Problem-Solving 101: Can You Solve the Problem‪?‬

When Cammi Granato, a gold-medal winner as a member of the United States women’s hockey team at the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games, was growing up, she was the only girl player on a boys’ team. During one game, her coach learned that the opposing players had been ordered to “get number twenty-one”—Cammi’s number. What can the coach do to protect Cammi?

The Southwest Florida International Airport had a problem with an overabundance of birds camping out on the runways. Occasionally, collisions occurred between the birds and the aircraft, and not unsurprisingly, the birds suffered the greatest amount of damage. This is not to say that the aircraft did not sustain expensive damage in the collisions. Very definitely, the aircraft did. Fortunately, the airport officials found a way to reduce the number of collisions and to avoid killing birds and having aircraft damaged. What did they do?

Working-class people are often good problem-solvers. While investigating the Berlin punk music scene for "High Times" magazine, journalist Victor Bockris slept late following a night of partying. The hotel maids wanted to clean his room, but they couldn’t while he was sleeping. How can the hotel maids get Victor Bockris awake and out of his room so that they can clean it?