New Twists on Old Proverbs!

New Twists on Old Proverbs!

New Twists on Old Proverbs

An elementary school teacher gave each child in her class the first half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. Their insight may surprise you! And if you would like to try to guess the correct ending of the proverb, just type it in or remember it, and then click on the answer block to see how well you did.

As you shall make your bed so shall you ... mess it up.
Type the correct ending here:

 

See Proverb

As you shall make your bed so shall you lie there.

Better to be safe than ... punch a 5th grader.
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See Proverb

Better to be safe than sorry!

Strike while the ... bug is close. Type the correct ending here:

 

See Proverb

Strike while the iron is hot!

It is always darkest before ... daylight savings time.
It is always darkest before ... I open my eyes.
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See Proverb

It is always darkest before the dawn.

Never underestimate the power of ... termites.
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See Proverb

Never underestimate the power of a kind word or deed. And you also frequently hear: Never underestimate the power of a woman.

A rolling stone ... plays the guitar.
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See Proverb

A rolling stone gathers no moss.

A bird in the hand is ... a real mess.
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See Proverb

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

It is better to light one candle than to ... waste electricity.
It is better to light one candle than to ... light an explosive.
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See Proverb

It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.

You have nothing to fear but ... your principal.
You have nothing to fear but ... homework.
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See Proverb

You have nothing to fear but fear itself.

If you can't stand the heat ... don't start the fireplace.
If you can't stand the heat ... go swimming.
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See Proverb

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

The squeaking wheel gets ... annoying.
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See Proverb

The squeaking wheel gets the grease.

To err is human ... to eat a muskrat is not.
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See Proverb

To err is human, to forgive, divine.

I think, therefore I ... get a headache.
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See Proverb

I think, therefore I am.

Early to bed and early to rise ... is first in the bathroom.
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See Proverb

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a ... blister.
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See Proverb

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

There is nothing new under the ... bed.
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There is nothing new under the sun.

The grass is always greener ... when you leave the sprinkler on.
The grass is always greener ... when you put manure on it.
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See Proverb

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Don't count your chickens ... it takes too long.
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See Proverb

Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.

You can lead a horse to water but ... how?
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See Proverb

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

Don't bite the hand that ... looks dirty.
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See Proverb

Don't bite the hand that feeds you.

No news is ... impossible.
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See Proverb

No news is good news.

A miss is as good as a ... Mr.
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See Proverb

A miss is as good as a mile.

You can't teach an old dog new ... math.
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See Proverb

You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

If you lie down with dogs, you'll ... stink in the morning.
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See Proverb

If you lie down with dogs, you'll rise with fleas.

Love all, trust ... me.
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See Proverb

"Love all, trust few, do wrong to none." -Shakespeare

The pen is mightier than the ... pigs.
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See Proverb

The pen is mightier than the sword.

Where there's smoke there's ... pollution.
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See Proverb

Where there's smoke there's fire.


(Learn About the Dangers of Smoking from Mama Didn't Know)

Happy the bride who ... gets all the presents.
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See Proverb

Happy the bride who the sun shines on.

A penny saved is ... not much.
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See Proverb

A penny saved is a penny earned.

Two's company, three's ... the Musketeers.
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See Proverb

Two's company, three's a crowd.

Don't put off 'til tomorrow what you ... put on to go to bed.
Never put off 'til tomorrow what you ... should have done yesterday.
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See Proverb

Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

Don't count your chickens ... it takes too long.
Type the correct ending here:

 

See Proverb

Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.

Laugh and the whole world laughs with you,
cry and ... you have to blow your nose.
Laugh and the world laughs with you,
cry and ... someone yells, "Shut up!"
Type the correct ending here:
 

See Proverb

Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone.

Children should be seen and not ... spanked or grounded.
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See Proverb

Children should be seen and not heard.

If at first you don't succeed ... get new batteries.
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See Proverb

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

You get out of something what you ... see pictured on the box.
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See Proverb

You get out of something what you put into it.


New Twists on Deep Thoughts!

The following responses were received during a newspaper contest in which contestants from ages 4 to 15 were asked to provide their own "Deep Thoughts" (like those prepared by Jack Handey).

