
18 = H. on a G.C.
24 = H. in a D.
26 = L. of the A.
29 = D. in F. in a L.Y.
32 = D.F. at which Due west.F.
40 = D. and Northward. of the M.F.
54 = C. in a D. (with the J.)
57 = H.V.
64 = S. on a C.
88 = P.K.
ninety = D. in a R.A.
200 = D. for P.Grand. in G.
1,000 = Westward. that a P. is W.
1,001 = A.Northward.

SHARE THE Beloved: If y'all enjoyed this mail service, please assistance aggrandize the Bookshelfcommunity past sharing with a friend or with your readers. Cheers.

Read related posts: Words for Superior Persons
Rare Beefcake Words
Words Oddities: Fun with Vowels
What Rhymes with Orangish
Words that Audio Naughty Simply Are Not
An Alphabet of Rare Words

For farther reading: Aha! A Puzzle Approach to Creative Thinking by Morgan Worthy
Will Shortz's Best Encephalon Busters past Will Shortz
http://thebiggamehunter.com/main-menu-bar/mechanical-puzzles/mechanical-puzzle-collectors/shortz-will/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditloid
https://www.braingle.com/news/hallfame.php?path=linguistic communication/english/meaning/equations.p&sol=i
http://www.greenleecds.com/rgbest/NumAKey.pdf
https://www.puzzlemuseum.com/singma/singma5/Linguistic communication/NUMPHRAS.Dr.

Respond KEY TO EQUATION Assay TEST BY Will SHORTZ

1 = Bike on a Unicycle
3 = Blind Mice (See How They Run!)
iv = Quarts in a Gallon
5 = Digits in a Zipcode
seven = Wonders of the Ancient Earth
8 = Sides on a Stop Sign
9 = Planets in the Solar Organisation
eleven = Players on a Football Team
12 = Signs of the Zodiac
xiii = Stripes on the American Flag
xviii = Holes on a Golf Form
24 = Hours in a Day
26 = Letters of the Alphabet
29 = Days in February in a Leap Year
32 = Degrees Fahrenheit at which Water Freezes
40 = Days and Nights of the Cracking Flood
54 = Cards in a Deck (with the Jokers)
57 = Heinz Varieties
64 = Squares on a Checkerboard (or Chessboard)
88 = Piano Keys
90 = Degrees in a Right Angle
200 = Dollars for Passing Go in Monopoly
ane,000 = Words that a Motion-picture show is Worth
1,001 = Arabian Nights