Sample Content

Do You Know

When are dinosaurs said to have become extinct? Dinosaurs lived during the Mesozoic era, 225 million to 65 million years ago. By the close of that era, all Archosauria (or "ruling reptiles"), except crocodiles, had died.

How much does a 1-carat diamond weigh? It weighs 200 milligrams, or 3.086 grains troy. The measurement originally represented the weight of a seed of the carob tree.

How does a KNOCKOUT PUNCH knock someone out? A knockout punch causes a chain reaction in the victim's circulatory system. The supply of blood pools in the abdomen, reducing circulation to the brain - and resulting in loss of consciousness.

Mind Benders

Question 2: A man was found dead in his study. He was slumped over his desk and a gun was in his hand. There was a cassette recorder on his desk. When the police entered the room and pressed the play button on the tape recorder they heard..."I can't go on. I have nothing to live for." Then there was the sound of a gunshot. How did the detective immediately know that the man had been murdered and it wasn't a suicide?

Question 3: As a whole, I am both safe and secure. Behead me, and I become a place of meeting. Behead me again, and I am the partner of ready. Restore me, and I become the domain of beasts. What am I?

Question 4: I run over fields and woods all day, Under the bed at night I sit alone, With a long tongue hanging out, Awaiting for a bone. What am I?

Quotes

Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea. (Jim Rohn )

Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that thankfulness is indeed a virtue. (Bill Bennett )

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. (John Quincy Adams)

Makes You Chuckle

911 Call
A man called 911 and spoke frantically into the phone, "My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart!" "Is this her first child?" the dispatcher asked. "No, you idiot!" the man shouted. "This is her husband!"

Useless in the Parking Lot
A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her daughter was very sick with a fever. She left her work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication for her daughter. When returning to her car she found that she had locked her keys in the car. She was in a hurry to get home to her sick daughter. She didn't know what to do, so she called her home and told the baby sitter what had happened and that she did not know what to do. The baby sitter told her that her daughter was getting worse. She said, "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door." The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been thrown down on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some time or other had locked their keys in their car. Then she looked at the hanger and said, "I don't know how to use this." So she bowed her head and asked God to send her some help. Within five minutes an old rusty car pulled up, with a dirty, greasy, bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head. The woman thought, "This is what you sent to help me?" But, she was desperate, so she was also very thankful. The man got out of his car and asked her if he could help. She said, "Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication and I locked my keys in my car. I must get home to her. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car?" He said, "Sure". He walked over to the car, and in less than one minute the car was opened. She hugged the man and through her tears she said, "Thank You So Much! You are a very nice man." The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison today. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out for about an hour." The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out loud, "Oh, Thank you God! You even sent me a Professional!"

Perspectives

The boy and his Father looked at the handsome fish, gills playing back and forth in the moonlight. The Father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 p.m. - two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy. "You'll have to put it back, Son," he said.

"Dad!" cried the boy.

"There will be another fish," said his father.

"Not as big as this one," cried the boy.

He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats were around in the moonlight. He looked again at his Father. Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he caught the fish, the boy could tell by the clarity of his Father's voice that the decision was not negotiable. He slowly worked the hook out of the lip of the huge bass and lowered it into the black water. The creature swished it's powerful body and disappeared. The boy suspected that never again would he see such a great fish.

That was 34 years ago. Today, the boy is a successful architect in New York City. His Father's cabin is still there on the island in the middle of the lake. He takes his own son and daughters fishing from the same dock. He was right. He has never again caught such a magnificent fish as the one he landed that night long ago. But he does see that same fish - again and again - every time he comes up against a question of ethics. For, as his Father taught him, ethics are simple matters of right and wrong. It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult.

Do we do right when no one is looking? Do we refuse to cut corners to get the design in on time? Or refuse to trade stocks based on information that we aren't supposed to have? We would if we were taught to put the fish back when we were young. For we would have learned the truth. The decision to do right lives fresh and fragrant in our memory. It is a story we will proudly tell our friends and our grandchildren. Not about how we had a chance to beat the system and took it, but about how we did the right thing and were forever strengthened.

Mind Benders: Solutions

Solution 2: The cassette had started at the beginning of the man's utterance. Someone else had to be there to rewind the tape.

Solution 3: STABLE