Curio Cabinet / Teaser Curio

If you're like me, you've been hearing premature Fourth of July fireworks going off for weeks. Assuming the amateur pyrotechnics have kept you up at night, I bring dire, REM cycle-spoiling news: a suspicious figure is currently skulking in your neighborhood, and in honor of the U.S.'s sovereignty, they plan to set off the "Big One"—a monolithic rocket that produces a blinding, lingering glare. Come to think of it, it must have already gone off because all we're seeing is stars. Will this formidable rocket's glare ever fade? Somebody bring me my sleeping mask! 

This is a common 8-letter English word. (The original word) Like the U.S. flag (Remove the 1st, 2nd, and 8th letter) A schemy intention (Remove the 1st, 5th, and 6th letters) Like certain windows (Remove the 1st, 4th, and 5th letters) Lost luminance What's the original word?  

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #244" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

You go to certain people for certain inspiration. Want to conquer the world? Consult the stratagem of Napoleon Bonaparte. Want to kick back, take it easy breezy, and let your mind collect dust? Hmm... let's just say Napoleon isn't your guy. In fact, he probably would have branded you a fool, and also assumed you have a great (but somehow average) toad van man of sense to help you along. That sounds nice and all (baring Napoleon's insult to your intelligence), but there's a catch: our nifty toad van man has a seething wit and he's out wassailing (boozing!). Oh, and did I mention he's actually a fish?

Two phrases from this Napolean Bonaparte quote have been scrambled. The phrases of the original quote have the number of words and letters shown below. The phrases were scrambled independently (i.e., the letters from the first phrase aren't scrambled into the second phrase). Can you figure out the original phrases? The fool has one great average toad van man of sense; he is a witty wassailed fish himself. — Napoleon Bonapart The fool has one great (9) (4) (1) man of sense; he is (6) (9) (4) himself. — Napoleon Bonapart

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #243" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

Around the world, many of us are emerging from quarantine. Unfortunately, we've all spent so much time indoors, glued to the TV, that we haven't been able to work on our tans. And to make matters worse (or better, depending on how you look at it), the sun is particularly fiery this time of year and our skin is boiling. Either we need to go from hoarding toilet paper to sunscreen, or we can solve the word ladder below as we delicately, incrementally attain a sunkissed glow. Can you make a word ladder from FIRE to GOLD that satisfies the clue below? FIRE        Pasty         GOLD Remember: a word ladder is a series of words, starting from one word and ending with another, where each subsequent word is a one-letter change from the previous word (without rearranging, adding, or removing letters). And, of course, each step is a common, valid English word. For instance, you can change CAT to DOG like this: CAT => COT => DOT => DOG.

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #242" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

Are you exercising? The quarantine has disrupted many people's activity, whether that's pumping iron at the gym or even just taking the stairs at work. When your commute is sitting up in bed and picking up your laptop off the floor, it's that much harder to stay active. So get your body and your brain moving today! This is a common 5-letter English word. (The original word) It only helps you move if it's on the ground (Remove the 1st letter) It hits the ground to help you move (Remove the 1st and 2nd letters) It can be as short as 4 cm long (Remove the 2nd and last letters) What you might call one of the above that is 4 cm long What's the original word?
 

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #241" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

It's only natural these troubling times are troubling our sleep. To make matters worse, we have been drinking so much caffeine to compensate that—yaaaawn—we've crashed and are drowsier than ever. Whatever will we do? Jump-start our groggy brains with a puzzle, of course!   Remember: a word square is similar to a square crossword puzzle, but the same words appear across and down. Here's an example of a 3x3 word square:   CAT AGO TOY   Below are four clues, not in order. Can you make a 4x4 word square out of it? What poor sleepers do Give a whisk For that reason Some say they're just numbers

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #240" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

This dangerous time is about to become more dangerous. While we are doing our best to remain safe, we're about to unleash creatures known around the world for their efficacy in transmitting disease. For many, the last structures to keep these things contained (be it "teacher story time" or "school group projects" or actually "homework") is ending. What are we going to do with these kids!?!? Can you make a word ladder from FREE to KIDS that satisfies the clue below? FREE        Beholds       KIDS Remember: a word ladder is a series of words, starting from one word and ending with another, where each subsequent word is a one-letter change from the previous word (without rearranging, adding, or removing letters). And, of course, each step is a common, valid English word. For instance, you can change CAT to DOG like this: CAT => COT => DOT => DOG.
 

