Summer Brain Games

Warm weather and summer vacation are great, but they can relax your brain a little too much. Sure, there are plenty of brain training video games and puzzles online (for example, there's the free, fun, and sometimes frustrating Daily Set Puzzle). But if your eager minds need even more of a workout, SparkNotes is here to help.

We've created amazing brain exercises you can do at home to boost your intelligence over the summer months. Complete every item the list, and you'll be even smarter than us. (We were gonna make our way through the list, but it's really freaking hard. So instead we went to Target and hung out in the parking lot.)

• In ninety minutes, list all the words you can think of that begin with the letter "S." (Keep time by quietly counting to yourself.)
• Hide a coin somewhere in your room. Then forget where you put it. Then try to find it.
• Think of a really large number. Double that number. Then multiply that number by three. Then pretend that number is a temperature measured in Fahrenheit and convert the measurement to Celsius. Then double it a few more times.
• Quick! What's 5 multiplied by 17?!
• Recite the alphabet backwards, but don't say any letter that is in the word "typewriter."
• Write a short story without using any adjectives.
• Write a long story using only adjectives.
• Estimate the number of hairs that are on your left arm. Then check to see how close you came to being correct.
• Without using any paper or pencils, figure out how many days old you will be on November 23, 2034—while humming a theme song.
• Memorize the following words: pretzel, butcher, rainbow, California, asphalt, North, soup, bat, orangutan, marshmallow, retribution, wind, veranda, copper, drawbridge, antler. In a few years, we will ask you to recite these words in order. So be prepared.
• Figure out how many ways you can pay for a $35,000 car if you used only nickels, dimes, and pennies.
• Explain the study of Bio Optics in a single sentence that is four words long. (No hyphens!)
• Quick! Spell "chrysanthemum"!
• Draw a whole mess of triangles on a sheet of paper, making sure that most of the triangles overlap each other. Then count all the triangles, including the new triangles you made by overlapping the other triangles. Whatever number you counted, realize that you missed about four triangles because they were hard to spot.
• Whisper to yourself everything you know about Germany.
• For each letter of the alphabet, name a protagonist, philosopher, breed of horse, way to die, and article of clothing that begin with that letter. Give yourself 13 minutes to complete the task. (For instance: Atticus Finch, Aristotle, Asturcon, Ants Crawl Into Your Nose and Eat Your Brain, Ascot.)