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Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 02:38 PM
This is a common problem with puzzles
They are written without thought to close all possible outcomes because it just didn't occur to the original poser to cover all possibilities
As the riddles progress sometimes these holes are found and filled, sometimes not.
I once came up with 4 possible solutions to a riddle, none of which were the sought for answer. Though admittedly on further examination one of my answers didn't really work.
Some people delight in creating new answers for old riddles
(I'm now off to look at these other riddles - I like riddles) |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 02:53 PM
Just answer the one about the 3 guys sharing the $30 hotel room for me... It's been driving me nuts since the 4th grade! 😊
3 guys want to share a hotel room and the costs. The clerk charges them $30 ($10 apiece) and sends them up to their room so they can rest. Later he discovers that he's overcharged them for the room, the correct rate for that room is only $25 per night. He sends the bell hop up to their room with their $5 refund. On the way up to their room the bell hop is wondering how he's supposed to split $5 between 3 different guys. In order to avoid the hassle he pockets $2 of the $5, leaving a $3 refund to split between the 3 friends. He does this and leaves... everyone is happy right? Except for the mathematician... the 3 friends each paid $9 apiece for the room ($10 minus the $1 refund) which makes a total cost of $27 ($9 times 3) for the room. $27 plus the $2 the bell hop kept only equals $29 where'd the missing dollar go? In the mathematicians wallet, that's his cut for making you believe that numbers are perfect... :blank: |
Rod
in the land of smarties.
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 02:57 PM
Am I the only one who immediately saw the possibility that the guy drank the punch then poisoned it and left?
Maybe it's just because I'm a serial killer and all...
Of course after he left early, maybe someone yanked everyone else's feeding tubes...
Or a UFO crashed on the party, killing everyone who had not left. |
Rod
in the land of smarties.
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 03:00 PM
Are you serious, MnJ? |
Sharuma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 03:07 PM
Hmm, some of these are easy
some they don't give you enough information
The music stopped, she died.- If you don't know it you won't get it because there are more possible solutions to this than meet the eye. Hell she could have had a heart attack whilst playing the piano
Two men went into a restaurant. They both ordered the same dish from the menu. After they tasted it, one of the men went outside the restaurant and shot himself. - A real fountain of information again with many possible answers.
Such as - The waiter brought the man a phone, it was a call from his wife and she was running away with the mail man. True this doesn't fit quite as well as the actual answer, but it does work.
Or - The two men were playing russian roulette and didn't want to make a mess in the restaurant, a silly answer perhaps, but it works with the available information.
Or - The two men belonged to a criminal organisation, one had been fiddling the books and had been discovered but not caught. His friend takes him for a meal to warn and he shoots himself rather than face whatever punishment the gang might come up with.
and so on.
Number 20 is possibly my favorite but only because it's the one I'm often asking |
Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 03:16 PM
In case MnJ is serious
You're looking at the problem the wrong way
it 3x9 =$27 they paid for the room -$2 the cost of what the bell boy took to make $25 the cost of the room.
If you're trying to make it to $30 you're going the wrong way because that's only what was charged in the begining and has no further relevance in the puzzle
I actually think you're having me on, what with april 1 being tomorrow and everything, but in case you're serious I hope that clears it up for you 😊 |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 03:18 PM
No Rod, not really. I just drug that over here from the "Time Travel" thread. It was brought up over there to ask Matzusdog if he thought numbers and mathematics were "perfect". I got no reply from him over there concerning it... it was SO much typing to end up being useless... so I drug it over here just to add a worthless .02 cents into the mix.
Someone has to pick up the slack for Hairy since he's not been seen lately. Are you familiar with him and his postings yet? |
Rod
in the land of smarties.
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 03:23 PM
Oh, yes. Hairy is a breath of fresh air when people are getting too serious about stupid shit.
Raoul's cool too, but I'd rather see them both than just one... It's more fun that way.
