2011

Who Should Own the Rosetta Stone?By JOHN TIERNEYShould the British Museum return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt? Should the export of a nation;cultural property; be banned? Should there be laws giving national governments ownership of any antiquity unearthed today within their borders?Monday Puzzle: Conversion FactorsBy PRADEEP MUTALIKIn a last desperate cry, a technician on an Antarctic expedition yelled out a temperature measurement he made as he fell into a crevasse. The number he shouted out was clearly heard, but not the Rosetta Stone
units. It turned out not to make a difference. What was the temperature?Thursday Puzzle: What Wrong (or Right) With This Picture?By JOHN TIERNEYDoes the picture above look natural to you? If you were standing in a lodge at Glacier National Park, is this how a jigsaw puzzle and the scenery would appear to your eye?Stars of the Astronomy QuizBy JOHN TIERNEYWe have a winner ; two winners, actually; of the prize for the Lab Beautiful Universe Astronomy Quiz.Monday Puzzle: You Can;t Fight Density; er, DestinyBy PRADEEP MUTALIKIn this fictitious sequence of events, love sours and Tom Cruise tosses the golden statue given to him by his estranged wife, Nicole Kidman, into the lake. Will the water level go up, down or remain the same?Martin Gardner PrizeThe judges have a prize for the best tribute to Martin Gardner, and the readers have solutions to Mr. Gardner puzzles.Treating the Pain EpidemicBy JOHN TIERNEYChronic pain affects more than 70 million Americans, which makes it more widespread than heart disease, cancer and diabetes combined. So why don;t more doctors and researchers take it seriously?Office Gossip StrategiesBy JOHN TIERNEYWhat the gossip in your office? What the gossip doing to your office? And what are the best strategies for gossips or anti-gossips to employ in the office?Monday Puzzle: The Case of theLearn Arabic
Mixed-Up Princes(s)By PRADEEP MUTALIKWouldn;t it be nice to have a technique, a magic bullet, that guaranteed you the highest probability of making your best choice in your mate?The Cosmic Countdown in Geneva Goes OnBy DENNIS OVERBYEScientists at CERN have sent a beam of protons into the Large Hadron Collider, and ran them part way around the giant underground ring successfully before dumping them.Explaining the Aha! InstinctBy JOHN TIERNEYWe have an answer from Marcel Danesi to a puzzle that was posed last week: Why are puzzles pleasurable?Monday Puzzle: Let the Martin Gardner Celebrations Continue!By PRADEEP MUTALIKLast week puzzles from Martin Gardner produced such a profusion of goodwill that we;ve decided to continue the celebrations of his 95th birthday with more of his puzzles.The Name-That-Element Chemistry QuizBy JOHN TIERNEYWe;ll celebrate National Chemistry Week with a quiz and a chance for you to win a copy of Theodore Gray new book, The Elements. Mr. Gray is a self-described;element nut.;Martin Gardner Aha! MomentsBy JOHN TIERNEYWhy solve a puzzle? Why is that fun? I discuss that question in my Findings column about Martin Gardner. I welcome your theories on theLearn Chinese
appeal of puzzles ; and the enduring appeal of Martin Gardner.Monday Puzzle: Martin Gardner Birthday CelebrationBy JOHN TIERNEYMartin Gardner turns 95 on Wednesday. Today we;ll start the celebration with several of of the classic simple puzzles he has presented.