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WIT & WISDOM - January 15, 1999 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "A friend - the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out." [1] ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Corrie Ten Boom in her book, The Hiding Place, relates an incident which taught her a very important principle. She and her sister, Betsy, had just been transferred to Ravensbruck, the worst German prison camp they had seen. Upon entering the barracks, they found them extremely overcrowded and flea infested. Their Scripture reading that morning had reminded them to rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances. Betsy told Corrie to stop and give thanks to the Lord for every detail of their new living quarters. Corrie at first flatly refused to give thanks for the fleas, but Betsy persisted. She finally succumbed. And during the months spent at that camp, they were surprised to find how openly they could hold Bible study and prayer meetings without guard interference. It was several months later when they learned that the guards would not enter the barracks because of the fleas. Copyright (C) 1996 J. David Hoke [2] ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: A QUIZ: Four men are escaping from a prisoner of war camp. They arrive in the dark of night at a narrow bridge leading to freedom. They chose this night because of a rare gap in the security patrols' schedule - the bridge will be unguarded for exactly 17 minutes! The bridge is treacherous, and requires a flashlight to get across without falling off. The 4 men have only one flashlight, but the bridge can only support 2 men at a time! So after the first two men cross, one will have to walk the flashlight back before more can cross over to freedom! Even though it takes only 1 minute to cross the bridge, three of the men are injured and must walk slower. A pair crossing together must walk at the rate of the slower man's pace, as follows: Man 1: 1 minute to cross Man 2: 2 minutes to cross Man 3: 5 minutes to cross Man 4: 10 minutes to cross For example: if Man 1 and Man 4 walk across first, 10 Minutes have elapsed when they get to the other side of the bridge. If Man 4 returns with the flashlight, a total of 20 minutes have passed, and only one man has his freedom. - See how quickly you can solve this! (BTW: This question is sometimes asked by interviewers at Microsoft.) Answer after Trivia. [3] ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Two interesting signs from here in Wisconsin - actually, one from Medford, where a tractor and implement dealer is called "The Farmacy," and just to the south in Marshfield is a sign shop that has as it's byline: "See us before you sign!" - John L. Hoh, Jr. [4] ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: To keep those jars and bottles easy to open, rub some vegetable oil or shortening around the inside of the lid and on the outside rim of the container. No more frustrating lids or caps. The Learn Letter, Copyright 1998, Panmedia Corporation. All rights reserved. [5] ANSWER TO BRIDGE PROBLEM: (Crossed to Freedom) BRIDGE (Still in Germany/time lapsed) None ============ 1 2 3 4 (0 minutes) Crossing #1: <- 1 2 1 2 ============ 3 4 (2 minutes) Crossing #2: 1 -> 2 ============ 1 3 4 (3 minutes) Crossing #3: <- 3 4 2 3 4 ============ 1 (13 minutes) Crossing #4: 2 -> 3 4 ============ 1 2 (15 minutes) Crossing #5: <- 1 2 1 2 3 4 ============ Sad Guard (17 minutes) ~~~~~~~ CONTRIBUTORS: [1] (E-zine: Daily Encounter [2] ( [3] (E-zine: Laugh-A-Lot! [4] (John L. Hoh, Jr.) [5] (E-zine: The Learn Letter |