And didn't Raoul say Hairy was supposed to return (by satellite!) on April 1st? |
fruitbat
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 03:29 PM
Hmm, I think the secret to the Hotel room riddle is in the Bellhop. The 3 guys didn't actually pay $9 per room, they paid 8.3333333 repeating after the refund, but they didn't know that, because the bellhop took 2 of the 5 dollars before it reached the 3 guys. So from the 3 guys' perspectives, the room actually cost 27 dollars. But to the clerk, each person paid (30-5)/3.. or 8.3333333 repeating. So, had each guy received his proper share of 5 dollars (which, divided by 3 would be roughly 1.67) , you would have 8.33 + 8.33 + 8.33 + 1.67 + 1.67 + 1.67 = 30 So all the numbers really do add up. Anyone else have an explanation? |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 03:30 PM
No Sharruma,
Your going at it too fast and thinking you know the answer when you really don't. The $30 is still relevant to the question because that's how much cash was originally spent and now we're trying to account for... $30 total ($10 from each guys wallet) was spent. $3 return making a total of $27 spent. What part of your reasoning makes you think that you would then subtract the two the bell hop kept to equal $25. $25 isn't what they originally spent. When they first walked into the joint they whipped $30 out of their wallets... account for it. Yes, I understand that there are different ways to look at it and get the correct answer... what you're not getting is the original context in which it was brought up. To show that numbers are "entirely" perfect and that even Mathematics can and does contain flaws. I'm sure you've been over to the TT thread... it was the point that crunching numbers isn't all all-perfect way of judging what's possible or not possible in the universe. When accounting for the entire $30 they removed from their wallets you can get the correct answer if you add it differently... $25 for the room, $3 refunds, and $2 bell hop tip. See... BUT, if you try to get the correct answer using other means (like subraction with muliplying) you won't. You, when trying to account for the entire $30 would still need to ADD the bell-hop tip not subtract. And we don't go from trying to "keep track" of $30 to $25 just because it comfortably fits. It is a genuine example of numbers not always working perfectly as a lot of people think. |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 03:32 PM
number "aren't" enirely perfect... OOPS. So I'm not so great at rambling like Hairy does yet... I"m still workin' on it... |
Rod
in the land of smarties.
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 03:40 PM
No, the number work perfectly, it's just that the numbers given in the question are based on faulty reasoning. |
Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 03:53 PM
No, MnJ
Work it out this way, maybe it'll be clearer
Cost of room $25
Money returned to residents $3 add these you get $28 not $27
Then add the two the bell boy took to give you $30
There 😊 |
Citizen Premier
in spite of public outcry
Member
|
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 03:55 PM
OK, imagine that each man paid all the money he had for the hotel room. Thusly, they each had 0 dollars when they were waiting in the room. The clerk had 30 dollars. When he realized he had overcharged, he sent up the 5 dollars. The man bellboy stole 2 dollars and gave the men each a dollar back. The three men's dollars plus the two busboy's dollars plus the 25 clerk's dollars makes 30.
I know there's probably some term for the confused mathmatics here, but that's the best I can explain it. I think the most important thing we can remember about math is that reality defines numbers, not the other way around. |
Rod
in the land of smarties.
Member
|
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 04:10 PM
Okay, I have a question for you...
(and it's a Rod original)
If you were looking into a crystal ball (assuming they worked, or course) and whatever you were seeing was too far away, would you need a microscope or a telescope to see it better?
Ha! Chew on THAT for a while. |
Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 04:19 PM
Assuming the crystal ball worked, it would be looking at what you wanted to look at.
To see something closer you'd only have to will it towards the object in question
If you can't will it closer then it's probably not working 😊 |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 04:24 PM
DUH Sharruma,
I think it's already pretty obvious that I had already thought of it that way when I stated... "When accounting for the entire $30 they removed from their wallets you can get the correct answer if you add it differently... $25 for the room, $3 refunds, and $2 bell hop tip." Does 25 + 3 + 2, as I stated before you endowed us with all your wisdom, not equal 30 where you're from as well? YOU, are not getting the point I was trying to make with the question. We all know how much money was actually spent... the point was that equations and numbers can't be used to explain everything, or everything that's possible, because they aren't entirely perfect... nor is our understanding of the science of mathematics complete and total. You get me now... I don't need you to help teach me how to add up $30 dollars... or how to balance my checkbook. Been doing it for over 30 years already. I GET THAT 25 + 3 + 2 = 30 but the point is that if mathematics were perfect then...
