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Bridge Puzzle

14 August, 2015

Maybe you can help me. I'm mapping out a Riddle Walk with the Melbourne Writers' Fest, charting an amble through the arcades and alleys. Yet there's one spot that is giving me trouble, as I'm struggling to concoct a neat puzzle (or logic challenge).

The spot seems ideal for a conundrum. Imagine a long rectangular pond, about 60 metres in length, with 5 footbridges spanning the water at regular intervals. One puzzle option may involve the classic farmer with a fox, a chook and a bag of corn (which requires six river crossings) - but I'm trying to be original.

Or resourceful, by asking you. What could I contrive? Maybe each bridge can represetn a vowel, and I hand out a BANANA, a BEEPER, a BIKINI, a BOOT and a BUCK...? Or the bridges can be the first five numbers in a Fibonacci sequence? I'm not sure, and I'd love any suggestions, neat or nutty. Doesn't matter.

Meanwhile, to give back, here are two conundrums from America's NPR to solve:

1. Can you supply the next three numbers in the sequence: 19, 28, 38, 81, 83, 85...?

2. What occupation (123456789) can lose the word spelt by letters 234 to make what this same worker would often witness? 

Thanks for any inklings!

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Riddledom Rave

If you missed my riddle chat with Richard Fidler, then feel free to slurp the podcast at http://ab.co/1I9t1x5

Text-speak is creeping into Scrabble. Where do you sit?
OBVS I'm fine with it
Entrenched stuff - like LOL and OMG - but no more.
Words With Friends, maybe. Scrabble, no
Let the 'real' dictionaries decide first
Just the handy stuff, like FAQ and EUW
I mean, WTF?! No way
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