Cooperative Living January 2018 - 21

Feel-Good Moments
CALLING ALL
Strange as it seems, at the same time that puzzle building is activating the
brain, it is also lowering blood pressure and reducing anxiety ... (unless
you're working against the clock)!
So, if you've had a stressful and upsetting day at school, you might try to
" jigsaw " yourself calm by working a puzzle for a short time. After you've
successfully connected a few pieces, your brain will start releasing a
happy/healthy chemical called dopamine. Gradually, you'll start feeling rested,
energized and ready to cope with your frustrations.
The power of puzzling is really quite wonderful! There is even a National
Puzzle Day for celebrating this engaging and therapeutic activity.
On Jan. 29, 2018, puzzle fans will fire up their grey matter with a variety of
mental workouts like these suggested here:
* Construct a 3D vertical puzzle instead of the
traditional flat-table version.
* Test your word and number
skills with exercises
found in puzzle/game
booklets
WORDSEARCH
CROSSWORD
FRAME
SUDOKU
* For a more tactile experience,
investigate puzzles with moveable
parts. These tricky playthings boggle
the mind with lots of untangling,
undoing, redoing and/or rotating.
Rubik's Cube -
Most frustrating or most
rewarding puzzle?
If you have never, ever tried to
solve a Rubik's cube, make that
your Puzzle Day challenge. This
intriguing multicolored block has
been baffling puzzle fans since
your parents were kids.
The world has Erno Rubik's steadfast willpower to thank for this twisting
and turning cube of frustrating fun. He once stated, " If you're curious, you'll
find the puzzles around you. If you are determined, you will
solve them. "
Rubik's curiosity was focused on a block of
small, moveable cubes that he had designed.
But his creation would not hold together
when tested. Like the Grinch, he puzzled
and puzzled about his dilemma. And
maybe his " puzzler " did become sore, but
he never gave up. One day, while walking
by a river, he looked really closely at the
smooth, rounded pebbles along the riverbank.
Suddenly he experienced an aha moment ... he
realized that his cube project needed a smooth, rounded
core in order for the hinged blocks to move freely. He perfected his prototype
and, with time, the puzzle he struggled to solve resulted in one of the most
popular toys ever created.
Life is full of puzzles ... the rewards are in the solving. Now get busy with
that cube!! 
www.co-opliving.com
SUPER SLEUTHS:
" Sometimes the questions are complicated and
the answers are simple. " - Dr. Seuss
Logic puzzles and riddles can be part of the National Puzzle
Day challenges. For a chance to win $25, solve the following
four brain teasers and then check your
answers by finding Hay Seed's and
City Slicker's thought bubble hidden
in this magazine. Enter your answers
and the page number online at
www.co-opliving.com or send answers
with your name, address and phone
number to:
Cooperative Living Super Sleuth
P.O. Box 2340
Glen Allen, VA 23058-2340.
* I come in different shapes and sizes; parts of me are curved
and some are straight. You can put me anywhere you like
but there is only one place right for me. What am I?
* What makes more as you take them?
* Mary's mom has four daughters. The first is April, the
second is May and the third is June. What is the name of
the fourth daughter?
* What invention lets you see through a wall?
OCTOBER ISSUE
SUPER SLEUTH
Our October KIDS' KORNER Super Sleuth shared the
history of apples in America, including the story of
John Chapman (better known as Johnny Appleseed),
then detailed the modern-day economic importance
of this healthy and convenient snack. For a chance to
win $25, young readers were challenged to find the
page with the picture of an apple and explain how
the custom of giving your teacher an apple got
started. The correct answers are page 30 and that
poorer families who lacked cash often sent their
children to school with
apples or other produce
in payment for the
teacher's services.
Geneva Cutright was
our $25 winner.
Congratulations,
Geneva! 
January 2018 | Cooperative Living | 19
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Cooperative Living January 2018

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