25 + 3 + 2 (should) = (10 - 1) X 3 + 2 but it doesn't. 30 doesn't = 29... you get both these possibilities using the same variables and rules applied to their use. You get me now? This isn't about a simple math lesson, it's a bigger debate about whether or not numbers / mathematics are perfect and their uses and applications are entirely known and understood by mankind? Really though... if you have the answers to, for, and about everything... I look forward to reading your book. |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 04:31 PM
Citizen,
Yes I see that point you're making and know of what you mean. That if you look at it correctly you get the correct data. (answer) My point is that if numbers / mathematics were "perfect" then you should be able to get the correct answer no matter your approach... as long as you use the correct data/inputs/figures involved. I know ultimately that 25+3+2 equals the 30 involved, my opinion, is that if mathematics were perfect then you should be able to get the same correct answer of 30 by using other so-called perfect formulas such as 3 X 10 = 30 / 3 = 10 - 1 = 9 X 3 = 27 + 2 = 29.... hell I don't know. No amount of debate on this level though will sell me on believing that the science of mathematics is absolutely perfect OR entirely known and understood by an ignorant species such as ours.
Plus I just love to add a little flame to a conversation... anything to get the action going. |
Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 04:35 PM
MnJ
If you already knew the answer whats the problem?
30 - 5 = 25
25 + 3 = 28
28 + 2 = 30
or
3 x 9 = 27
27 - 2 = 25
I really don't see why you're having a problem with this!
I'll try to spell it out.
The actual cost of the room is $25
Each person staying pays $9 = $27
The question is where is the missing $2 they should also have been given, not why doesn't it add up to $30.
and by a staggering coincidence 27-2 = 25 |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 04:36 PM
PS - Sharruma, If you're going to "tell me how it is" anytime in the near future please read my post's first to make sure you aren't telling me something I've already said...
Like when you told me that last time to look at it like this. If you want to debate / discuss something or even prove me an idiot... at least read what I write first so you don't do something like "tell me to look at it like this" when I just typed THAT EXACT SAME THING five minutes before your post. It detracts from your credibility. |
Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 04:39 PM
Oh and if you really need it to add up to $30 try
$27 (the money they actually paid for the room) + $3 the money that was refunded = 30. |
Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 04:41 PM
I just know I'm being hoaxed
I'm waiting for you to jump out and shout
'April Fool' at any moment. |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 04:43 PM
Sharruma,
Why do you go from tracking $30 before your "or" to $25 after your "or" choice.
You do because subtracting the 2 from the 27 conveniently for you equals 25. We're not tracking the cost of the room though... we're tracking the $30 spent by the 3 guys. YES, it works with addition of the factors to get the correct amount of 30. Point is that when you try to use subtraction (10 orinially spent - 1 rebate) with multiplication X 3 (total guys contributing) you get 27! Why do you all the suddent think it's appropriate to subtract the two the bell hop kept? It's still part of the original 30 spent... DON'T FORGET NOW... WE'RE NOT TRACKING ROOM COSTS HERE... BUT INSTEAD THE 30 SPENT BY THE 3 GUYS. |
Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 04:44 PM
Sorry if I seem to be repeating what you're saying, but I don't know how else to describe it.
What you are saying works but you don't seem to accept these details and I'm trying to point out why they work.
No, I'm not trying to make you out to be an idiot. This sort of problem can be irritating when you don't see the mechanics of how it actually works and even in this case it took me a few minutes of thinking about the problem before I solved it. |
Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 04:48 PM
Okay tracking from $30
3 guys walk in, each pays $10 for the room = $30
Bell hop returns $3 1 to each - 30-3 = 27
Bell hop keeps $2 for himself 27-2 = 25
Does that help? |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 04:51 PM
Oh I know you aren't making me out to be an idiot... even if you are trying. Because we're actually not even discussing the same "problem" here if you will... It's not that I don't believe you cant eventually get the right data. It's that I don't believe mathematics are perfect and all-knowing and there are little things that lead me to believe this. Are you from the U.S.? Just out of curiosity as this problem goes all the way back to Elementary school for me. It was used as an example by the teachers to show why using the right approach (formula) was important. That with the same factors (numbers) you could get different answers if you didn't apply the correct formula... which brings me back to my completely philosophical argument that numbers and their applications aren't perfect.
