On a hillside, near the entrance to a cave, a woman sat busily at work. She wore a dress made of animal skins, and around her neck were strings of beads made of sea shells and animals' teeth. The...
How long, how fast, how hot, how heavy?
Feet and meters, pounds and grams Hours and months and days. How did we come to measure things In so many different ways? It all goes back to long ago, In many ancient lands, When people began to...
Holmes and the e
In the story called Adventure of the Dancing Men, Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective, solves a mystery by figuring out a message that is in code. Holmes is aware that in English the letter e is...
Sharing birthdays
What would you do if you were invited to two birthday parties on the same day? Well, you would probably go to the party of the person who had asked you first. That would be the fair thing to do....
Buttons and boxes
What about games that use only one die? Do you think any one number will come up more often than another when you throw only one die? No, it won't. On one die, there are six numbers, so you have one...
Game chances
You're playing a game of Monopoly with a friend. You're coming to some of his property that has hotels on it. And he's nearing some of your property that also has hotels. If you roll either a 4 or 5...
Ali Kwazoor’s choice
Prince Ali Kwazoor of Zuristan had been on a long and dangerous journey. He had sailed stormy seas and crossed burning deserts! He had fought fierce dragons and evil monsters! But now his journey was...
Heads or tails?
Rick wanted to go to the movies and Gayle wanted to go swimming. They decided to toss a coin to see which they would do. "You call it," said Rick as he flipped the coin. "Tails never fails!" called...
What are your chances?
When you spin a spinner, Which number is best? Will one come up More than all the rest? When you toss a coin, Which side do you call? Is "heads" or "tails" Most likely to fall? Is it all just...
Back and forth and up and down numbers
The number one is more than zero, of course. But can a one ever be less than zero? Yes, it can! Suppose you are standing at the middle of a long line drawn on the ground. Let's call the place...