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #239" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

6-sided dice are so... pedestrian. We all know that to really establish our nerd cred, we have to carry dice with at least 10 sides unless we want to suffer the humiliation dished out by even nerdier nerds. Chris was carrying a 10-sided die (called a pentagonal trapezohedron, but you knew that already), numbered 1-10, when he met Jessica for an epic dice battle. Jessica had her trusty 20-sided die (called an icosahedron), numbered 1-20. Feeling particularly confident, Chris throws down this challenge: they each will roll their die and see who has the higher number. They'll both do this three times, and if Chris beats Jessica in any of the three rounds, he wins the bet. (It doesn't matter if Chris' second throw beats Jessica's first throw; for Chris to win, he needs to beat Jessica in the same round of throws.) Who has the edge on this bet? What are Chris' chances of winning the nerd battle?
 

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #238" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

Trapped at home? After you've finished Netflix (not finished that series, but actually finished Netflix), you might as well clean your house. And what better way to keep a tidy and hygienic home than to throw rocks at pigs? OK, well, we can think of millions of better ways, but we're committed to the scrambled phrase below, and now it's too late to back out. Let's just move on. Two phrases of this quote from Phyllis Diller have been scrambled. The phrases of the original quote have the number of words and letters shown below. The letters of one phrase have not been mixed with the letters of the other phrase. Can you figure out the true original quote? Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like hawking hot levels before stoning sow tips. Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like (9) (3) (4) before (2) (5) (7).
 

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #237" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

The frequency of the use of the word "unprecedented" is unprecedented these days, which just goes to show how unprecedented these events are. And through all this, we have the audacity to send you a brain teaser you have to solve!?!? That is not unprecedented. This is a common 6-letter English word. (The original word) Struggle (Remove the 1st letter) Struggle, so it's not as much of a struggle later (Remove the 3rd letter) Water can cause it, or remove it (Remove the 1st and 2nd letters) This can water and is water What's the original word?
 

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #236" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

Enough with the virus talk! To solve today's teaser, put on some jazz, find your special someone, and solve it together. That's much better than social distancing.   Remember: a word square is similar to a square crossword puzzle, but the same words appear across and down. Here's an example of a 3x3 word square:   CAT AGO TOY   Below are four clues, not in order. Can you make a 4x4 word square out of it? Jazz lovers can be found here Jazz lovers come together to see one Lovers often share these Take off your clothes!

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #235" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

We have food on the brain pretty much all the time here at Curious. And during these pandemic times, nothing feeds the soul as well as someone dropping off an XXL combo with extra sausage to sustain you through your Bingeflix. Send more food! Can you make a word ladder from SEND to MORE to FOOD that satisfies the clue below? SEND      Food can be on it or off it   MORE    It can grow on food   FOOD Remember: a word ladder is a series of words, starting from one word and ending with another, where each subsequent word is a one-letter change from the previous word (without rearranging, adding, or removing letters). And, of course, each step is a common, valid English word. For instance, you can change CAT to DOG like this: CAT => COT => DOT => DOG.
 

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #234" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

Legend has it that there once was a bloodthirsty, vicious, daring pirate who struck fear in the hearts of sailors across the seven seas! Well, except for his own crew who benefitted from his very equitable profit-sharing program. This is how it worked. Captain Purplebeard gave each pirate in his crew (including himself) the same number of gold coins as there were pirates in the crew (again, including himself). Then, being the thoughtful leader that he is, he also wanted to reward longevity on his ship. Thus, he gave the newest member of his crew 1 extra gold coin, the next newest member of his ship 2 extra gold coins, the third newest member 3 extra gold coins, and so on, until he gave himself (being the longest-serving member of the crew) the same number of extra gold coins as there are members of the crew. Finally, the rest of the coins would be split evenly among the pirates and dubbed the Booty Bonus. After a successful raid yielded 459 gold coins, the Booty Bonus was 1 coin per pirate. How many pirates are on the crew?
 

