ARE YOU MENSA MATERIAL?

By: Corey Potvin
    I've been writing articles for the weather column for several months now.  However, my emphasis has been mistakenly placed on past events rather than actual weather forecasts. In an attempt to shift the focus to where it belongs, I have compiled a detailed forecast for the month of March. Here it is:
March 1-3: Partly sunny with a chance of rain or snow. Winds variable from light to strong.
March 4-9: Clouds and sun with intermittent precipitation possible. Precipitation will be light or heavy depending on where you live.
March 10-14: Weather will continue to predominate our skies. Lowland areas will be warmer than mountainous regions, where winds will also be stronger. 
March 15-20: Typical March weather: a mix of everything, or a little bit of some things, or one predominant thing. Expect lower visibilities at night. 
March 21-26: No hurricane activity is expected. Stay tuned for the latest tropical updates.
March 27-31: Widespread light will give way to scattered darkness toward evening. Darkness may become heavy late.  This situation is being closely monitored.

By: Andrew Morin
    The Mensa organization consists of people who's IQs are within the top 2% in the world. The following four questions test whether you may have what it takes to be a part of Mensa. The answers, along with the percent of Mensa members who got it right, are located at the end of this article.

1. This paragraph is most unusual. What is so unusual about it? If you look hard, you should find what it is without too much difficulty. Try hard to spot it. How long did you think about it?

2. What date is the Ides of March?
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3. Which number in this series of number is least like the others? 1, 3, 7, 11, 13, 15

4. There are many English words to which you can add one 's' to make plural nouns. There are very few that become singular again if you add another 's'. Can you name two?

Those questions were only a small sampling of what Mensa members do every day. How did you do?
Answers:
1.   There are no 'E's (75%)
2. March 15 (71%)
3. $15,\; it\; is\; not\; a\; prime\; number\; (48\%)$
4. Care (cares, caress) and Prince (princes, princess) (25%)
Questions and answers provided by Match Wits with Mensa, 1999