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How to Make a Mind Teaser

A brain teaser is a puzzle or game where you are presented with a task that seems difficult to do but that is easy to do once you know the "secret." Simple brain teasers can cost several dollars but can be made for considerably less money by a resourceful individual (with the right equipment).

Things You'll Need

2 10-penny nails
Cardboard
Vice
Bolt cutter
Rotary tool
Grinding disk
Two pairs of needle-nosed pliers
Duct tape

Instructions

- 1
  Wrap a nail in cardboard to protect the finish. Put the cardboard-covered part of the nail in the vice with the head sticking out 1/2 inch.
- 2
  Grasp the nail in the bolt cutter as close to the head as possible. Squeeze the handles of the bolt cutter together to cut off the head of the bolt. Discard the head.
- 3
  With the nail in the vice, expose each end of the nail and grind it down with the grinding disk to remove any burrs and sharp edges. Repeat Steps 1 through 3 with the other nail.
- 4
  Put duct tape around the jaws of the pliers (on both pairs) to protect the finish on the nails.
- 5
  Grip a nail firmly in the pliers and twist the pliers so that the nail makes a loop and crosses itself at a 90-degree angle. Leave a gap, half the width of the nail, between the two parts of the nail that cross. Twist the other nail so that it does the same thing, but twist it in the opposite direction.
- 6
  Put the puzzle together. Find the two "arms" of each nail (not the loop). Put the gap between the arms on one nail against the gap at the same location of the other. Twist the nails so that the arms fit more closely and the gaps begin to merge.
- 7
  Keep twisting the same direction, pressing the nails together until the two loops merge. To separate the two loops, repeat the process going in reverse.

Educational Toys