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #233" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

Just in case the threat of coronavirus wasn't enough to drive you crazy, we're now trapped in our home with vectors of disease that are undoubtedly the leading cause of premature aging, hair loss, weight gain, and uncontrollable swearing. But we love our children, don't we? Of course, we do. Ummm... right? Two phrases of this quote from comedian Ray Romano have been scrambled. The phrases of the original quote have the number of words and letters shown below. The letters of one phrase have not been mixed with the letters of the other phrase. Can you figure out the true original phrase? Having children is like living in a frat house: Bond peels soy, everything's broken, and there's a two-tulip foghorn. Having children is like living in a frat house: (6) (6), everything's broken, and there's a (3) (2) (8) (2).

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #232" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

Sheltering in place at home? Protecting your castle has changed so much over time, from moats to keep out invaders, to steel bars to stop the smash-and-grab, to cameras to deter porch pirates, and now, spraying your mail with disinfectant. Maybe we should just combine them all and fill our moats with disinfectant? Whatever your method, stay vigilant, everyone! This is a common 6-letter English word. (The original word) Break through (Remove the 1st letter) After you break through, get to (Remove the 2nd letter) Where the castle walls are very weak (Remove the 1st and 2nd letters) Every person What's the original word?

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #231" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

Are you feeling overloaded with coronavirus news? We are too, so we'll try to make the best of it by theming this week's teaser around the only thing on anyone's mind these days. Stay safe, stay curious, and stay nerdy!   Remember: a word square is similar to a square crossword puzzle, but the same words appear across and down. Here's an example of a 3x3 word square:   CAT AGO TOY   Below are four clues, not in order. Can you make a 4x4 word square out of it? It's really hard to find in stores these days What the thing above is, technically, though some may disagree ~113 sqft. for social distancing Fever or not, it makes you sweat

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #230" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

If you're like us (and we know you are), you look to brain teasers as a welcome distraction from troubling times. Be careful video chatting with your friends; they may just bore you with the story of how they successfully fought that guy that one time for the last pack of toilet paper. Instead, get some food delivered (to support your local restaurant), and work on this with your friends. From a distance. Can you make a word ladder from STAY to SAFE that satisfies the clue below? STAY        Delivered       SAFE Remember: a word ladder is a series of words, starting from one word and ending with another, where each subsequent word is a one-letter change from the previous word (without rearranging, adding, or removing letters). And, of course, each step is a common, valid English word. For instance, you can change CAT to DOG like this: CAT => COT => DOT => DOG.

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #229" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

One day, John found himself completely out of cash, so he decided to hit up his friends for money, and luckily he has 100 friends willing to give him some. Solo gave John all his money. Halvsies gave John half of her money. Trips gave John 1/3 of his money. Quatra gave John 1/4 of her money. ... Centurio gave John 1/100 of his money. Amazingly, they each gave him the same amount of money. What fraction of the total amount of does John have?
Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #228" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

Health is at the top of everyone's mind these days. Unfortunately, with that anxiety, there are also a lot of rumors and misinformation about how to stay in peak health. Eating garlic to prevent coronavirus infection? Umm... no. Well, we're here to tell you that the one true solution to all your concerns is a steady diet of starchy tangerines. What? Don't believe us? You're right to be skeptical. The end of this quote from Plato has been scrambled. The phrase of the original quote has the number of words and letters shown below. Can you figure out the true original phrase? Attention to health is life's starched tangerine. Attention to health is life's (8) (9).

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #227" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

Why don't more people like brain teasers!!??!!? It's not right! Why would people want to spend their time taking naps in the sun or playing catch with their kids or making chocolate chip cookies when they could be solving word riddles like the one below? Unless we stop doing all those other frivolous activities, this is going to be the downfall of civilization!!! This is a 6-letter English word. (The original word) A rant (Remove the 1st letter) What a rant can be about (Remove the 1st and 2nd letters) Something in the marsh (Remove the 2nd and 3rd letters) Where that something in the marsh came from What's the original word?

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #226" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

We're at Curio Teaser #225, and that means we have (wait..., um, where's the calculator...) over four years of weekly brain teasers for you to go back to. If you've solved them all, then, uh, wow. Wow. Really, wow.   If not, get yourself some food, settle down, and go back for more!   Remember: a word square is similar to a square crossword puzzle, but the same words appear across and down. Here's an example of a 3x3 word square:   CAT AGO TOY   Below are four clues, not in order. Can you make a 4x4 word square out of it? Go back, in a way A place with slots to go back to Food for the stomach Food for the brain

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #225" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!