Where IS the other dollar?

(July 01, 2006)

I just took one of those online IQ tests. I was in the middle of cooking and only logged on to look up broiling techniques. I thought, given that it was a click-thru from a cooking website, it would be a quick five question thing. Instead, it took, like, forever. I kept clicking "continue" and expecting to see "Okay, you're all done!" but the questions just kept coming and coming.

Finally it said:

Congratulations, Lexi!
Your IQ score is: 124

This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others.

Your Intellectual Type is Insightful Linguist. This means you are highly intelligent and have the natural fluency of a writer and the visual and spatial strengths of an artist. Those skills contribute to your creative and expressive mind. And that's just some of what we know about you from your test results.

And then it offered to sell me a fifteen page booklet. Yeeeeah, right, so you're a real IQ test, are ya?

My favorite is the "...natural fluency of a writer and the visual and spatial strengths of an artist." Meaning: wow, you sure sucked out on all the math questions! HOOO, baby, how do you get through your day?

I definitely see how they can capture results for "the visual and spatial strengths of an artist" based on me fitting missing puzzle pieces and being able to eyeball which line is longer or which of these shapes doesn't belong. But I don't know how they can possibly capture results for "the natural fluency of a writer." Based on which answers? Based on my answer to "how far apart are the cars" once given the clues: two cars that begin from the same point and drive in opposite directions for 6 miles, turn left and drive for 8 more miles. Come on! Based on this stuff you can test for essay technique?

Speaking of brain teasers, I found something cool on Millan's site -- she's the artist who made most of the little cartoons I use here, except for the drawing of me that was done by Linda Bean P., mom of C6 and rockstar extraordinaire.

This is where I found it: http://www.millan.net/funp/20/ohyeah.html And because the colors are obnoxious on that page, here is what it says, can you figure this out?

Three men went to a motel. The man behind the desk said the room is $30, so each man put up $10 each and went to the room. A little while later he realized the room was only $25, so he sent the bellhop back to the three guys room with $5. On the way to the room the bellhop couldn't figure how to split the $5 between the three guys so he just gave each one of them $1 and he kept the other $2. That left the three guys paying $9 each for the room. 3x9=27+ the 2 that the bellhop kept =$29. WHERE'S THE OTHER DOLLAR??????

Hmmm...