  • I believe you should live each day as if it is your last, which is why I don't have any clean laundry because, come on, who wants to wash clothes on the last day of their life? --Age 15
  • Give me the strength to change the things I can, the grace to accept the things I cannot, and a great big bag of money. --Age 13
  • It sure would be nice if we got a day off for the president's birthday, like they do for the queen's. Of course, then we would have a lot of people voting for a candidate born on July 3 or December 26, just for the long weekends. --Age 8
  • Democracy is a beautiful thing, except for that part about letting just any old yokel vote. --Age 10
  • Home is where your house is. --Age 6
  • For centuries, people thought the moon was made of green cheese. Then the astronauts found that the moon is really a big hard rock. That's what happens to cheese when you leave it out. --Age 6
  • As you make your way through this hectic world of ours, set aside a few minutes each day. At the end of the year, you'll have a couple of days saved up. --Age 7
  • Often, when I am reading a good book, I stop and thank my teacher. That is, I used to, until she got an unlisted number. --Age 15
  • It would be terrible if the Red Cross Bloodmobile got into an accident. No, wait. That would be good because if anyone needed it, the blood would be right there. --Age 5
  • Think of the biggest number you can. Now add five. Then, imagine if you had that many Twinkies. Wow, that's five more than the biggest number you could come up with! --Age 6
  • The only stupid question is the one that is never asked, except maybe "Don't you think it is about time you audited my return?" or "Isn't it morally wrong to give me a warning when, in fact, I was speeding?" --Age 15
  • If we could just get everyone to close their eyes and visualize world peace for an hour, imagine how serene and quiet it would be until the looting started. --Age 15

Mathematics play a big role in science and research! But don't let that scare you! Math can be fun, and very illuminating! Sometimes it works just like magic! You don't believe that? Then try the following games and be prepared to be surprised.

Be a Math Wizard (or Mind Reader?)

Phone a Friend

Pick-Pocket Game

Surprising Odds

Trouble in Denmark

Why is that so?

Wisdom of the Ages


Be a Math Wizard (or Mind Reader?) 

Here is a math trick you can play on your friends to show them what a math whiz you are! Tell a friend that the two of you will pick five 5-digit numbers at random, and then will add them together -- but, amazingly, after just hearing the first number and before the others have even been selected, you'll be able to accurately predict what the TOTAL of those five numbers will be!

Steps:

  1. Have a friend write down a 5-digit number -- for example, he might write down 67,812.
  2. Then on a separate piece of paper, you can immediately write down the final "answer" to this quiz (the total of all five numbers), even though four of the numbers haven't even been selected yet! For the example given, 67,812, the answer will be 267,810.
  3. Announce that you have "predicted" the final answer and written it down as proof -- but don't show it yet. Just fold the piece of paper over to keep that answer hidden till the end of the "trick".
  4. Then have your friend write down a second 5-digit number right beneath the first one.
    You then quickly write down a third 5-digit number right below it (but you'll have to know what to write -- to find out, visit the instructions below!).
  5. Then have your friend write a fourth 5-digit number under your number. Then you immediately write a fifth 5-digit number beneath it (again, you'd select that number according to the instructions below ).
  6. Then ask your friend to add up the five 5-digit numbers that have been written down.
  7. Compare that answer to the one you wrote down after the first number was selected.

Amazingly, they will be identical! But how could you do that? How could you predict the total after just hearing the first number? Just follow the instructions below!

Instructions/Answer Here is the trick: (1) Take the first number and subtract 2 from it then put the number "2" in front of it. (For example, if the number was 67,812, it would be 267,810). That will be the final answer. (2) Then, when you see the second number your friend writes down you mentally subtract each digit of that number from 9, and write that answer for the third number. (For example, if your friend's second number is 11,111, then the number you would choose and write down would be 88,888. Or, if your friend's number is 56,123, then your next number would be 43,876. The key here is that each of your friend's number's digits, when added to the corresponding digit of your number, must total 9.) Then you ask your friend to write down a fourth number, and again you subtract each digit of that number from 9 (do this silently!), and write that answer down as the fifth number. For example, if the second number is 12,345, then you would write 87,654 as the third number because(12345 + 87654=99999). When the 5 numbers the two of you selected are all added together, the total will be identical to the number you originally wrote down and set aside! It works every time. Try it and see!


Phone A Friend

It's time to phone a friend for a little math fun ...get your calculator...this works!

(Note: Ignore your area code and use only your seven digit phone number)

1) What are the first 3 digits of your phone number? (do NOT include the area code)

2) Multiply by 80

3) Add 1

4) Multiply by 250

5) Add in the last four digits of phone number

6) Add in the last four digits of phone number again

7) Subtract 250

8) Divide by 2.

Is the result your phone number?

Explanation

This is a little algebra problem. Let X denote the first three digits of the phone number and Y the last four digits. Then let's take the calculations a step at a time.

