101 Activities For Teaching Creativity And Problem Solving

210 101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving

Tabloid Tales Handout

Assume you are an automobile insurance company and want to deal with the challenge

of how to reduce auto theft. Four key facts are (1) auto thieves don’t want to attract atten-

tion, (2) some cars are more likely to be stolen than others, (3) unlocked and unattended

cars with running engines are likely theft candidates, and (4) alarms will deter some

thieves. These facts suggest the following tabloid headlines:

• ELVIS SEEN HONKING HORNS OF PINK CADILLACS


• CAR THIEF HIDES CAR IN HIS PANTS


• PREVIOUSLY STOLEN CAR DRIVES SELF AWAY FROM THIEF


• STOLEN CAR BLOWS UP CLEVELAND

These headlines then prompt the following ideas:

• Car starts only when driver sings a specified Elvis song.


• Car starts only when driver ’s rear end fits specially molded car seat


• Hot-wired cars stop running after one minute


• Car started without special code sprays knockout gas in face of driver

101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving.Copyright © 2005 by John Wiley &

Sons, Inc. Reproduced by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. http://www.pfeiffer.com

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