Kevin brings his school supplies to the counter. The cashier rings up his purchase for a total of $1.70. Kevin is puzzled, and says, “I bought 2 pencils at 2 cents each, 5 pencils at 4 cents each and 8 notebooks and 12 sheets of colored paper. I don’t remember the prices of the latter two, but the total can’t be $1.70.”
Phil asks his friend Stan when his birthday is. Stan replies that he was 32 the day before yesterday and next year he’ll be 35. When is his birthday and how is this possible?
Today is Jan 1st and his birthday is on December 31st. He was 32, then turned 33 on Dec 31st, and this year on Dec 31st he’ll turn 34, so next year he’ll be 35.
This is an unusual paragraph. I’m curious as to just how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so ordinary and plain that you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is highly unusual though. Study it and think about it. You still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out. Try to do so without any coaching.
A thought in your head. You can hear it, but no one else can. Unless you read minds, but then you’d have bigger problems, like figuring how how to remain sane in large crowds.