Puzzlement #300

There were 6 responses to Puzzlement #299, 5 had the correct answer, but the first one, submitted by Jim Diane was: "What goes up must come down." Evan Bauer was second and Andrew Poulos was third.

On to the puzzle:

If E times ILE equals BANISH, and TE times T equals BOOK, what does TO times IN equal?

A. BREATH B. TEASER C. RUTABAGA D. POISON E. COPPER

To submit an answer, send it to [email protected]

Puzzlement #299

There were 7 responses to Puzzlement #298, only 3 had the correct answer, but the first one, submitted by Andrew Poulos was: Gun. Evan Bauer was second and Christina Bednarek was third.

[But the reason for the answer, if given, was not correct as given by anyone. A Die, when two opposite side's values are added, makes seven. There are seven Days in a week. Gee (G) is the seventh letter in the alphabet. There are seven different notes in a musical Scale. (Excluding the repeated letter)]

On to the puzzle:

Can you decipher the following common phrase?

T M C A U O H S M W T E

To submit an answer, send it to [email protected]

Remembering William Bandaruk

From Terry Bandaruk:

William Bandaruk of Gilbert AZ, passed away at his home on March 8 2024 at the age of 78. He is survived by his loving wife Terry, brothers: Walter John and wife Rita, and Theodore Wallace and wife Lynne, nieces Dawn and Brandy Elizabeth, nephews Robert, Dwayne, Jason William, Barry Scott, Theodore Joseph, Jacob Christian, and twelve grand nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by brothers Robert Artem and Barry Jack, and nephew Adam.

Born on August 16, 1945 in Radford, Virginia, William's family followed his Father's Engineering career about the country, including El Paso,Texas, where William spent most of his childhood. After graduating from Costa Mesa High School, he attended University of Californina at Riverside and graduated with a double major in Mathematics and Physics.

He worked with accountants and engineers, and spent 8 years in Saudi Arabia as a Supervisor of Survey Computations.

He met Terry at a Mensa party where they discussed history and current events. They married three years after meeting, on February 14, 1998, at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, in Newport Beach, Califonia.

He was elected Treasurer twice, President twice, and served as Parliamentarian twice for Orange County Mensa. He also was an Election Volunteer for 15 years in his Precinct. He enjoyed competitive board games, and art in a variety of styles. He gave to several Veteran's charities.

William was generous and loving to all his family, and gladly lifted up whoever needed help. Homework and College funds were a special interest.

An engaged Christian all his life, he liked to use theories from higher math to dispute with atheists. Although his health prevented him from being a regular attender here, William greatly appreciated the times he heard "Graduate level theology" preached.

He will be missed by many.

----------

There will be a Memorial service  Saturday, May 11th  at 2:30 pm, at Southeast Valley Bible Church, 710 E Williams Field Rd, Gilbert. 

Puzzlement #298

There were only 2 responses to Puzzlement #297, both had the correct answer, but the first one, submitted by Andrew Poulos was: 58725 + 58725 + 58725 + 3958725 = 4076175. Peter Bergonzi was second.

On to the puzzle:

Which is the odd one out?

Die, Day, Gee, Gun, Scale

[No, it's not Scale]

To submit an answer, send it to [email protected]

May Mensaversaries

May Birthdays

RVC9 Article - May 2024

From Rachel Kibler, RVC9

Happy May, Region 9! We’re well into the throes of spring here in Utah, though at the time of this writing, I’m in New York to see the eclipse. It was cloudy, but totality was still really neat. The birds stopped singing, bats came out, and dogs started barking. In spite of the cloud coverage, I teared up at the suddenness of the darkness. 

We’re coming down to the end of my term! It has been a joy to serve you, and I hope Kelly-marie has a great time with it too. Volunteers are the lifeblood of this organization, so please be kind to her. On that note, please be kind to all the volunteers. Everyone cares about making Mensa a great experience for people, from people who host events to our valiant newsletter editors to those serving on boards. They all deserve your respect. I’ve heard of members verbally attacking volunteers who run events, and that is decidedly not okay. If you’re not pleased with how events are run, there’s always room for more events, so please step up and run them yourself.

You can find me at the San Diego Regional Gathering (RG) in just a few short weeks! Register at https://sandiegomensa.org/events/regional-gathering/. After that, you can find me at the Annual Gathering (AG), where I will be blissfully finishing up a few things with leadership development and not sitting in board meetings. Registration is still open at https://ag.us.mensa.org/, and it will be a lovely time. 

There are a few people in Region 9 who have been immensely helpful to me during my tenure. One is the incoming Region 9 Vice Chair (RVC9), Kelly-marie Jones, out of Channel Islands Mensa, who served as my Region 9 ombud for the past three years. Her ability to solve problems has been wonderful. Another person is Jenn Morris, from San Diego Mensa, who has been my assistant to the RVC. Her counsel has proven invaluable. And then there’s not enough praise in the world to be given to the brilliant Jen Guy, from Greater Phoenix Mensa, who took on the role of Regional Gifted Youth Coordinator. She is incredible and has done great things for the youth programs that we value so highly. Please thank these three remarkable people when you see them (or drop them an email!). 