  1. X
  2. 80X
  3. 80X +1
  4. 250 (80X+1) or 20,000X + 250
  5. 20,000X + 250 + Y
  6. 20,000X + 250 + 2Y
  7. 20,000X + 250 + 2Y -250 or 20,000X + 2Y
  8. (20,000X + 2Y)/2 or 10,000X + Y

Thus, no matter what your phone number is, the final number will repeat your phone number. The 10,000 multiplier is needed to move the first three digits over four decimal places).


Pick-Pocket Game 

This will take a calculator, but it will be worth it! You can impress your friends and family by correctly guessing the amount of change they have in their pockets!

Ask the person to take his/her age and multiply it by 2.

Add 5.

Multiply this sum by 50.

Subtract 365.

Add the amount of loose pocket change, but do NOT count change totalling $1 or over (i.e., must be less than $1)

Add 115 -- final outcome:

Notice that the first two digits will be the person's age,
and the last two digits are the amount of the person's pocket change.


Surprising Odds! 

Answer as QUICKLY as possible but don't advance until you've done each of them!!!

You do NOT have to fill in the blanks --
it might be better (and faster) to just do this in your head!

WHAT IS:

2 + 2

4 + 4

8 + 8

16 + 16

Pick a number between 12 and 5

Final Outcome:

 

Reveal Answer

7 (seven). Most people do for some reason.


Trouble in Denmark Game 

Follow the instructions carefully, ONE LINE AT A TIME. Be sure to do exactly what it says before moving to the next instruction. You can keep track of your answers by typing them into the white spaces provided beside each instruction. To clear the boxes, backspace over the last answer. Reloading will NOT clear the blocks.

1) Pick a number from 5 to 9

2) Subtract 5

3) Multiply by 3

4) Square the number (multiply it by itself)

5) Add the digits in the number together until you get only one digit; i.e. 64: 6 + 4 = 10; 1 + 0= 1

6) If the number is less than 5, add five. Otherwise subtract 4.

7) Multiply it by 2

8) Subtract 6

9) Give the digit its corresponding letter in the alphabet (for example: 1=A, 2=B, 3=C, 4=D...26=Z, etc)

10) Pick a name of a country (NOT A STATE) that begins with that letter.

11) Take the second letter in the country name and think of a mammal that begins with that letter.

12) Think of the most common color of that mammal.

DO NOT LOOK AT THE ANSWER UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED ALL OF THE ABOVE STEPS IN ORDER!

 

Reveal Answer

A gray elephant from Denamrk.

If you did not get that exact answer,you either thought of a really unique country, a really unique mammal, or you need to re-check your math and try again!

Some of the other creative answers we've received from our readers are: a black and white Echidna from Denmark (the Echidna is native to New Guinea and Australia); a brown elk From Denmark; and a brown joey (baby kangaroo) in Djibouti (Djibouti is a country created from the French Territory of the Afars and Issas, French Somaliland).


Why is that so? 

Here's an odd little puzzle one of our statisticians brought to light from his high school days. For some unknown reason, odds are that if you answer quickly you will come up with the same answer as the majority of other people. But we have no idea why that is so. Are you ready? Let's go! Remember to answer EVERY question as QUICKLY as possible!

You do NOT have to fill in the blanks --
it might be better (and faster) to just do this in your head!

What is 1 plus 1?

What is 2 plus 2?

What is 3 plus 3?

What is 4 plus 4?

What is 5 plus 5?

What is 6 plus 6?

What is 7 plus 7?

What is 8 plus 8?

What is 9 plus 9?

What is the first vegetable to come to your mind?
Quick! Quick! If you take too long it won't work!

We bet that you picked ....

Reveal Answer

Carrots! Most people do for some reason!


Wisdom of the Ages 

Follow the instructions carefully, ONE LINE AT A TIME. Be sure to do exactly what it says before moving to the next instruction. You can keep track of your answers by typing them into the white spaces provided beside each instruction. Sharpen your pencils -- some of this math cannot be done in your head probably! To clear the boxes, backspace over the last answer. Reloading will NOT clear the blocks.

1) Write down the number of the month you were born

2) Multiply it by 4

3) Add 13

4) Multiply the result by 25

5) Subtract 200

6) Add the day of the month on which you were born

7) Multiply by 2

8) Subtract 40

9) Multiply the result by 50

10) Add the last two digits of the year of your birth

11) Finally, subtract 10,500

smiling cartoon beaker
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