Occasional Puzzles - What, we said they were occasional!
After a long hiatus, we're back! Scroll down to skip straight to today's puzzle.
If you've forgotten about us, Occasional Puzzles is a newsletter that delivers puzzles, riddles, and brain teasers on a, well, irregular cadence. Answers always come in the next email.
When we were last publishing, we got a bit burnt out on the puzzle publishing frequency we set ourselves up for. But we always regretted stopping this newsletter, and we've been reminded of Occasional Puzzles a few times over the last several months: first while constructing a crossword for our July wedding (!), then when we received a lovely wedding card in cipher form (thanks, Scott & Jill!), and finally when we started playing the New York Times puzzles Connections and Spelling Bee (thanks, Carly & Ben!).
So we were inspired to make a few new puzzles. We'll send them out less frequently than before (but just as irregularly, we promise). We're also going to try to make them less challenging overall, though we'll still try to include some tough ones, for those who are into that.
As always, please share with friends, and feel free to reply with your answers, questions, complaints, and suggested puzzles. We read all of your mail.
Okay, here we go!
Today's Puzzle
Find words to fit the clues below. In all four answers, the "X X X" must be filled in with the same three letter word.
- _ X X X _ _ _ (Salad ingredient, 7 letters)
- _ _ X X X _ (Of the mountains, 6 letters)
- _ _ _ X X X _ (Squealing, 7 letters)
- _ _ _ X X X (Polish composer and pianist, 6 letters)
Previous Puzzle - Let's shake on it
If you've been waiting with bated breath for the answer to the last puzzle since...uhhh...June of 2020, then here you go.
Puzzle
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, two American and two Italian entrepreneurs meet to discuss a deal to import handmade tortellini. All four are wearing face masks and keeping a safe distance, but to seal the deal they want to shake hands. More precisely, each person on each side wants to shake hands with each person on the other side. That is, both Americans will shake hands with both Italians, but not with each other, for a total of four handshakes. They have no Purell, but they do have one pair of latex gloves (i.e. just two gloves, not two pairs of gloves). How can they use those two gloves for the four handshakes without any risk of contamination?
Assume that they can all put on and take off gloves without contaminating the outside of them.
Solution [SPOILER]
The solution involves two tricks: putting one glove over the other, and flipping the gloves inside out. Let's call the two Americans A1 and A2, and the two Italians I1 and I2. Here are the steps:
- A1 puts on the first glove, then puts the second glove over it.
- A1 shakes hands with I1.
- I1 takes the second glove, flips it inside out, and puts it on his hand.
- I1 shakes hands with A2.
- A1 (still wearing the first glove, which hasn't touched anyone) shakes hands with I2.
- I2 takes the first glove, flips it inside out, and puts in on his hand.
- I2 takes the second glove from I1 and, without flipping, puts in on top of the first glove.
- I2 shakes hands with A2.