Print finishing and bindery work requires some ability in math, analysis, memory, imagination, and out-of-the-box thinking. A little competitive spirit helps as well! Summertime is also a fun time so in that spirit, here are some fun puzzles that will certainly test the abilities that form the foundation of your print finishing abilities. If you're good at solving them, give it to a co-worker and see how they do. (That's the competitive part.)
A Test for Your Memory
If you're the kind of driver who can retrace your path through a maze of roads, you'll do well on this. Show how the figure at right can be drawn by a continuous line of fourteen strokes—the circle counting as a stroke. You may start and finish anywhere, and your line may cross or retrace itself. But each turning point starts another stroke.
Give yourself at least several minutes for this and the other problems. When you have the solution, go here to find out how you rate. (Note: All the answers are on one page. Be sure to work all the problems before you look!)
How Fast Can You Calculate?
Some of these baskets contain hen eggs, the others duck eggs. Says the grocer, “When I have sold all 
the eggs in a certain basket, I'll have left in the other baskets twice as many hen eggs as duck eggs.”
The number of eggs in each basket is printed on it. Which basket must the grocer dispose of to prove his odd statement? The speed with which you answer will indicate your ability. Start a timer and then go here once you have the answer.
Maybe Language is Your Gift?
This quiz will tell you how you fare with linguistics and general cleverness. Of course we all know the letters a, e, i, o, and u represent vowel sounds. Also the letter y and even w are sometimes used as vowels.
So, are you clever enough to make a complete sentence from just these seven letters? You can use each vowel only one time. Work as fast as you can and when you've got it, note the time and go to the answer page.
Do You Have a Head for Figures?
If you can solve this in four minutes or less, you've got a good head for figures and analysis. The challenge: mark off the clock dial into six sections in such a way that figures in each section each add up to the same total. You'll probably kick yourself when you see the answer!
Are You Analytical?
The ingenious pin puzzle is easy for those who have strong visualization and analysis ability. The diagram contains 16 small squares and each of these squares form larger squares, making 30 different squares of various sizes.
The challenge is to discover how few pins you must remove so that so that no perfect square remains in the display. Start your timer and go to the answer page when you're done.
This article originally appeared in a 1926 edition of the Popular Science Monthly magazine.
