Community Magazine December 2009

tHe aMerican dreaM A poor refugee was standing on a boat just outside of Ellis Island praying that he would be able to make it in the US, when suddenly, a powerful genie appeared. “Your prayers have been answered,” the genie said, “I’ve been sent here by the President to grant you three wishes, since you are an unfortunate refugee from a far away country. What is your fist wish?” “Well,” the man told the genie, “where I come from we don’t have good teeth, so I want a new set with a lot of gold in them.” Ping! In an instant, the genie gave him a new set of shining gold teeth. “What else?” asked the genie. “You get two more.” The immigrant now got bolder. “I need a big house with a three-car garage in the Hamptons, right on the beach, with eight bedrooms for my family and the rest of my relatives who still live in my country. I want to bring them all here.” Ping! In the distance, a beautiful mansion appeared in the upscale Long Island neighborhood overlooking the water with a three-car garage, a long driveway, and a walkout patio with a barbeque. “One more wish,” said the genie. “It would be nice to fit into American society. I want to be like an American with American clothing, a baseball cap, no accent and white skin.” Ping! The man was suddenly transformed into an American, with worn out jeans, a New York Yankees T-shirt and a baseball cap. He had his bad teeth back, the mansion disappeared from the horizon and the genie was gone. “What happened to my new teeth and home?” he wailed with a perfect Brooklyn accent. A man next to him who had observed the whole episode explained: “Tough luck, Mac. Now that you are a white American, you have to fend for yourself!” Abhu Cohen Mental indicators A noted psychiatrist was a guest speaker at an academic function. During a small reception the doctor was approached by a young undergraduate student and asked a question with which he was most at ease. “Would you mind telling me, Doctor,” she asked, “how you detect a mental deficiency in somebody who appears completely normal?” “It’s really quite easy,” he replied. “You ask a simple question which anyone should be able to answer with no trouble. If the person hesitates, that gives you a clue that something is wrong.” “What sort of question?” asked the young lady. “Well,” the psychiatrist answered, “you might ask, ‘Captain Cook made three trips around the world and died during one of them. Which one?’” The young undergrad thought for a moment, and then said with a nervous laugh, “You wouldn’t happen to have another example would you? I must confess I don’t know much about history.” Eddie Gindi Riddle: The Sandy Clock SUBMITTED BY: David Cohen Sandy needs to take two pills exactly fifteen minutes apart. She doesn’t have a clock or watch, only two sand-glasses, one of which spills in 7 minutes and a second which spills in 11 minutes. How can Sandy measure exactly 15 minutes to take her pill on time? Last Month’s Riddle: Front to Back A man lives in a square house with a front door and a back door. He hires a contractor to build a 20 foot ramp from the door on the north side of his home. When the ramp is completed the homeowner is upset and complains that the ramp was supposed to be placed at the front door and not the back door, pointing out correctly that the front door is on the north side. The contractor argues and they go to court. In the end, the judge finds in favor of the contractor. Why? Solution: The house was built directly on the South Pole so that both the front and back doors had northern exposures. Therefore it was the homeowners fault for not specifying on which door he wanted the ramp. Solved by: Haim Soleimani Junior Riddle: Ageless Aunts SUBMITTED BY: Steven Cohen Joan and Jane are sisters and aunts to Jean. Jean is 12 years younger than her aunt Jane. Joan is twice as old as Jean. Four years ago, Joan was the same age as Jane is now, and Jane was twice as old as her niece. How old is Jean and her aunts? Last Month’s Junior Riddle: Foreign Policy Why can’t an Irish woman living in the New Jersey be buried in Canada? Solution: Living women should not be buried. Solved by: Jonny Flynn, Michael Lalehfar, MRL, Shlomi Yousopov, Ari Matatov, Shlomo Husni, Rafi Cohen, Roslyn Chalme, Rosalyn Crawford, Raizy Cohen, Michael Stein, Jennifer Massre, Jackie & Isaac Beyda, Trivia: The Doctor Is In ! SEND YOUR SOLUTIONS! email: riddles@Community M .com • fax: 718-504-4246 mail: 1616 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11223 Correct solutions received by the 20 th of each month will be featured in the next issue along with your name. 3.2 % : $ 66,600: Proportion of the 5138 applicants applying to Harvard University Medical School in 2008 who were accepted into one of the 165 slots. Average cost for an unmarried freshman at HarvardMedforthecurrent 10.5-monthacademicyear 2009-2010. (Source: Harvard University) 108 COMMUNITY MAGAzINE