What does the original photograph portray?

Feel free to enter your answer below; as always, will wait 24-48 hrs before displaying so as to not spoil the fun. Thanks.

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Some highlights from a new study out of Cornell University regarding lead toxicity and the brain:

• The Center for Disesase Control and Prevention (CDC) has standards that say a lead level below 10 mcg/dl is safe
• However, 1 out of 10 children in the United States has a blood lead level (BLL) of 5 mcg/dl or higher
• This new study found that the average IQ scores of children with BLLs of only 5 to 10 mcg/dl were about 5 points lower than the IQ scores of children with BLLs less than 5 mcg/dl.

According to the authors of the six year study:  "The results provide compelling evidence that low-level lead exposure has effects into the school-age years…The bottom line… is that lead is a persistent neurotoxin that causes brain damage. The fact that lead has been found in millions of toys, even toys specifically designed for children to put into their mouths, presents an unacceptable risk. Our findings suggest the need to re-evaluate the current federal standards for lead in consumer products and the current definition of an elevated BLL in children".

About a year ago I posted this article about lead effects in adults, that also lists some surprising toxic sources from the home.

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Below you will find 8 clues. The answer to each of these consists of two words that rhyme with each other. The letter lengths for the words are given in parentheses. For example, if the clue were "Obese Feline (3,3)", the answer would be "FAT CAT".

How many can you figure out? (Click on image to jump to higher resolution)

Puzzle created for Smartkit by Shirley Harshenin.

[will unmask any submitted answers in about 2 days, thanks]

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How can a window, having a height equal to its width, be made twice as large without increasing its height or width?

(will unmask any submitted answers to this puzzle in 24-48 hrs, thanks)

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New research adds further support to the idea that the higher your education level, the less likely you are to get Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

The study found this to be the case even after adjusting for socioeconomic status and other medical diseases. [Education and dementia: what lies behind the association? 2007 Oct 2;69(14):1442-50. Neurology.]

The authors of the study conclude: “Higher educated persons may have a greater cognitive reserve that can postpone the clinical manifestation of dementia.”

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Here’s a fun little puzzle, but you need a couple of coins.

Place 10 pennies in a row upon a table. Then taking up any one of the series place it upon some other, with this rule: that you pass over just 2 cents. Repeat this until there is no single penny left!

Can you solve in 5 steps?

(for our readers who don’t use US currency, you can really play with any coin. When you make the jump, you can only pass over 2x that coin’s value. Hope that makes sense

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I have no head, and a tail I lack,

But oft have arms, and legs, and a back;

I inhabit the palace, the tavern, the cot-

‘Tis a beggarly residence where I am not.

If a monarch were present (I tell you no fable),

I still should be placed at the head of the table.

What am I?

[as always, will unmask submitted answers in 24-48 hrs, thanks!]

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This fun online puzzle was created by Bart Bonte (Belgium). It has 14 levels, most of which aren’t too difficult.

Click here to play Factory Balls

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Can you divide the picture shown above by drawing 2 straight lines to produce 3 sections, each containing:

• Three red “X”s
• Two blue “+”s
• Two “-”s
• Two “%”s

If you have a printer, it may be easier to just print this one out. You can also try a similar printable  puzzle posted back in May.

Haven’t done brain health updates in a while; will try to have some up shortly.

submitted answers to show in about 24 hours, thanks

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Thanks to krandolph for this cool optical illusion:

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A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for 5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. Five minutes later, however, they both go out and enjoy a wonderful dinner together.

How can this be?

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Two children went to town to sell their eggs, one had more in her basket than the other; the one who had the most said to the other, “Give me one of your eggs, and then I shall have double the number you have.”-”No”, said the other; “give me one of yours, and then we shall have equal”.

How many eggs had each of these children?

(answers to show in 1-2 days)

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My first is a lie; my second is a lie; my whole is the emblem of innocence.

What am I?  

(The answer is 1 word consisting of 2 syllables)

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From KBaum Studios comes Mass Attack, a new puzzle game that has 7 levels. For this one, you can give your logical brain a bit of a rest and let those visual-motor circuits have some simple fun. While the early levels are fairly easy, the real challenge I think comes at level 6 or 7.

Click here to play

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The layout above was taken from a famous Chinese book over 3000 years old. Can you figure out what the configuration represents? (in other words- What’s special about it?)
(Will unmask answers Friday)

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