History's Mysteries
- Brain Teaser
Play alone, or better yet, invite a small group to participate.
Get a pencil, a piece of paper, and a calculator.
Participants are asked to call out the most famous dates that they can
think of in all of history, excluding dates after 1950. For each date, only the year is needed.
Make a list of the dates that are given--at least 10, and no more than
20. This is the "long list."
Participants are then asked to decide which of these dates are the most
famous. By this method, reduce the list down to a list of seven dates.
This is the "short list."
IMPORTANT: Do not read further until the above steps have been completed.
On the calculator, enter the number 2060, and then subtract 71 repeatedly. (Subtract 71 once, and then just keep hitting the "equals" key to repeat the subtraction.)
On both the "long list" and the "short list" of dates, check off each date that the calculator matches. Continue until the calculator has given 30 dates, and then stop.
Results may vary slightly depending upon the group or the individual.
How many of the seven dates from the "short list" did the calculator
match? (Was it between 3 and 5?) How did this happen? Think about it!
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