We should also keep in mind that this all sprang up because Matsuzdog (in the Time Travel) thread wanted to use the fact that faster than light travel will never happen because it's not mathematically possible... to which I replied that we don't yet begin to know EVERYTHING about mathematics.
Plus, sometimes I just like to keep rambling on, especially if I know I'm bugging someone. Jen scolds me all the time for flaming...
But conversing with you, about almost anything, is better than sitting here at work reading Snopes... ya know. 😉 |
Citizen Premier
in spite of public outcry
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 04:55 PM
MarkNJen, you seem to be suggesting that math should work even when you don't know how to use it. In other words, you should be able to make a wedding cake just by throwing all the ingredients onto a table. |
Citizen Premier
in spite of public outcry
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 04:56 PM
Not that I don't agree with you, that's how it SHOULD be. Life would be a lot nicer then. |
Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 05:05 PM
I know exactly what you mean
I like playing with mathematics, but I'm by no means an expert.
It's like the speed of light. We know it is possible because light does it all the time
Can you go faster than light?
Well if it ever was possible you wouldn't be able to see anything becasue you'd be outpacing light.
I've often wondered about light, after all if you have a object sending beams of light in opposite directions, then beam A's speed in relation to beam B's speed is actually twice the speed of light.
this may sound wrong, but everything is based on what it's relative to. for example, if I get stopped by cop for doing 60 in a 30 mile per hour area the cop isn't going to take the rotational speed of the earth into account. Know what I mean.
Actually it's probably wrong anyway, but I find the idea interesting 😊 |
Citizen Premier
in spite of public outcry
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 05:07 PM
Actually, if a cop stops you for speeding, and he's got you on radar, he knowsyou were speeding. The speed of light is constant, regardless of how fast you're going. If you drive into a beam of light at the speed of light, you'll still see it hit you at c.
And here's a 'lateral' question that just started bugging me: What time is it at the north pole? |
Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 05:10 PM
Q: What time is it at the north pole?
A: Lunchtime 😊 |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 05:26 PM
Now this conversation is getting DEEP! 😊
Sharruma, you stated that..."Can you go faster than light?
Well if it ever was possible you wouldn't be able to see anything becasue you'd be outpacing light."
Well, you wouldn't be able to see anything ONLY if ALL the light in existence had the same origin and was traveling in the same direction as you. Then you might not see anything, but since that's clearly not the case, you're likely to see something. I would think...
Your next statement brings up another point addressed in that other thread I mentioned... like your statement says... light speed has already been broken (relatively) routinely, by nature itself.
As for the cop... I don't think his measurements require the input of Earth's rotational speed to be accurate because he, like you, are traveling with the same factor (rotational speed) therefore it would be added (factored) into both sides of the equation... thereby nullifying itself and making it irrelevant. Right? Hell I don't know... my degree is Biology and the four math classes I did have to take were pure HELL! Not that I'm stating that place exists outside my on conscience of being... 😊
As for Citizens question of time at the North pole... that's a good one. How can it be all times, in one place, at the same time? If you're standing on exactly the geographical North or South pole. Bet I can use that one to get tons of "chores" out of the kids.
😊 |
Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 05:34 PM
Well, you wouldn't be able to see anything ONLY if ALL the light in existence had the same origin and was traveling in the same direction as you. Then you might not see anything, but since that's clearly not the case, you're likely to see something. I would think... -
Very true but I wasn't sure how to handle that part.
After all, what we see now is all in the past, if we passed the speed of light would we then see the future. - I sorta dicided to ignore this bit rather than use my limited brain power to fail to explain it. |
Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 05:36 PM
hmm, in my previous post I shoulda put the quoted bits in quotes, now it just looks bad :( |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 05:51 PM
No Sharruma,
Don't quit now, this is shit that's fun to discuss...
You said..."After all, what we see now is all in the past, if we passed the speed of light would we then see the future."
