Puzzles and Jokes.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 December 1926, Page 4 (Supplement)

Puzzles and Jokes.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THIS? Write down any number of three figures so long as the unit figure is less than the hundreds, and underneath write the number reversed. Then subtract in the ordinary way. Now reverse this answer and add. You will get 1089, no matter what number of three figures you started with. These two examples will show what happens: 462 774 264 477 198 297 891 792 1089 ' IQB9 NAME THESE TREES AND PLANTS. Can you put names to the twelve trees and plants described below? The respectable tree, and the hero’s tree, And the tree that shakes your hand; The worst-tempered tree and the seaside tree, And the tree that gives a command. Philosophy’s plant, the shrinking plant, The sleepiest plant of the lot; . The musical plant, the oldest plant. Answer:—The six trees are: (1) And the plant that is always hot. Elder, (2) D. Leander! (3) palm, (4) crate, (5) beech, (6) mango. The six plants: (1) Sage, (2) sensitive, (3) poppy, (4) Canterbury bell, (5) thyme, (5) pepper. HLAD CHANGES. 1. I am an angry look. Behead me, and a monk wears me. Behead me again, and lam a bird. Give me a new head, and J am a noise. Change my head, and I air part of the face. Answer: Scowl, cowl, owl, howl, jowl. 2. A residence; behead, a river; behead, service; transpose, to claim; curtail and transpose, and find a word relating to a party of which the reader Is one. Answer: House, Ouse, use, sue, us. A CHRISTMAS CONUNDRUM. What delicacies can you prepare out of the following Ingredients:— 1. A bird, a measure, and a question. 2. Nothing and mountain chains. 3. Seen on a pillar box, and monkeys. 4. Pence, what you did with your dinner, shillings. Answer: 1. J-ell-y. 2. 3. G.R.apes. 4. D-ate-s.

If he has a good reputation and bears himself like a gentleman, trust him, provided he agrees with you in religion and politics and is not your competitor in business or your rival in love.

A CATCH. How can you prove a picture-fram» to be a four-legged animal? Because a picture-frame Is a mount, a “mount” is the name sometimes given to a horse, and a horse is a four-legged animal. A PUZZLING SENTENCE. Give this little sentence to your friends and see if they can read it. They will be very clever if they manage to hit upon the solution: 1 i c li. Answer: Two eyes see more than one. A NEAT CATCH. A good joke is to wager that yon can stand on the end of a handkerchief In such a position that it is impossible for anyone standing on the other end to strike you. Your friends Will naturally assume that you must be exceptionally skilled as a contortionist, but such ideas will be shattered: when you proceed to pull the handkerchief under the door and, standing on one end. invite a challenger to “toe the line" on the other side. It would be as well to make provision for speedy escape, In case of hostilities 1 HIDDEN NAMES OF TREES. The names of several well-known trees are hidden in these sentences. Try and pick them out without looking at the solutions: “As Hilda and Delma came down Ewton and Will Owen saw them, and, the street called Drub, eacli in her new cloak, Slim Edith and Mary though Will laughed, the girls pined for similar choice cloaks.” Answers: Ash, elm. oak, lime, yew, willow, pine, and larch. HERE IS A GOOD JOKE. Turn the talk upon conjuring tricks, and then tell your audience that you know a jolly good one. "Lend me a hankie, will you?” you ask, turning to one of the company. When the handkerchief Is handed to you, you then proceed to tie it into a number of tight knots. "Now," you remark, holding out the handkerchief to one of the audience, "can you undo these knots by merely giving the handkerchief a sharp squeeze?" "No,” he replies. "Let’s see you do ft.” "Oh!" you tell him. "I can’t do ft. 1 was just wondering if you could ”

j Anxious Bride (as young man a; ::■» on. the piazza): Oh, darling I’m so glad | you've come. We heard that sr.uie idiot had fallen over the eli.IT and I felt sure it was you.