This drove me nuts

January 20, 2006 4:47 PM

What is "12 S of the Z?" Hell I don't know. Try this Mensa Test.
posted by snsranch (124 comments total)

You failed. http://www.mensa-test.com/
posted by TonyRobots at 4:55 PM on January 20, 2006

http://www.mensa-test.com/

lets try that again.
posted by snsranch at 4:55 PM on January 20, 2006

signs of the zodiac?
posted by jjoye at 4:55 PM on January 20, 2006

I thought I was "genious an'at" with 26, and I sent this to a friend who promptly got 28. Bastard.
posted by qwip at 4:55 PM on January 20, 2006

The link's fine on the thread-page, but not on the front page. Figure that out.
posted by Gyan at 4:56 PM on January 20, 2006

100 C in a D.
So now you have to be American to be a genius.
posted by seanyboy at 4:57 PM on January 20, 2006

Duh, 100 centimeters in dah meter...
posted by andreaazure at 4:58 PM on January 20, 2006

#19 and #33 made me laugh. I thought, "They can't mean that...Oh, they do. Heh."
posted by Gator at 5:01 PM on January 20, 2006

That test is knowledge, not intelligence. Ergo, horseshit!
posted by movilla at 5:03 PM on January 20, 2006

100 Cars in a Driveway.
So now you have to be Jay Leno to be a genius.
posted by StickyCarpet at 5:04 PM on January 20, 2006

A friend of mine made a puzzle just like this a few days ago, but you just had the letters and had to come up with the numbers.

Makes it a little harder.
posted by aubilenon at 5:04 PM on January 20, 2006

"100 C in a D."

I haven't clicked the link, and will tackle it when I'm sober, but I assume that means 100 cents in a dollar. Rightly or wrongly, as a Brit, I assume this means I am infusing too much American culture.
posted by nthdegx at 5:04 PM on January 20, 2006

Also America isn't the only country that #16 applies to.
posted by Gator at 5:04 PM on January 20, 2006

"#19 and #33 made me laugh. I thought, "They can't mean that...Oh, they do. Heh.""

Y H H and a B of R
posted by mr_crash_davis at 5:07 PM on January 20, 2006

This test hates Americans!

*spoiler*


Proof:
6 B to an O in C = 6 balls to an over in cricket
posted by mullacc at 5:08 PM on January 20, 2006

According to this, I'm a genius. Y H H, and a ... damn, mr_crash_davis, you beat me to it.
posted by expialidocious at 5:09 PM on January 20, 2006

Y H H and a B of R? This thread hates landlubbers.

99 B of B on the W!
posted by TonyRobots at 5:12 PM on January 20, 2006

Y H, Y H, A P's L F M.
posted by Gator at 5:14 PM on January 20, 2006

Almost all such "tests" are culturally weighted. When i first became interested in how bias creeps into these kinds of quiz's, I ran across one that was designed for inner-city children. One of the questions was "what's a deuce and a quarter?" The correct answer was a Buick Electra 225.

Further, these exams test other things that don't impact what most of us would think of as intelligence such as visual acuity, stamina and wrist-muscle strength.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 5:16 PM on January 20, 2006

http://www.mensa-test.com/script2.js:

function sha1Hash(msg)
{...}

Crap!
posted by boo_radley at 5:16 PM on January 20, 2006

This is for lightweights. Try the mensa workout, from a real mesan.
posted by skallas at 5:27 PM on January 20, 2006

As a tip for those still doing the puzzle... One of the answers should have an apostrophe in it, but it won't get marked correct if you put it there. Stupid Mensa people can't handle grammar I guess.
posted by knave at 5:29 PM on January 20, 2006

Those rightly questioning the value of such a test in measuring intelligence (whatever that is, anyway) should note the caveat at the bottom.

Believe it or not, this type of test can be a good estimate of intelligence (if you excuse the cultural bias).
People that did well on this type of test are likely those who are gifted with verbal ability and linguistic pattern recognition.
This sort of assessment would discriminate against those with non-linguistic pattern recognition (like solving jigsaw puzzles)
and spatial intelligence (like the ability to use a map or see hidden figures in a drawing).

FWIW, people who have a high opinion of Mensa might have a change of heart were they to read some of the trite and meaningless debates (Is hip-hop music? Are tattoos and piercings ugly?) that take place in letters written to the editor of the U.S. national magazine, Mensa Bulletin.

