David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Brain Teasers
Brain Teaser 1. In which direction is the bus pictured below traveling?
Do you know the answer?
The only possible answers are "left" or "right."
Still don't know?
When pre-school children were shown this picture and question, they all answered "left." When asked why, they answered "Because you can't see the door."
Brain Teaser 2. You think you know the colors?
Quick! say aloud what color you see in every word, NOT the word you read.
Not that easy, right?
The Stroop test is used in neuropsychological evaluations to measure mental vitality and flexibility, since performing well requires strong inhibition capacity.
Brain Teaser 3. Can You Pay Attention?
Please try this fun experiment. You will watch a brief video clip showing two teams, and your challenge is to count the number of passes made by the team in white.
Click here to view the Basketball Experiment clip.
Brain Teaser 4. Find the Homographs
Dr. Pascale Michelon created this one. In the column below you have five pairs of words. Your goal is to find a third word that is connected or associated with both of these two words.
The first pair is PIANO and LOCK. The answer is KEY. The word key is connected with both the word piano and the word lock: there are KEYS on a piano and you use a KEY to lock doors?.
Key is what is called a homograph: a word that has more than one meaning but is always spelled the same.
Ready to stimulate connections in your temporal lobe? Enjoy! (Solutions are at the bottom of the post. Please don't check them until you have tried to solve all the pairs!)
1. LOCK ? PIANO
2. SHIP ? CARD
3. TREE ? CAR
4. SCHOOL ? EYE
5. PILLOW ? COURT
Brain Teaser 5. Have We Stressed You Out?
Here is a very quick test to determine your stress level now. Read the following description completely before looking at the picture.
The picture below was used in a case study on stress levels at St. Mary's Hospital. Look at both dolphins jumping out of the water. The dolphins are identical. A closely monitored, scientific study revealed that, in spite of the fact that the dolphins are identical, a person under stress would find differences between the two dolphins. The more differences a person finds between the dolphins, the more stress that person is experiencing.
Look at the photograph, and if you find more than one or two differences, you may want to take a vacation or at least get a massage.
Click here to see the picture before reading more.
Solutions to Brain Game 4:
1. LOCK ? PIANO > KEY
2. SHIP ? CARD > Deck
3. TREE ? CAR > Trunk
4. SCHOOL ? EYE > Pupil (Exam and Private are also possible)
5. PILLOW ? COURT > Case
If you liked this exercise, you can find more pairs of words at Words in your brain.
Brain Teaser 1. In which direction is the bus pictured below traveling?
Do you know the answer?
The only possible answers are "left" or "right."
Still don't know?
When pre-school children were shown this picture and question, they all answered "left." When asked why, they answered "Because you can't see the door."
Brain Teaser 2. You think you know the colors?
Quick! say aloud what color you see in every word, NOT the word you read.
Not that easy, right?
The Stroop test is used in neuropsychological evaluations to measure mental vitality and flexibility, since performing well requires strong inhibition capacity.
Brain Teaser 3. Can You Pay Attention?
Please try this fun experiment. You will watch a brief video clip showing two teams, and your challenge is to count the number of passes made by the team in white.
Click here to view the Basketball Experiment clip.
Brain Teaser 4. Find the Homographs
Dr. Pascale Michelon created this one. In the column below you have five pairs of words. Your goal is to find a third word that is connected or associated with both of these two words.
The first pair is PIANO and LOCK. The answer is KEY. The word key is connected with both the word piano and the word lock: there are KEYS on a piano and you use a KEY to lock doors?.
Key is what is called a homograph: a word that has more than one meaning but is always spelled the same.
Ready to stimulate connections in your temporal lobe? Enjoy! (Solutions are at the bottom of the post. Please don't check them until you have tried to solve all the pairs!)
1. LOCK ? PIANO
2. SHIP ? CARD
3. TREE ? CAR
4. SCHOOL ? EYE
5. PILLOW ? COURT
Brain Teaser 5. Have We Stressed You Out?
Here is a very quick test to determine your stress level now. Read the following description completely before looking at the picture.
The picture below was used in a case study on stress levels at St. Mary's Hospital. Look at both dolphins jumping out of the water. The dolphins are identical. A closely monitored, scientific study revealed that, in spite of the fact that the dolphins are identical, a person under stress would find differences between the two dolphins. The more differences a person finds between the dolphins, the more stress that person is experiencing.
Look at the photograph, and if you find more than one or two differences, you may want to take a vacation or at least get a massage.
Click here to see the picture before reading more.
Solutions to Brain Game 4:
1. LOCK ? PIANO > KEY
2. SHIP ? CARD > Deck
3. TREE ? CAR > Trunk
4. SCHOOL ? EYE > Pupil (Exam and Private are also possible)
5. PILLOW ? COURT > Case
If you liked this exercise, you can find more pairs of words at Words in your brain.
