Curio Cabinet / Teaser Curio

The heroes at the Post Office sort, send, and deliver mail in rain, snow, and unbearable heat. To celebrate the Post Office, whose origins date to the Second Continental Congress (1775) under the leadership of Postmaster General Benjamin Franklin, try solving today's teaser.

Can you make a word ladder from POST to MAIL? Hint: there are two solutions to this puzzle, a 5-step answer, and a 7-step answer. We are looking for the 7-step solution.

POST  
 
 
 
A Grimm story  
 
MAIL

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 #253" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. It's National Talk Like a Pirate Day. Grab yer grog—we're going to plunder and pillage, lads and lasses. No prey no pay! Best follow the cap'n's orders or you'll be walking the plank. Savvy?

Embrace your inner pirate by figuring out today's puzzle. Follow the clues to the find the buried treasure! Today's word is a 12-letter English word. (The original word) Someone skilled in swordplay. (Remove the last letter) To ostentatiously engage in daring adventurous. (Remove the last 6 letters) To move with a splashing sound. (Remove the first letter) What you do on laundry day. What's the original word?
 

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #252" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

These days you might be weary of turning on the TV or scrolling through your social media feeds. Fear not! This brain teaser bears no surprising headlines. Skip the front page to figure out the clues in today's puzzle.

  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? A constant fixture in the Los Angeles skyline A city in central Texas whose famous residents include Chip and Joanna Gaines The SAT is a type of this The other three clues are often discussed in this

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #251" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!
ut.

Twenty-three years ago, Princess Diana died in a tragic car crash in Paris, France. Today, she is often remembered for her iconic style and complicated marriage to Prince Charles. What Diana wanted to be remembered for, however, was her devotion to her children and her humanitarian work. As a public figure, she brought attention to the issues like the HIV/AIDS epidemic, leprosy, homelessness, and landmines. In honor of her commitment to social justice, we invite you to unscramble this quote from Diana's interview with BBC journalist Martin Bashir. 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 phrase? People think that at the hay deed font a man is the only answer. Actually, loafing jib full is better for me. — Princess Diana People think that at the (3) (2) (3) (3) a man is the only answer. Actually, (1) (10) (3) is better for me. — Princess Diana

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #250" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

Acclaimed children's book author Dr. Seuss may have espoused the many benefits of love and togetherness, but it seems his definition of love was rather... scatological? In fact, the serial neologist apparently coined two terms, "canal paste" and "eardrum soy," which put a far more nauseating spin on the exploits of Whoville. Hmm... but then again, something doesn't look quite right about those quotes. Did Dr. Seuss wrap up his career with his mind in the gutter, or have we royally dropped the ball? Two phrases from this Dr. Seuss 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? You know you're in love when you canal paste fell because reality is finally better than eardrum soy. — Dr. Seuss You know you're in love when you (4) (4) (6) because reality is finally better than (4) (6). — Dr. Seuss

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #249" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

If you were expecting a well-thought-out preamble to this Teaser, think again. Instead, I'm going to subject you all to word salad. What kind, you ask? If only I had thought of that before I started. Don't mind me while I start babbling about my dislike of the color sky blue, then segue into mindnumbing facts about my Aunt Phyllis, before speaking outright gibberish. Hey! Are you listening to me over there?! I am a five-letter English word. I frequently run my mouth. If you remove the first letter from me, I'll become sad and forced to do this. If you remove the first two letters from me, I didn't make it to first base. If you remove the second and third letters from me, some might refer to me as a barfly. What am I?

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #248" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

It's a Flashback! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
 

Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs! In honor of their dramatic and historic victory, here's a baseball brain teaser to keep the baseball juices flowing (ummm, that's brain juices, not steroid juices):

This year, Ace Alonzo, Blazin' Boone, and Cruisin' Callahan played for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and Boston Red Sox in some combination. Can you figure out which teams they each played for?

Here are some things that happened this season:

Cruisin' Callahan once struck out Blazin' Boone on three pitches.
Ace Alonzo never wanted to be a Lovable Loser so never played for them.
Cruisin' Callahan played for a team from the capital city of its state.
Blazin' Boone never had any games at Progressive Field.
Cruisin' Callahan had a special clause in his contract that let him only play home games, which means he got to sleep in his tree house fort in his childhood oak tree every night of the whole season.
Ace Alonzo had spring training at Goodyear Ballpark.
Cruisin' Callahan was covering first base when he got an out by catching a throw from Ace Alonzo.
Blazin' Boone had one favorite baseball cap that he wore for every game.

So, what do you think? Which teams did Alonzo, Boone, and Callahan play for? Warning: This is trickier than it looks...

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

It's a Flashback! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
 
Is there such a thing as too much bacon? The answer will shock you!
 

Of course, there is. John, however, loves bacon and refuses to give it up. Recently, he went way overboard with a 100%-bacon lunch, justifying it to himself and his cardiologist by saying it helped him come up with this math teaser.
 
In the addition problem below, each unique letter represents a different single digit. None of the numbers starts with a 0 (i.e., B and L are not 0). What are the values of BACON and LUNCH?
 

  BACON
  BACON
  BACON
+ BACON
  LUNCH

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

It's a Flashback! Enjoy this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
 

Whose turn is it? Well, it's our turn to send you a teaser, followed by your turn to bombard us with (hopefully correct) answers. But right after you do, let's flip it around. Send us a teaser (and hopefully correct answer), and we might use it for a future teaser! Ready? It's your turn.
 
This is a common 5-letter English word.

(The original word) You can turn with this.
(Remove the 1st letter) You can turn on this.
(Remove the 1st and 2nd letters) This can be turned delicious.
(Remove the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd letters) This might turn above you (less common).

What's the original word?
 
Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "FLASHBACK | Teaser #157" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

Have you heard about the outlaw Teaser Curio running amok across the country? Headlines say it could be hiding right in front of our noses and we'd never know it! Here's a snippet of the wanted poster: WANTED: Notorious Teaser #247, solved or unsolved REWARD: 1 CQ Point I say we join the search posse and nab this puzzling lamster! Can you make a word ladder from BURST to POSSE that satisfies the clue below? BURST        Steed       POSSE 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 #247" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

I don't need to tell you boxing is, in many ways, a brutal sport. Its entire premise is to beat the other guy's face black and blue, or as Panamanian former professional boxer Roberto Durán would say, turn it "tinge tight." Hold on... that doesn't sound right. Did Durán maybe take a few too many punches to the head? Hmm... no, it's Durán's quote that took a few too many knocks on the grammatically level. Rather than throwing in the towel, let's give this quote a Rocky-esque pep talk to get it back on its feet and unscrambled. Ding, ding!

Two phrases from this Roberto Durán 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? Tinge tight motivates me. It makes me neigh thus yup more. — Roberto Durán (7) (3) motivates me. It makes me (6) (3) (3) more. — Roberto Durán

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #246" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

Now isn't the best time for home improvement... but hey, we're bored beyond our wits and tired of pacing our livingrooms. Sure, all of our friends and family are quarantining. But who cares! We're staying engaged by torturing ourselves with masonry, roofing, and carpentry, as well as dizzying selections of paints, landscaping pebbles, and countertops. Oh, and let's not forget interior decoration!   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? Run a drill Flubs It gets wiped All done

Think you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #245" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!

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!