It seems people who score well on such tests (and feel compelled to join an organization of others who also scored well) are pretty much like everyone else.
posted by timing at 5:30 PM on January 20, 2006

5 and 9 prove this test hates me for being an atheistjew. So I hate it back.
posted by birdie birdington at 5:31 PM on January 20, 2006

mullacc: I would never have gotten that cricket one!

Now just one more left! (all the others I've gotten on my own)
posted by aubilenon at 5:34 PM on January 20, 2006

This test first appeared in Games Magazine back in the 80s and has been reprinted and republished many times since.
posted by solid-one-love at 5:35 PM on January 20, 2006

21 and I'm done. Nowhere to see the correct answers when you're through?
posted by Meredith at 5:38 PM on January 20, 2006

Here, Meredith.
posted by Gator at 5:40 PM on January 20, 2006

This smacks of "No Nerds Left Behind".
posted by R. Mutt at 5:42 PM on January 20, 2006

Did anyone else have issues with 17 not taking the proper answer unless everything was capitalized? (that being the only difference from their answer and mine)?
posted by KirTakat at 5:45 PM on January 20, 2006

So I got 19 legitimately, and I'm quitting now, secure in my geniusosity.
posted by boo_radley at 5:45 PM on January 20, 2006

26/33 and I give up.
posted by knave at 5:48 PM on January 20, 2006

It's a fun test, but has nothing at all to do with Mensa. They're all puzzles that've been around for ages (Google for some of them if you don't believe me).
posted by cerebus19 at 5:50 PM on January 20, 2006

66 B of the B?
39 B of the OT?

Maybe if you're P, but not R C or O.
posted by CrunchyFrog at 5:53 PM on January 20, 2006

one of my professors once handed this out on an excel sheet and though the sheet was locked and the answer cells where hidden another student (can't take credit for actually being smart) figured out you could get to the hidden answers by simply searching...needless to say the professor thought us all geniouses when we got all the answers.

nothing makes you feel as smart as cheating the smart people.
posted by NGnerd at 5:58 PM on January 20, 2006

The interface is terrible. Blanking out the field and disabling it - who thought that was a good idea?
posted by Mars Saxman at 5:59 PM on January 20, 2006

Knowledge isn't intelligence. Ergo, I did badly on this but that's probably because I'm tired and cranky from my drive home (why do people drive in traffic with their high beams on?).
posted by fenriq at 6:04 PM on January 20, 2006

I got 20/33 without being British, American, or South African for that matter ;-)
posted by furtive at 6:11 PM on January 20, 2006

Did anyone take the "Mensa Workout" that skallas posted?
posted by theredpen at 6:17 PM on January 20, 2006

3 B M (S H T R) was hard because I have a dirty mind.
posted by bardic at 6:26 PM on January 20, 2006

Is hip-hop music?
posted by fire&wings at 6:28 PM on January 20, 2006

Did anyone take the "Mensa Workout" that skallas posted?

Yeah... Here's my question. If Mensa thinks I'm a genius, but I'm smart enough to know that I'm not a genius, what does that mean?
posted by dsword at 6:29 PM on January 20, 2006

Yeah, I tried that too... got 26 out of 30. 2 stupid mistakes and 2 of the word problems left blank.
posted by knave at 6:33 PM on January 20, 2006

dsword--Better than Mensa, Groucho Marx has invited you into his club.
posted by bardic at 6:33 PM on January 20, 2006

Sweet. Does his club have amazing benefits, such as these?
posted by dsword at 6:40 PM on January 20, 2006

I need more. I'm hooked.
posted by chrismear at 6:47 PM on January 20, 2006

35! W00t! Actually when I counted them up it was only 22. I wonder if part of the test is figuring out the scoring mechanism is faulty. And I'm pissed they wouldn't accept "66 bars of the blues" and "5 tines on a fork".
posted by Jawn at 7:04 PM on January 20, 2006

It wouldn't accept "1000 years in a millenium" from me either. 23!
posted by Jawn at 7:08 PM on January 20, 2006

Mensa- It's for people who think they're intelligent but can't quite prove it.
posted by marvin at 7:09 PM on January 20, 2006

There's only four tines on a fork, and it's "millennium" (I had to look up the spelling myself, because I knew that had to be it).
posted by Meredith at 7:10 PM on January 20, 2006

Thanks to whoever fixed that front page link. You are very kind to have fixed the failings of my fumble-fingers. Me? Mensa? Never, well, maybe tommorrow.
posted by snsranch at 7:15 PM on January 20, 2006

Much like Jawn, I have 34/33 and twelve questions unanswered. I am going to bed now.
posted by Hogshead at 7:21 PM on January 20, 2006

23 pages of comics in the Holy Bible, right?
posted by emelenjr at 7:23 PM on January 20, 2006

Mensa-level isn't actually genius... it's "top 2%", but genius level is quite a bit smarter than that.

