I'm a frequent reader of Ripley's Believe It or Not.  Even though their stories are sometimes a little lame, I usually walk away and say, "Huh...weird," which is good enough to keep me coming back every day.  Every once in a while, they ask a question one day and give the answer the next day.  It's usually some sort of simple brain teaser that can probably be solved by a 5th grader (I've heard they're smarter than many adults).  Most times, I read it and don't even care what the solution is.  Or, I decide in my mind that I could solve it if I felt like it, but I just don't feel like it.  It's good to be the smartest person on earth. 

This one showed up on Tuesday: 
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The question asks, "You are atop building A, which is full of rampaging robots.  If you only had a pair of sturdy boards 28' long, how could you cross the 30' gap to reach the helicopter on building B?"  This is one of the few I've actually thought about.  I have a massive fear of being attacked by rampaging robots while on the roof of a building, so this scenario is especially important.  I casually wracked my brain trying to come up with a solution and I honestly couldn't come up with anything.  You can't connect the boards because they'll be too weak at the joint (not to mention they won't stay together).  You can't lay them on their sides because that wouldn't do anything.  The closest I could come to a solution is to use one of them as a giant pole vault, but the animated character in my head could never make it to the other building.  Damn him! 

I was thoroughly excited Wednesday to get to work and read the solution. 
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The solution says, "Although each board is too short on its own, you can use one board at the corner to brace another and escape."  Bingo.  That's genius.  I never would've thought of that.  I would've been pummeled by those robots, and even if I got my pole vault to work, I would've probably been chopped to pieces in the helicopter's propeller. 

Sadly, I think my problem-solving abilities are starting to decline. #entertainment