These are brain teasers and are to be used to stretch the minds of our students. It is very much like a 20 questions game. This activity helps to make connections between things that have not been connected in their brains before. This is a great logical thinking activity, while the children get to be creative in their answers. They can be used during classes, when you feel the students need a ‘break’ from their regular tasks.

Procedure: The children are presented the problem, as a whole class Procedure: The children are presented the problem, as a whole class. In order to solve the mistery they can ask questions whose answer could be: "Yes," "No," or "Not Important."

1. John and Mary are lying dead on the floor of the apartment they live in. Surrounding them is broken glass and water. A breeze is blowing in the window.  What happened?

2. Mr. Brown was spending the night in a hotel in a strange city 2. Mr. Brown was spending the night in a hotel in a strange city. He had never been there before and didn't know a soul in the place (neither the hotel nor the city). He had great difficulty getting to sleep. Try as he would, sleep simply wouldn't come. He had a busy day ahead and wanted to be in good shape. He put in one telephone call - local, not long distance - and shortly thereafter he fell into peaceful slumber. How come?

3. For many years old Sam Hawks had been night watchman at the Phoenixville National Bank. He was well liked for the faithful performance of his duty and for his cheerful manner. On Tuesday evening Mr. Stuart, president of the bank, came to the bank at eight o'clock, greeted old Sam, and explained that he was going in to get some papers from his office, for he'd been called to the city and planned to take the ten o'clock plane. As Sam listened to his employer's words, his honest face became scared. "Don't take that plane, please, Mr. Stuart," he said earnestly. "Why, Sam," exclaimed the banker, touched by the old fellow's sincerity, and obvious distress. "Why not? What do you mean?” "Oh, Mr. Stuart," said Sam, "I had a dream about that plane last night. I saw it crash to earth and all the people aboard were killed. There was a terrible explosion and - Oh, it was awful!" The poor man was almost in tears. The bank president patted his arm and, to quiet him, said, "Thank you, Sam. I'll see about it," and proceeded into the bank to get his papers. Despite the old man's warning Mr. Stuart DID take the plane, and you'll be relieved to know, there was no accident. Returning to Phoenixville, the bank president's first action was to fire the night watchman, Sam. How come?

4. A passenger train leaves New York for Boston traveling at the speed of 80 km/hr. In half an hour a freight train leaves Boston for New York traveling at the speed of 60 km/hr.  Which train will be further from New York when they meet? (Kids might know the answer faster than the adults :-)

5. A man walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a glass of water 5. A man walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a glass of water. The bartender looks at him for a minute, then pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says "Thank You!" and leaves. Why?

6. A man who lives on the tenth floor takes the elevator down to the first floor every morning and goes to work. In the evening, when he comes back; on a rainy day, or if there are other people in the elevator, he goes to his floor directly. Otherwise, he goes to the seventh floor and walks up three flights of stairs to his apartment.  Can you explain why?

7.A family of five people drove in a car for 300 km at an average speed of 60 km/h. For the whole journey nobody noticed they had a flat tyre. Why?

8. An Arab sheikh tells his two sons to race their camels to a distant city to see who will inherit his fortune. The one whose camel is slower wins. After wandering aimlessly for days, the brothers ask a wise man for guidance. Upon receiving the advice, they jump on the camels and race to the city as fast as they can. What did the wise man say to them?