If we passed the speed of light going towards these things, no we wouldn't see the future, what we would see would be like a fast forward reel getting closer to what's actually the "present." At least that's what I think. When we see a Supernovae 10,000 light years away we know that the explosion / event happened 10,000 years ago and the light is just now getting here. If we head for it at light speed (or any speed for that matter) you would be "fast-forwarding" towards their present. The faster you were going the faster the "picture" of what you were seeing would speed up in order that when you reached the appropriate place your present would match their present. If you head away, faster than light, from the Supernovae then what you would see would actually be a "rewind" into the past, would it not? You would be required to go faster than light in order to "view" the past, but if you travel towards something then what you would see would actually be a sped up version of real-time because you're actually encountering / seeing this light at a rate greater than just it coming to you at C. Even if it's just C + 18,000 mph you would still be observing the event at greater than real time.
So no, I don't think you could "see" into the future that way... just closer to present than what we currently do. But you could "see" into the past it would seem... if you could first outrun the light and then stop to observe it again as it catches back up... |
Sharruma
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 06:01 PM
Shame, I'd like to see into the future 😉
But I think you're probably right, at least it makes sense.
As it was the more I thought about it the more it seemed to me it would still be the past you were seeing.
So yep, what you say makes a great deal of sense. |
Smerk
in to mischief
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 06:42 PM
It's sad that the majority of those lateral puzzles involve death. Hmmm...some of the riddles are interesting. |
Smerk
in to mischief
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 06:53 PM
Mark-N-Jen, the website has this puzzle. It's the first on the list under the logic puzzles. Their answer still doesn't make much sense though. 😖 |
ED
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 07:29 PM
What a load of crap, the only option is that the man placed the poison then left |
Citizen Premier
in spite of public outcry
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 07:30 PM
I just realized what "lateral puzzle" means. It means the puzzle is a piece of a story; and even though there are numerous working answers, there is only one true answer. They make more sense when one person is asking the question and letting you ask questions than when you read it alone.
The puzzle is plucked, laterally, out of a story. You can derive the answer linearly, though, but only by checking the results. Like some math problems, incorrect numbers are bound to be generated. |
Katherine
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 08:21 PM
Don't worry, I thought of the possibility that the guy poisoned the punch and left, too. Does that make us all loonies? 😊 (Actually, I always gnaw on ice cubes when I drink things, so I'd be poisoned too...hmmm.) It's also quite conceivable, as the OP said, that the other people died from something completely un-punch related or that there were people who died who didn't drink the punch. It could be more correctly worded so as to resolve that bit of uncertainty.
That actually reminds me of the old UL in which a lady was having a party, and caught her cat eating her beautiful dish of (some type of seafood--caviar? salmon?); she smoothed over the eaten bits, and booted the cat out on the porch. A while later, one of her guests called her over and said, "Your cat! We've found him. I'm sorry to tell you that he's--DEAD." "OH NO!" cried the lady. "Stop eating that seafood! My cat ate some and now he's dead! You'll get food poisoning, you'll get food poisoning!" The end result was that the party was ruined, as everyone had to go to the hospital and get their stomachs pumped in case of food poisoning. They only discovered later that the cat had died from an unfortunate collison with a Chevrolet...heh.
I hate those sorts of puzzles, though; they always used to torment us with them in school, especially the one that goes, "A man was found dead with a puddle of water beside him. How did he die?" The answer (OF COURSE!) is that somebody stabbed him with an icicle. There's also some moronic one about Betty and Barney in a plane or something, but the answer is that they're goldfish? Heck, I don't know. :roll: |
Craig
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 08:23 PM
think of it like this, cost of room = $27. The $3 they split at the end has no relevance as it STARTED in there wallets and it ENDED in there wallets.
They have to pay $25 for room plus $2 charge, dividing it by 3 = 9. Whats the big deal here?
Its just a dodgy way to word the problem thats all. |
Katherine
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 08:30 PM
Oh dear, go look at question 14. Albatross. ALBATROSS??? That's bloody ridiculous. You have to specifically guess IT WAS AN ALBATROSS when it could be practically anything else that might live on an island? Oy.
Oooh, and my subliminal message for this post is ernmalley! |
Rod
in the land of smarties.
Member
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 | 09:33 PM
Okay, people like Craig, I'm only gonna do this once...
THE FUCKING SOLUTION TO THE PUZZLE HAS BEEN GIVEN UMPTEEN TIMES, NOW GIVE THE HELL UP, ALREADY!!!!!!!!
Whew, that almost hurt to type.
Damn, people, I'd complain about how you should read before you post, but if you don't read the thread, you'll never see this anyway, so just yank my feeding tube and get it over with, already!
