The worlds first riddle!

Why doesn't Sweden export cattle?
-- Because they keep all their Stockholm.

Why is the Lone Ranger poor?
-- Because he rides Silver away.

Why is Saturday night important to Julius' girl friend?
-- Because she's finally going to let Julius Caesar.

Why is Ireland so rich?
-- Because it has got so much 'green'.

Why is a barefoot boy like an Eskimo?
-- 's'no shoes.

I have always wondered why is the view count so high on this thread... So did you crank it up a bit, you little devil you :wink:

About robot's arms and legs : all is clear now
my questions answered :





Try answered those in a single sentence:



Well, had I only known the answers to those questions, wouldn't be scratching my head so much

Ladies and gentlemen of the Jury, the General's guilt casts but a hollow shadow of a doubt, and this is not enough in the face of required 95% certainty.
Let's have a look at the facts:
in 85% of the cases, our withess can correctly identify the color of the killer (as red). In the 15% that remain, 80% of those are probably soldiers - meaning additional 12%. Therefore, there is only 3% probability that the cicilian was killed by a civilian vigilante. Your duty is to find the defendant guilty of all charges. Thank You."

relative

Hi Equus, well that is the first 5. Perhaps they are more difficult than they look.

"So did you crank it up a bit/"

Who me? It is only the posts that count. It is the taking part.

"Try answered those in a single sentence: "
Well, that was a bit of luck.

Congratulations with the Guilty verdict. (Remind me not to have you represent me in court) :wink:

"What this court is interested in is facts. It is a fact that our esteemed witness perceived a red uniform, the uniform of a Panian soldier. It remains to be established whether what he perceived and what actually was were the same," the young attorney began.
He asked the jury to consider the following improbable situation: a hundred Panians all consecutively kill that one civilian, like Murder on an extremely crowded Orient express. Of these, 80 are soldiers, and 20 are civilian. What does the witness perceive?

Of the 80 red soldiers, the witness correctly identifies 68 as wearing red, and the remaining 12 incorrectly as wearing green. Of the 20 green civilians, the witness correctly identifies 17 as wearing green, and the remaining 3 incorrectly as wearing red.

Now in the real case, we know the witness was seeing red, no pun intended. As illustrated above, in 71 cases out of a hundred, the witness saw red. These are the only ones we are concerned with. Of those, the witness saw right 68 times. Since 68/71=~.9577, the witness's report of red is reliable more than 95% of the time.

The General was convicted.


What does this phrase stand for:
9P in the SS

A farmer is ploughing a field with his ox and plough. The field is 250 metres wide by 100 metres long. The furrows are two and a half metres wide and run in parallel strips lengthways across the field.

As it pulls the plough, the Ox can cover approximately one metre with each stride.

Question
How many hoof prints does the Ox leave in the entire field


Riddle me this
Never old, sometimes new
Never sad, sometimes blue
Never empty, sometimes full
Never pushes, always pulls

What am I


Number fun
What is the next number in this sequence

1, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 2,

An ox leaves NO hoofprints because it is pulling a plow and the plow would eradicate them.

Why do people feel stronger on Saturdays and Sundays?
--Because the rest are weak days.

Why did the tree need less sunshine?
--Because it was a shade tree.

Why can't a bicycle stand up on it's own?

Because it's too tired.

"An ox leaves NO hoofprints because it is pulling a plow and the plow would eradicate them."

Why do people feel stronger on Saturdays and Sundays?
--Because the rest are weak days.

Why did the tree need less sunshine?
--Because it was a shade tree. Alternative, because it was sycamore (sick of more).

Craven, "Why can't a bicycle stand up on it's own?"

Because it was in Tandem. :wink:


I hope these symbols print (If not please ignore)

Professor Percent was a maths lecturer with an interest for new ways to express mathematical expressions. The traditional symbols (+, -, *, /, etc) were not enough anymore, to convey his superior numeric operations, so he had to invent new symbols, and only a superior brain would be able to understand the need for his new symbols.

The first symbol he invented was §; between two numbers, it meant that, if the first number was greater than the second, then the second should be subtracted from the first one; otherwise the two numbers should be added. Therefore 5 § 2 = 3, while 2 § 5 = 7.

The poor people that had to put up with this were, of course, his students. In the last test they were faced with:

5 ¿ 2 = 27
6 ¿ 3 = 27
8 ¿ 4 = 36

and also with:
5 ¤ 2 = 15
6 ¤ 4 = 12
3 ¤ 8 = 40


What are the meanings of the symbols ¿ and ¤

Notes:
There are at least 3 different solutions for ¿.


"There are only two planets in this solar system that would offer a chance of survival to a Xxz," the geoanthropologist told the commander of the star ship after having examined the data from the probe. "They are the sixth one from the sun and the eight one towards the sun."

The commander turned towards the astronavigator. "Current position?"