I think Mensa is intended, approximately, as two standard deviations above the norm, where genius level is three.

I fully expect that the great majority of the people who post here would easily qualify for Mensa. It really isn't *that* hard... just one in fifty.

A self-selected group like this is probably way smarter than your average Mensa meeting.
posted by Malor at 7:24 PM on January 20, 2006

Hey look at that, when I spell it right it works! I guess I'll count that as a half point. And I don't know about these four tine forks, around here folks like them tinier.
posted by Jawn at 7:26 PM on January 20, 2006

Oh, and I've gotten 20 so far. I might get 1 or 2 more by popping back to it every once in awhile. I'd NEVER have gotten #31, though. Yeow.
posted by Malor at 7:28 PM on January 20, 2006

I had to do these as a Christmas break assignment in high school physics. Ergo, butter.
posted by sdrawkcab at 7:33 PM on January 20, 2006

26! I'm at the Mefi Median.
posted by gimonca at 7:42 PM on January 20, 2006

26. Smart enough for some, too stupid for me.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:45 PM on January 20, 2006

I got 28 and I'm reasonably satisfied that I'm all mensariffic... THEIR challenge is to get me to join.
posted by orbis23 at 7:46 PM on January 20, 2006

27 in about ten minutes. Some were pretty obvious, though, once you got one of the set--time, bible books, etc.
posted by trigonometry at 7:47 PM on January 20, 2006

MILLENNIUM

Wow, I am a genius.
Grade inflation makes me feel good. We are all geniuses now.
posted by caddis at 7:57 PM on January 20, 2006

I got 27 pretty quickly with a lucky guess at #30 and happening to know cricket rules.
posted by joegester at 8:03 PM on January 20, 2006

However, the geniuses who wrote this test need a lesson in possessive form. Putting in an apostrophe into one answer prevents it from reading correctly, even though it is possessive, not plural.
posted by caddis at 8:05 PM on January 20, 2006

(And I never ever would've gotten #33 because I've never heard that phrase before or #17 because of the parenthetical.)
posted by joegester at 8:06 PM on January 20, 2006

27 and stopped caring. Bummer for me, not knowing much of anything about cricket or Jebus.
posted by stenseng at 8:34 PM on January 20, 2006

"Bummer for me, not knowing much of anything about cricket or Jebus."

W___ W___ J___ B___ in an O___?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:41 PM on January 20, 2006

I got four and a half.

Wouldn't take 8 tits on an ox (#20) nor 23 pieces of chocolate in the Hershey's bar (#28). I think it has a cultural bias.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 8:59 PM on January 20, 2006

23 P of C in the H B? 23 pieces of cheese in the Holy Bible? darn it...
posted by QuestionableSwami at 9:00 PM on January 20, 2006

Grade inflation makes me feel good. We are all geniuses now

Are we?
posted by QuestionableSwami at 9:04 PM on January 20, 2006

The true test of intelligence is not taking the test. There is no why.
posted by signal at 9:18 PM on January 20, 2006

Sure. 52 cards in a pack. Fuckfaces.
posted by Kwantsar at 9:26 PM on January 20, 2006

I had the same reaction.
posted by Mijo Bijo at 9:53 PM on January 20, 2006

MetafilterMensa: Fuckfaces.
posted by stet at 10:14 PM on January 20, 2006

29 right...I missed numbers 28 to 31.

I was sure #31 had something to do with cricket, but being a Yank I never did understand all those sticky wickets and such.
posted by neurodoc at 10:25 PM on January 20, 2006

...and after looking at the answers, I really should have gotten 28 and 29. I feel no guilt about not knowing 30 and 31, however!
posted by neurodoc at 10:29 PM on January 20, 2006

8 Toes on an Owl. You can look it up.
posted by TimeFactor at 10:52 PM on January 20, 2006

OK, I looked at the answers. My answer for "8 T on a O" is correct, at least as correct as their answer, so I'm taking a 29.

