Maxine's World

Today's Smile - Grandma And Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa were visiting their kids overnight.
When Grandpa found a bottle of Viagra in his son's medicine cabinet, he asked about using one of the pills.
The son said, "I don't think you should take one dad; they're very strong and very expensive."
"How much?" asked Grandpa.
"£10 a pill," answered the son.
"I don't care," said Grandpa. "I'd still like to try one, and before we leave in the morning, I'll put the money under the pillow."
Later the next morning, the son found £110 under the pillow. He called Grandpa and said, "I told you each pill was £10, not £110."
"I know," said Grandpa. "The hundred is from your Grandma!"

Brainteaser - Thursday's Answer

Yesterday's brainteaser asked you to find a 9 letter word that when one letter was taken away still left another word, the process continuing until you were left with just one letter, which was also a word. The answer is revealed below:

The 9 letter word is

STARTLING

STARTING

STARING

STRING

STING

SING

SIN

IN

I

An almost impossible, but very interesting, brainteaser!

Looking Back -Christie To Hang For Wife's Murder

On this day in 1953, John Christie, 54, was sentenced to hang for murdering his wife and then hiding her body under the floorboards of their Notting Hill home in London. Christie had admitted murder but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
John Christie was an English serial killer in the 1940s and 1950s. He murdered at least six women and was implicated in the murder of two other victims. Prior to his arrest, he was involved in another murder trial, as a principal witness for the Crown in the trial of his fellow tenant, Timothy Evans. Evans was executed for the murder of his wife and daughter. However, Christie confessed to the murder of Beryl Evans prior to his execution.
During his trial the court had been told that eight female bodies, including that of a baby girl, had been found at Christies home at 10 Rillington Place. They had all been strangled. The bodies also included Christie's wife, Ethel.
Christie was hanged at Pentonville prison on 15 July 1953. According to newspaper reports, there were 200 people waiting outside the gates to see the notice of execution posted.
Christie's Notting Hill home was torn down and the whole decrepit street was rebuilt in the 1970s as Bartle Road.

Brainteaser

Today's brainteaser is probably the hardest to appear in the Journal so far! Have a crack at it and see if you can come up with an answer.

There is a common English word that is 9 letters long. Each time you remove a letter from it, it still remains an English word - from nine letters right down to a single letter. What is the original word, and what are the words that it becomes after removing one letter at a time?

If you think you know the answer, please email it to me!