#2             88. PARTY TIME             

It was one of those parties where everyone was talking at once.

In one corner, Lois was talking and waving a sheet of newspaper about.

“I trell you,” she said “George and I were both standing on the same sheet of newpaper, and we couldn’t touch one another!”

“That’s easy,” muttered a voice from somewhere. “You just tear it in half!”

“No,” replied Lois, “it was in one piece. Look, I’ll show you how.”

And she did! How did she do it?

A little later the guests were dismayed to find only dry biscuits for supper.

“I can explain,” said the host. “Dry biscuits are better than nothing. Nothing is better than chocolate cake. Therefore, dry biscuits are better than chocolate cake! You can’t complain!”

That’s what he thinks. I’m not going there again! But what is wrong with the logic?
HINT 1

Problems like this newspaper puzzler are usually simple! Think about where it might be placed.
HINT 2

Think about the use of the word ‘nothing’.
SOLUTION

We have two problems to solve here.

• The newspaper is placed under a closed door with Lois and George on opposite sides of the door.

• The logic fails because the the word ‘nothing’ is used in two different senses. In the first statement, ‘nothing’ means not having anything. In the second, it really manes ‘no thing’.
EXTENSIONS

This type of Aha! is really a swindle. Take any two or three easy conundrums, and put them together in a common setting. It is quite easy!