I'm also embarrassed that I didn't get #28 but the phrasing is inaccurate. Really, it's "23 P of C in a H C". Who knows how many there are in a "H B". And what if the "H B" in question suffers from "D S (aka T 23)"?
posted by TimeFactor at 11:03 PM on January 20, 2006

Oops, that's "D S (aka T 21)". I guess "K S (aka T 23)" would work too.
posted by TimeFactor at 11:05 PM on January 20, 2006

Now comon, 6 has to be "52 CARDS IN A PACK (WITHOUT JACKS)," so why won't you friggin accept it, damn you!?
posted by Citizen Premier at 11:07 PM on January 20, 2006

Perhaps without Jokers, Premier?
posted by arrhn at 11:15 PM on January 20, 2006

jokers
posted by DonnieSticks at 11:20 PM on January 20, 2006

oh.

crap.
posted by Citizen Premier at 11:22 PM on January 20, 2006

Metafilter: way smarter than your average Mensa meeting.
posted by vacapinta at 12:04 AM on January 21, 2006

29, at 3AM. Are we grading on a curve here? (I can't count the cricket spoiler, in good conscience.)
posted by edverb at 12:08 AM on January 21, 2006

Why do I feel so stupid at 21?
posted by TRAJAN at 12:39 AM on January 21, 2006

I got them all. Does it make me smarter that I've seen all of these (and dozens more) before?
posted by Revvy at 1:04 AM on January 21, 2006

I got 20. Ergo I am a genius. I think this test is crap. Thus a genius thinks this test is crap. Ergo this test is crap.

Mensa is sort of crap too ("Hey fellas. Aren't we all smart? La la la!") but I doubt they have anything to do with this test (whose domain is recursively-ish registered to one Mr. or Ms. "mensa-test.com").
posted by grumdrig at 1:22 AM on January 21, 2006

pirates drove me nuts
posted by |n$eCur3 at 1:42 AM on January 21, 2006

^ punchline to a good joke filter
posted by |n$eCur3 at 1:44 AM on January 21, 2006

Heh. I missed all of the sports ones. Also I couldnt figure out what L was in 24 after getting B D.

Man I feel dumb with my 22.
posted by JZig at 1:46 AM on January 21, 2006

31/33 after two hours.
(used mr_crash_davis's clue for #33)
Will try the last two again in the morning.
I sat for ten minutes looking at (Without Jacks) wondering why it wasn't right.
Ditto with "superstitious", which arguably works better than "some".

88 K on a P
1 R by A O N
31674 M on M
404 E

...going to get 40 W.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 2:22 AM on January 21, 2006

26 (me too) out of 33 either means I'm a genius, or that I already took the same test three or four years ago and remember most of the answers. No way, though, I will ever remember "6 balls to an over in cricket." Jiminy Cricket, what kind of a question is that?
posted by LeLiLo at 2:24 AM on January 21, 2006

42 (H M R M A M W D)
posted by ori at 2:35 AM on January 21, 2006

The answer to life.
How Many Roads Must A Man Walk Down?
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 2:48 AM on January 21, 2006

W___ W___ J___ B___ in an O___?

w w
w w
w w
posted by chrismear at 3:13 AM on January 21, 2006

I'd like to say that the cultural bias against us non native English speaking Finnish atheists was the major reason I could barely do any of this... but it's more probable that I'm thick as fuck.
posted by slimepuppy at 3:40 AM on January 21, 2006

28 and disgusted that they think that any truly intelligent person would bother to know anything about sports. Sports knowledge is negative intelligence.

But damn, can't believe I missed T on a F.
posted by darksasami at 4:47 AM on January 21, 2006

Got 22 when I first sat down at it last night, but have now completed it with some serious thinking. Had to cheat for number 28, there is no other way I would have got it.
posted by fire&wings at 5:33 AM on January 21, 2006

25 - I missed all the sports ones and one nursery rhyme that I'm kicking myself over. If this makes me a genius, I weep for the future.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:11 AM on January 21, 2006

Some of you guys know the provinces of Africa? Hats off. Not me.

I managed the cricket, but failed the rugby.

29, but I took plenty of time. And I insisted on millenium.
posted by toma at 6:30 AM on January 21, 2006

(spoiler alert, like it's not too late already)

Mensa, my arse. It's from South Africa somewhere, I found (while googling for answers, natch) a version with "100 Cents in a Rand" which would explain Provinces in South Africa bit. And wtf gives with all this counting up the holy books?