To all the regulars... You know exactly how I feel, do you not? |
Charybdis
in Hell
Member
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 | 01:39 PM
Ok, if you take the $25 they paid, subtract the $30, then add the number of guys - the bellhop + Avagadro's number / the number of jumping people in China * Raoul's hairline you get the ratio chavs to Cynthia's phone number.
I hope that helped.
Rod sure seems to be grumpy today. |
Hairy Houdini
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 | 02:04 PM
What's a hairline? |
Rod
in the land of smarties.
Member
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 | 02:10 PM
Finally, Charybdis makes some sense of it all 😊
And is that the number of jumping Chinese people in China, or the total number of jumping people in China (Chinese or not)?
You'd be grumpy too, if Godzilla just ate YOUR finally paid for car.
And bigfoot just married your cat.
And then you had to read people typing out the same damned solution to a simple problem over and over again. |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 | 02:13 PM
Yes Rod, we know how you feel... even though I'm a little guilty of "flamin'" this thread yesterday because I was bored at work... |
Nick
in Merrie Olde Englande
Member
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 | 03:05 PM
A man has 17 elephants, and one day they sit on him.
In his will he made very clear how his elephants should be shared between his sons. The eldest gets half the herd, the middle child gets a third and the youngest gets a ninth. This troubles the lawyers no end, cause elephants are valuable and you can't just go around chopping them up. So the party decamps to the temple, where they ask the high priest what to do. He tells them, very calmly, simple to add one of the temple elephants to the herd. After many thanks, they take the extra elephant back and set about dividing them up. There are now 18, so the eldest son takes his half (9), the scond son takes his third (6) and the youngest son takes his ninth (2). One elephant is left over, and is returned to the temple. Huh? |
andychrist
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 | 03:34 PM
1/2 +1/3+1/9=17/18. When the equation is applied to only 17 elephants, the remainder is .944 (of an elephant.) Adding an extra elephant results in a remainder of exactly one. |
Citizen Premier
in spite of public outcry
Member
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 | 03:55 PM
I think the real question is, how did all seventeen elephants sit on him? I guess it would have to be one after another, but why did they all do it? |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
|
Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 | 04:09 PM
Andychrist said...
"1/2 +1/3+1/9=17/18. When the equation is applied to only 17 elephants, the remainder is .944 (of an elephant.) Adding an extra elephant results in a remainder of exactly one."
Not to mention that 1/2 of 17 is 8.5, 1/3 of 17 is 5.7, and 1/9 of 17 is 1.9... so the remainder is kind of irrelevant since it said in the riddle that they didn't want to go around chopping up the elephants. It's all about not chopping elephants, which you can do (and still use the old mans fractions) with 18 but not 17. |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 | 04:16 PM
If you did use 17 elephants they're divided as 8.5 (1/2) and 5.66 (1/3) and 1.88 (1/9) which totals 16.04 elephants with a remainder of .96. Give .50 of that remainder to the first guy (1/2) and .34 of that remainder to the 2nd guy (1/3) and .12 of that remainder to the 3rd guy (1/9) and you've used up the entire 17 elephants and the totals will still be the same. 9 to the 1st guy, 6 to the 2nd, and 2 to the 3rd. It would be messy work but you could still reach the same conclusion with only 17 elephants... |
Maegan
in Tampa, FL - USA
Member
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 | 09:51 AM
I wonder if an Elephant could make my dinner tonite. Hmm...
I have a riddle:
Q. What's in my pocket? |
Katherine
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 | 10:24 AM
A: A wocket?
(Sorry, couldn't resist...) |
Silent Fish
in an endless forest of wooden chairs
Member
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 | 11:11 AM
the time at the north pole is always the the time in greenich england MAWHA! |
Charybdis
in Hell
Member
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 | 12:42 PM
Maegan said - I have a riddle:
Q. What's in my pocket?
You're a woman. The answer is - Tissue. Duh. |
andychrist
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 | 02:46 PM
Why is a raven like a writing desk? |
Mark-N-Isa
in Midwest USA
Member
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 | 03:00 PM
Why? |
Rod
in the land of smarties.
Member
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 | 03:05 PM
One hand grenade and they're both useless?
😊 |
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