MISFITZ BECAUSE: What Doesn't Belong-and Why? Mind-Teasers!

What doesn't fit and why? Nationals, Blackhawks, Rays, Astros. Not so tough. ANSWER? Blackhawks, because the other teams play Major League Baseball, but the Chicago Blackhawks play in the National Hockey League. OK, try this one: cucumber, tomato, radish, avocado. A little harder, right? ANSWER? Radish, because the others are botanical fruits (they have seeds) that we treat as culinary vegetables, but a seedless radish is a root vegetable. But most of the mind-puzzlers in this fun book don't test your knowledge of special-area facts or trivia-your "vertical thinking." Nope. Most of the puzzles in this book test what Edward de Bono calls "lateral thinking": your ability to think creatively-to leap outside the box. Take this example: poker, chess, skate, score. (Answer inside.) ARCHITECT, PAINTER, AND WRITER JEF7REY HILDNER AKA ELIOT PLUM earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Princeton University.