It's like it's out of some finishing school for good little white christian colonists.
posted by polyglot at 6:37 AM on January 21, 2006

H 57 V
posted by caddis at 7:04 AM on January 21, 2006

I got 6 before I got distracted. Can I be in Densa?
posted by theora55 at 7:36 AM on January 21, 2006

They took this guy's SHA-1 without retaining copyright notice! Smart bastards.
posted by adzm at 7:40 AM on January 21, 2006

It's actually H 1100 V now, caddis (Wiki). The 57 was arbitrary, and it stuck.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:44 AM on January 21, 2006

20 F on an I
∞ N o M
911 C E
G Y K on R 66
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:07 AM on January 21, 2006

15 P in a R T (15 PLAYERS IN A RUGBY TEAM)

In some parts of the world there are only 13. Strange but true.
posted by lagavulin at 10:02 AM on January 21, 2006

I got 30.

But one (9 P in S A) was a wild, wild guess so...
posted by elisabeth r at 10:36 AM on January 21, 2006

UKfilter:

2 P of L & a P of C
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 10:48 AM on January 21, 2006

22/33 - Whatever...
posted by stew560 at 11:15 AM on January 21, 2006

only 14...
I think this only proves that such a test is highly language and culture dependent. Born and living in the Netherlands I haven't the background for some of the questions.
For instance: 15 M on a D M: Had to even look up the meaning of the answer on wiki; haven't read the book nor seen the movie.
posted by RobHoi at 1:40 PM on January 21, 2006

goodnewsfortheinsane, does it mean I've been integrated into the culture 'cause I not only got that but I laughed as well?
posted by slimepuppy at 1:43 PM on January 21, 2006

B G of the W with 1,000 Y.
posted by The Bellman at 4:19 PM on January 21, 2006

I got 30.

But one (9 P in S A) was a wild, wild guess so...
posted by elisabeth r at 10:36 AM PST on January 21 [!]

yeah - funny - couldn't believe when it flipped green on that one - totally winged it
posted by ian madbone at 5:01 PM on January 21, 2006

This puzzle was originally created by Will Shortz back when he was editor of GAMES Magazine in the early 80s, and was published as Equation Analysis Test in an issue of GAMES. A while later GAMES did a followup in which they reported on the runaway popularity of the puzzle, which got retyped (sans attribution), photocopied, and passed on in church groups, classrooms, and other circles all across the country until it was finally resubmitted for publication to GAMES by someone unaware that it had originated there in the first place. The puzzle has absolutely nothing to do with Mensa.
posted by Zair TL at 5:02 PM on January 21, 2006

T T has made us A 2 T S

(Answer: THIS TEST HAS MADE US ALL 2 TIMES STUPIDER.)
posted by Coda at 5:09 PM on January 21, 2006

Depends, slimepuppy - where are you from? :)

And hi, RobHoi!
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:21 PM on January 21, 2006

15 P in a R T
23 P of C in the H B
9 P in S A

These three mean nothing to me.

15 penguins in a red truck?
23 pieces of cake in the happy birthday?
9 prizes in some awardsceremony?
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 11:21 PM on January 21, 2006

The rest were pretty straightforward. For the most part. (13 is U F S had me stumped for a while.)
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 11:23 PM on January 21, 2006

We used to do these in gifted class in elementary school... and I fucking hated them then, too. That and those goddamn logic puzzles. At least finishing those gave me a nice sense of fulfillment (all those lovely little boxes!); with these, I just feel irritated.
posted by MadamM at 11:44 PM on January 21, 2006

29, and I never would have gotten the one about chromosomes; I was convinced it was something about psalms and the Holy Bible.

I don't think this test measures what it purports to measure.
posted by ikkyu2 at 5:26 PM on January 22, 2006

100 C in a D.
So now you have to be American to be a genius.

Or live in one of the dozens of other countries that use that system, like Fiji. Are you a racist, seanyboy?


I haven't clicked the link, and will tackle it when I'm sober, but I assume that means 100 cents in a dollar. Rightly or wrongly, as a Brit, I assume this means I am infusing too much American culture.

Are you a xenophobe, nthdegx.


I did a test like this with a friend, pre internet days where you couldn't cheat easily. There were about 70 questions and it took us quite a few days to almost solve it.

The penultimate – and the last one we solved – was 5 D in a ZC. Don't laff. We call them post codes over here. And there's only 4 D in a bloody PC. And Beverly Hills 90210 hadn't reached Australian TVs yet, to give us both a big hint.

The one we didn't get was 57 HV.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 5:45 PM on January 22, 2006

It's a good job you were here to point out those Nazis, otherwise we wouldn't have seen through their fake irony!

Now throw a couple of shrimps on the barbie and don't forget the Heinz.
posted by chrismear at 7:20 PM on January 22, 2006