The navigator moved his tentacles quickly on the keyboard, "We are approaching one of the three orbits that are between the two mentioned by the anthropologist; the most internal one of the three, to be precise."

"What is this planet like," the commander asked.

"Uninhabitable," replied the geoantropologist. "The atmosphere is full of lethal gases such as oxygen. Gravity is moderate, and there's bucketloads of a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen without any silicon whatsoever; just thinking about it makes my verrucas crawl!"

"How many planets in this solar system?" asked the commander.

"Less than 12," the astrophysicist replied, peering at the instruments. "The exact number is..."


That's the end of the commander's log, found within the wreckage of the starship, and painstakingly translated. How many planets did that solar system contain

More from LA


What musical instrument doesn't tell the truth?

What musical instrument from Spain helps you fish?


What part of a car is the laziest?

What Roman numeral can climb a wall?

What tree is hairy?

What vegetable is dangerous to have aboard ship?

What would happen if everyone in the country bought a pink car?


Over to you.

¿ : A¿B = (A-B)*9

¤ : A¤B = |A-B|*MAX(A,B) ; |A| = absolute value MAX(a,b) greater of two



Planets =10= 6+8-4 (could be 6+8+2, but is more than 12)


Relative

It has been written.

"¿ : A¿B = (A-B)*9

¤ : A¤B = |A-B|*MAX(A,B) ; |A| = absolute value MAX(a,b) greater of two"


The symbol ¿ means the difference between the number made up of the all digits of the operation, and the mirror of this last number. i.e,

5 ¿ 2 = 52 - 25 = 27
6 ¿ 3 = 63 - 36 = 27
8 ¿ 4 = 84 - 48 = 36

An alternative solution for this symbol is simply the difference between the two numbers multiplied by 9. i.e,

5 ¿ 2 = (5 - 2) ?- 9 = 27
6 ¿ 3 = (6 - 3) ?- 9 = 27
8 ¿ 4 = (8 - 4) ?- 9 = 36

Another alternative solution we have x ¿ y; If x is odd, then the result is 5x + y, otherwise it's 5x - y. i.e,

5 ¿ 2 = 5 ?- 5 + 2 = 27 (5 is odd, so we add the 2)
6 ¿ 3 = 6 ?- 5 - 3 = 27 (6 is even, so we subtract the 3)
8 ¿ 4 = 8 ?- 5 - 4 = 36 (8 is even, so we subtract the 4)

The symbol ¤ means the difference between the two numbers multiplied by the larger of the two numbers. i.e,

5 ¤ 2 = (5 - 2) * 5 = 3 * 5 = 15
6 ¤ 4 = (6 - 4) * 6 = 2 * 6 = 12
3 ¤ 8 = (8 - 3) * 8 = 5 * 8 = 40

An alternative solution for this symbol, is the difference between the square of the bigger of the two numbers and their product. i.e,

5 ¤ 2 = (5 ^ 2) - (5 * 2) = 25 - 10 = 15
6 ¤ 4 = (6 ^ 2) - (6 * 4) = 36 - 24 = 12
3 ¤ 8 = (8 ^ 2) - (3 * 8) = 64 - 24 = 40


It was also written.

"Planets =10= 6+8-4 (could be 6+8+2, but is more than 12)"

The answer is nine planets. The geoanthropologist states that one of the habitable planets is eighth toward the sun, so there must be at least 8 planets. The navigator mentions that there are 3 planets between the 6th planet and the 8th towards the sun.
The only number that can satisfy both statements is the number nine. You will then realise that the navigator was talking about Earth.



Five nines
How can you make 1000 using only five 9s


here is a paratrooper dead in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. In his backpack is a knife, a packet of mints, spare socks and a length of rope. To the south is a sheer drop, to the east a dangerous tribe of cannibals, to the north is swamp land, to the west are killer snakes. Which way should he go


You have £100. You must buy 100 pets. Dogs cost £15 each, cats cost £1 each and mice cost 25p each. How many dogs, cats and mice do you have to buy to get 100 pets and spend the £100 exactly

You must buy at least one each of the dogs and cats and at least four mice.


A farmer has a square, flat field. On his tractor it takes him 80 seconds to travel across the north side, 80 seconds to travel the east, 1 minute and twenty seconds to travel the south side and 80 seconds the west. Why

999 + (9/9)

actually, no need for brackets

Uhh, should've used pencil and paper..

Planets =9= 6+8-5 (could be 6+8+3, but this is more than 12)

Quote MyO, "999 + (9/9) actually, no need for brackets"

Quote Relative, "Uhh, should've used pencil and paper.."

Don't start getting technical, slate and chalk is all you need. :wink:


If you answer this question correctly you are a Genius


The only animals in this house are cats.

Any animal that loves watching the moon is tameable.

When I hate an animal, I stay away from it.