As always, you can reach me at [email protected]. Thanks for all you do!

First Learn, Lunch, and Linger a Success

The first ever Learn, Lunch and Linger event was a great success. There were 29 Mensans and guests attended and listened to the presentation. Speaker Lara Rosenberg did a wonderful job of keeping everybody interested, you could tell that because there were a lot of questions asked. The luncheon was equally successful. The food and the portions of the food were quite good. Afterwards everybody had an opportunity to just linger and talk about whatever they wanted and enjoyed each other's company. More photos, click on Keep reading:

Puzzlement #297

There were 11 responses to Puzzlement #296, all had the correct answer, but the first one, submitted by Stephen Stuart was: One minute later [2:44]. It will have 2 ^ 44 occupants. Andrew Poulos was second and Ann DeVlaeminck was third.

On to the puzzle:

Replace the same characters by the same numerals so that the mathematical operations are correct.

SINUS SINUS KOSINUS ————— TANGENS

To submit an answer, send it to [email protected]

Puzzlement #296

There were 18 responses to Puzzlement #295, 13 had the correct answer, but the first one, submitted by Stephen Stuart was: 3. [Although if you were very lucky you could do it with one or two, you would need 3 as a minimum to guarantee your answer] Ann DeVlaeminck was second and Michael Fischer was third.

On to the puzzle:

A Petri dish hosts a healthy colony of bacteria. Once a minute every bacterium divides into two. The colony was founded by a single cell at noon. At exactly 12:43 (43 minutes later) the Petri dish was half full. At what time will the dish be full? BONUS: How many bacteria in the dish at that time?

To submit an answer, send it to [email protected]

Puzzlement #295

There were 4 responses to Puzzlement #294, only 2 had the correct answer, but the first one, submitted by Jerry Ellison was: Lysine. [Your body can't synthesize it's own Lysine, making it an “essential” amino acid.] Dasan Orlich was second.

On to the puzzle:

There are 12 identical balls having exactly equal weight except one ball which is heavier than the other 11 balls. What is the minimum weighings required to identify this different ball by a simple balance scale?

To submit an answer, send it to [email protected]

Puzzlement #294

There were 7 responses to Puzzlement #293, all had the correct answer, but the first one, submitted by Andrew Poulos was: Start by multiplying by 2 and then subtract 1. Next multiply by 2 and subtract 2, etc. After 22 you would multiply by 2 and subtract 5 giving 39 as next number. Steven Perlmutter was second and Peter Bergonzi was third.

On to the puzzle from Andrew Poulos:

Which is the odd one out?

cysteine, serine, glutamine, tyrosine, lysine, alanine

To submit an answer, send it to [email protected]

April Mensaversaries

April Birthdays

RVC9 Article - April 2024

From Rachel Kibler, RVC9

Happy April, Region 9! My magnolia tree is starting to bloom, and I’m looking forward to all trappings of spring. I’m also looking forward to my last events as Region 9 Vice Chair (RVC9), namely the San Diego Regional Gathering (RG) over Memorial Day weekend. If you want to join me there, register at https://sandiegomensa.org/events/regional-gathering/. It’ll be… groovy! I will be at the Annual Gathering (AG) in July, handing off the reins to Kelly-Marie Jones from Channel Islands Mensa as your new RVC9. There’s still time to register for it! Check out https://ag.us.mensa.org/ for more info. We will be co-hosting a meet and greet for Region 9, so come meet her and say goodbye to me! 

I am so appreciative of all the support you’ve given me over the past three and a half years. It’s been a wild ride at times, and it’s also been an honor to serve you in this way. From constructive feedback to expressing your anger and frustration with me, I’ve heard it all and tried to do my best by the region. 

As always, many local groups are looking for volunteers. One thing I keep hearing is that people want more events that appeal to them. The way to make this happen is to host them, let your board know so the board can advertise them, and show up! The adage “be the change you wish to see” holds true for Mensa events, as well as the future of the organization. The worst that can happen still leaves you with a pleasant evening, if you plan an event you’re interested in. The best that can happen is that you find new friends, have fantastic engagement, and start a beloved tradition. What do you want your legacy to be? 

Show up. Be engaged.

Puzzlement #293

There was only one responses to Puzzlement #292. The correct answer, submitted by Stephen Stuart was:

Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have 1, 2, 66, 62, 27, and 13 moons. Mercury and Venus have 0 moons.

So, from Mercury to Neptune, 0, 0, 1, 2, 66, 62, 27, 13 moons.

On to the puzzle:

If the answer to this sequence were NOT 35, what rule could give you a different answer?

3, 5, 8, 13, 22, ?

To submit an answer, send it to [email protected]

GPM Ombudsman Appointed

At the last ExCom meeting we appointed David Snyir as the GPM Ombudsman, replacing Chad Anderson who moved up to National Ombudsman. David is a professional from the aerospace industry who joined Mensa in October of 2023 as a Life Member. He's jumped in with both feet joining dine outs and local GPM forums and looks forward to working with GPM membership. He may be reached at [email protected].