to ease tortured souls.

If you have not already taken the test, please click the "Back" button now.

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FOREWORD:
Number 5 was the only one I didn't really expect anyone to get. You'll see why in a sec.

1. The answer was B.
Here's a challenge. Use "HCTARCS" convincingly in a sentence. Read A, C, D and E backwards. They all make new words.

2. The answer was E.
Except for "wrath", all the words here contain an "SH" sound. Isn't that mind-blowing?

3. C.
A, B, D and E all have irregular plurals. (Medium > media, Flora > florae, Cactus > cacti, Vacuum > vacua). The plural form of "sinus", however, is pretty regular: "sinuses".

4. B.
The most popular right answer. A, C, D and E come from the Latin root "a-" ("from"). Meanwhile, "abysmal" comes from the Greek root "ab-" ("without").

5. D.
I made a mistake with this one. These words were all extracted from the names of rich and famous comic strip artists. Witness:

-Bill Watterson (note the mistake)
-Gary Larson
-Charles Schulz
-Scott Adams

So I guess if you could get 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 right, you'd still be intelligent.

6. B.
These are all anagrams, except for "SWIRL".

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If you managed to discover a more compelling pattern in any of the above sets (except for no. 5), you may still be able to redeem yourself by letting the public know.



MEANWHILE, HERE IS WHAT IS HAPPENING IN MY LIFE:

With any luck, my visa will come tomorrow! Here's to hoping...

Speaking of Czech visas, I leave the state in a mere 6 days, and I still have so much to do! I need to do about a month's worth of laundry. I still haven't picked up my last two paychecks from Safeway. (I need to do that today.) My room is a mess and I haven't packed. Oh! And I need an adapter, so I can plug my computer into an outlet when I get to Prague. (Note to self: buy one.)

It's hard to believe that summer's almost over and in less than two weeks, I'm going to leave the country. Time must be nonexistent.