No animal is carnivorous, unless it moves at night.

No cat avoids killing mice.

I do not own any animal, except the ones that live in this house.

Kangaroos are not tameable.

No animal, except the carnivorous ones, kills mice.

I hate animals that I do not own.

All animals that move at night love watching the moon.

From this sequence of sentences, which are based on the foundations of logic, it is possible to reach a conclusion deduced from all 10 sentences.


What are the conclusions

I have few
Kangaroos dislike watching the moon?
Cats are carnivourus animals?
I hate kangaroos?

I stay away from Kangaroos, because they are not cats; therefore I'm a genius.

Relative

Quote MyO, "Kangaroos dislike watching the moon? Cats are carnivourus animals? I hate kangaroos?"

Quote Relative, "I stay away from Kangaroos, because they are not cats; therefore I'm a genius."

Two Genius medals are on their way.


The logical conclusion must necessarily be: I avoid kangaroos. Based on the 10 statements, it is possible to deduce the following conclusions:





The logical conclusion must:
Deduction # Deduction
1. All animals in this house kill mice
2. All animals in this house are carnivorous
3. All animals in this house move at night
4. All animals I own move at night
5. All animals I own love watching the moon
6. All animals I own are tameable
7. I do not own any kangaroo
8. I hate kangaroos
final, I avoid kangaroos





With his heart rate increasing steadily, James Bents (alias Lt-Colonel Ivano Zdan, as far as the KGB were concerned) lined up behind the scientists who were walking towards the internal gate. Thanks to his forged documentation, he was able to pass through the two previous gates. He was aware that to get right inside the missile launch-pad, he would need to supply a password. He had been informed that the password changed daily. Only his extreme cool and many years of training enabled him to contain the fear.

The two scientists in front of him reached the gate, which was patrolled by machine-gun wielding soldiers. He strained to hear the voices of the people ahead of him in the queue.

"Twelve?" asked the guard.

"Six," replied the first scientist.

The first scientist strode through the gate as the second one walked to the guard.

"Six?" asked the guard.

"Three," replied the second scientist and walked through.

Relief and confidence spread through Bents; the method that drove questions and answers was trivial. He stepped forward.

"Nine?" asked the guard.

He hesitated for a split second. This was an unpredicted complication, but his arduous conditioning allowed the secret agent to remain calm and as sharp as a razorblade. "Four and a half," he answered without blinking.

Quite suddenly, the entire area was filled with floodlights. Alarm sirens broke the silence of the otherwise peaceful night. In a fraction of a second the Lt-Colonel realised his mistake. He tried to turn on his heels and run, but instantly felt the cold barrel of a machine-gun pressed against his neck.

What was the secret agent's fatal mistake



When the scientific community predicted that the Sun would explode into a supernova in ten years time, destroying the entire Solar System, the Earthlings duly prepared for the Doomsday event. The first intergalactic spaceship was already being built, even before that prediction of doom. A sample of the human population was going to travel to the Andromeda Galaxy, where a planet in the BSC14823 solar system was believed to be able to sustain human life. It was hoped that on this planet, the human race would survive and re-establish itself as the superior being in the universe.

The person that would navigate the ship would have to rely on his/her own mathematical abilities, since obviously there could be no assistance from Earth after the explosion. The journey was predicted to last for at least 30 years, so the selection of this person was extremely tough. Only the very finest mathematical and logical mind would be able to successfully navigate the spaceship through intergalactic travel. A test to find this person was issued, and the best mathematicians of the planet competed.

Competition was fierce, for this person would become the first hero of the new world. Of all candidates, only a young woman and a young man reached the very final stage of the selection process. The chairman of the Special Selection Board explained the final question, "There are three different integers, A, B, C, where A ?- B ?- C = 900, and A > B > C. One of you will receive either A + B or A + C, but you will not know which one of the two sums it will be. The other candidate will be given the number B. You will take turns, and the winning candidate will be the one that can tell us what the 3 numbers are."

The young man, named Zru, was asked to start first. "I don't know," was his answer. Then it was the young woman's turn. Her name was Xre, and her answer was also "I don't know." Zru's second turn was another "Don't know," which is the same answer given by Xre on her second turn. They went on answering "I don't know" for a certain number of times, until Zru suddenly grabbed the pen and started writing down the answer. As soon as he started writing, Xre cried a "YES!" and also started writing down the answer.

The selection board was confused. Zru did indeed answer first, but only because he was one turn ahead. Xre also answered correctly when it was her turn. At that moment a young mathematician entered the room. The chairman of the board called him over, and explained the mathematical problem to him. After a short pause, the man said, "If I understand the problem correctly, sir, then the two candidates must have given the correct answer on their fourth turn, that is when each of them were answering for their fourth time. At this point, I can also tell you what the three numbers are. However, there are two different answers, depending on who was given the first chance to answer: whether it was the candidate who was given number B, or the candidate who was given the sum A + B or A + C."

