The Independent Mind Olympics

Here, as promised, are the answers to our Mind Olympics puzzles, which were set by Chris Maslanka over the three weeks from 22 July to 9 August.

The third week's prize of pounds 100 of Waterstone's book vouchers goes to IL Cochrane of Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, and the grand prize of a 21-volume Macmillan Family Encyclopaedia (worth pounds 525) goes to B Gibbins of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.

Please note in the following answers that several of the questions admit more than one possible solution. We have not given all of them here. Rest assured that in any case of dubiousness, we have given the solvers the benefit of any doubt.

Books for independent individuals at

Waterstone's

Day One:

1. Water polo, basketball, athletics, table tennis.

2. "The man rode/rowed away."

3. 223776

4. Heights or weights

5. 26 faces, 48 edges, 24 corners.

Day Two:

1. 5248275461318736

2. OUGH, hiccOUGH

3. 21200 or 31000

4. BlaCKBErry

1. 12 pentagons, 20 hexagons, 30 lines.

Day Three:

1. 77 coins in each bag; 456,456 left at the end.

2. 1.06am

3. SEESAW

4. FORTY

5. 35.

Day Four:

1. 20

2. Each name begins an element: Ruthenium, Beryllium, Nickel, Cerium, Samarium.

Elementary! 3. dumBSTRuck

4. 432

5. APE, APT, OPT, OAT, MAT, MAN.

Day Five:

1. 28 words

2. EEL

3. RUSH (the others all make flowers when preceded by an animal. NB: bulrush not bullrush).

4. 8, 56

5. There were 3 at the first party, 5 at the second, 11 at the third.

Day Six:

1. 420

2. 21 (squares of integers written backwards).

3. (un)dreAMT

4. Nigeria, Germany.

5. 19, 31 and 38.

Day Seven:

1. rANGE, orANGE, flANGE, blancmANGE.

2. Decathlon, pentathlon, weightlifter, yachting, archery.

3. 62

4. sneer

5. a) 52

b) 82.

Day Eight:

1. 90, 45, 45.

2. Duplicating final letters produces new word.

3. ouTWIT, noTWIThstanding.

4. 9% of its initial value.

5. 2 million squares, 3 million triangles approx.

Day Nine:

1. Each word beheaded and head put last.

2. Six ants (on vertices of regular octahedron).

3. TEnEIghtNIne etc.

4. 9,864,100

5. 12341/2, 191/6, 7421/3, 1731/6, 6651/3, 11571/2, 5881/3, 13111/2, 961/6.

Day Ten:

5. 38p

1. pounds 148, pounds 1,084

2. FACSIMILE ROLLS

3. 8 (numbers of letters of words in question)

4. At most 296 houses.

5. 38p

Day Eleven:

1. 8642752468357131

2. 72, 72, 36.

3. E and W. (First two letters of 10 to 19, written backwards.)

4. Same height. Trees grow from the crown up.

5. OAK and ASH

Day Twelve:

1. HOES

2. 166,667

3. 9,864,100

4. Letters whose names begin with a vowel.

5. 28

Day 13:

1. REX (last letters of numbers).

2. CanoEIST, cleaVAGE, gymkHANA, celeRIAC.

REX

3. 9876543201

4. 81X18X01 (where X is a run of 98 zeroes).

5. 45 boys and 4 girls

Day 14:

1. D

2. coLoneL, coRoneR.

3. 512

4. pHOEnix, brOOch

5. $67, $3 and 35c.

Day 15:

1. a) 3 slices parallel to sides, b) at right angles through centres of sides, stopping at centre, c) through vertices stopping at centre, d) ditto continued to far side.

2. Arc of circle from vertex.

3. 190.

4. 57

5. I have enjoyed the Independent Mind Olympics.