Word of the Week
Conundrum (kuh-nun-drum): A confusing and difficult problem to solve or question.
Hello there!
Hmmm. . .something looks different. Did you notice that I forgot to give you a little bit of background on the origin of the word conundrum? This was not a mistake. After lots of digging, I haven’t been able to track down where the word originated. Talk about a conundrum! It will have to be an unsolved mystery and will hopefully be the only time this happens.
If any of you find more on its history, please reach out and fill me in!
January is National Brain Teaser Month! A brain teaser is basically a conundrum. It’s some sort of problem or question that makes us think outside the box. Just like our bodies need exercise, our brains do too! As we get older, if we don’t exercise our brain, it can lose muscle tone and won’t work as efficiently or effectively. I try to do different word puzzles a few times a week, because I plan on staying sharp as a tack, even when I’m in my eighties!
Brain teasers aren’t just good for the elderly. They can also help people improve their memories, improve their processing time, and improve their concentration. . .not to mention, they’re great for warding off boredom.
Some of the commonly known brain puzzles include sudoku, crossword puzzles, word searches, hangman, and mazes. Brain puzzles are different from brain teasers, but they also remain important! So, what’s your favorite kind of brain puzzle? Be careful. If your brain gets used to doing the same kind of puzzle over and over again, it becomes less of an exercise for your brain. It’s fine to have a favorite, but try to incorporate new puzzles into your routine! Meanwhile, a brain teaser is usually a few sentences long and describes a unique conundrum for you to solve. Riddles are a great example!
In order to celebrate this month appropriately, what do you think I had in mind? Brain teasers, naturally! Attached, you will find a small compilation of brain teasers for you to work on.
Oh and did you solve the problem I named this week's blog? When is 99 more than 100?
Answer: When using the microwave. If you entered 99 seconds, that's 1 minute and 39 seconds. If you entered 100, that's 1 minute!
Consider that your warm up!
Good luck and hope you have a little fun and lots of laughter along the way!
