Tangled up

You'll need two six-foot lengths of rope or heavy twine and a partner for this. First, tie a loop at both ends of each rope. The loops should be loose enough so that you can slide your wrists in and out of them easily.

Now, you and a partner loop yourselves together as shown in the photo at left.

The challenge: Can you unhook yourselves WITHOUT taking the ropes off your wrists?

Trust us: There IS a way to do this, and we'll tell you what it is - but not until NEXT Tuesday, Dec. 15.

'TANGLED UP' HINTS: No bodily contortions are required; 'it's all in the wrist.'

MYSTERY T

Cut out the shapes above. You can also trace them onto cardboard for a sturdier puzzle, or photocopy the shapes.

The challenge: Reassemble the pieces so they fit together to make a 'T.'

NOTE: You will need to turn over one or more of the pieces to make the T shape. (If you cut the pieces out of the newspaper, the completed puzzle will have a piece or pieces with printing from 'News in Brief' on the back of this page.)

We'll publish the answer NEXT Tuesday (Dec. 15). If you get the answer before then, try making a rhomboid (parallelogram), a thick arrow, or a house shape out of the pieces!

Thanks to Boston's Museum of Science for their help with this and the 'tangled up' puzzle.