The board were so impressed by this latecomer that he was nominated as the commander of the expedition.

What are the two different combinations of the three numbers

(No way in this world, or the next will anyone answer that)

If the first to speak got (a+b or a+c) the answer is 20,9,5. The person got a+c, valued 25, and the other one got a 9. This is the only combination answerable on the 4th move.

This is achieved by making a table of all possibilities(33) and eliminating. Two cases are undecidable (one person has 29, the other 9), the rest are solvable by at the latest on the 3rd move.

I'm waiting for an explanation how there are TWO solutions.

Relative

Relative, as you are probably the only person on the planet who could answer a question of this complexity, I give you the full explanation.


The table below shows all possible combinations (32 of them) of three different integers, the product of which is 900. Next to each combination there is the result of the sum A+B, then the result of the sum A+C, and finally the number B for that particular combination:


Combination # Factors A+B A+C B
1 450 * 2 * 1 452 451 2
2 300 * 3 * 1 303 301 3
3 225 * 4 * 1 229 226 4
4 180 * 5 * 1 185 181 5
5 150 * 6 * 1 156 151 6
6 100 * 9 * 1 109 101 9
7 90 * 10 * 1 100 91 10
8 75 * 12 * 1 87 76 12
9 60 * 15 * 1 75 61 15
10 50 * 18 * 1 68 51 18
11 45 * 20 * 1 65 46 20
12 36 * 25 * 1 61 37 25
13 150 * 3 * 2 153 152 3
14 90 * 5 * 2 95 92 5
15 75 * 6 * 2 81 77 6
16 50 * 9 * 2 59 52 9
17 45 * 10 * 2 55 47 10
18 30 * 15 * 2 45 32 15
19 25 * 18 * 2 43 27 18
20 75 * 4 * 3 79 78 4
21 60 * 5 * 3 65 63 5
22 50 * 6 * 3 56 53 6
23 30 * 10 * 3 40 33 10
24 25 * 12 * 3 37 28 12
25 20 * 15 * 3 35 23 15
26 45 * 5 * 4 50 49 5
27 25 * 9 * 4 34 29 9
28 30 * 6 * 5 36 35 6
29 20 * 9 * 5 29 25 9
30 18 * 10 * 5 28 23 10
31 15 * 12 * 5 27 20 12
32 15 * 10 * 6 25 21 10


If the first question was asked to the person (Zru) that was given A+B or A+C and he answers "don't know", that means that the number he received appears in the A+B and A+C columns more than once. On the other hand, if that number appears in those columns only once, then the solution would be found immediately, as that number would relate to only one of the 32 combinations. Therefore the first candidate was given one of the following numbers: 65, 61, 37, 65, 29, 28, 27, 25, 23. These numbers appear more than once in columns A+B and A+C, and because of this, they do not yet allow to find the correct combination. But we can now discard, from the 32 combinations, the ones where the 9 numbers listed above are not included in columns A+B and A+C. The combinations left were then:


Combination # Factors A+B A+C B
9 60 * 15 * 1 75 61 15
11 45 * 20 * 1 65 46 20
12 36 * 25 * 1 61 37 25
19 25 * 18 * 2 43 27 18
21 60 * 5 * 3 65 63 5
24 25 * 12 * 3 37 28 12
25 20 * 15 * 3 35 23 15
27 25 * 9 * 4 34 29 9
28 30 * 6 * 5 36 35 6
29 20 * 9 * 5 29 25 9
30 18 * 10 * 5 28 23 10
31 15 * 12 * 5 27 20 12
32 15 * 10 * 6 25 21 10


The second candidate (Xre) followed the same reasoning, so she then knew that these were the only possible combinations left, after Zru gave his answer. The situation for Xre was the same though: if the number she was given appeared only once in column B, then the right combination would be the one containing that number; if the number appeared more than once in column B, then the solution would not yet be within reach. And this is what happened, since she answered "don't know". But the elimination of certain combinations could go on nevertheless, because after she said "don't know", combinations # 11, 12, 19, 21, 28 were automatically discarded. Then it was Zru's second turn, and the current situation was:


Combination # Factors A+B A+C B
9 60 * 15 * 1 75 61 15
24 25 * 12 * 3 37 28 12
25 20 * 15 * 3 35 23 15
27 25 * 9 * 4 34 29 9
29 20 * 9 * 5 29 25 9
30 18 * 10 * 5 28 23 10
31 15 * 12 * 5 27 20 12
32 15 * 10 * 6 25 21 10


At this point, the first contestant answered again "don't know", and automatically discarded combinations 9 and 31. Then the second candidate, after following, again, the logical reasoning of Zru, answered "don't know", therefore discarding combinations 24 and 25.The third turn started with the first contestant facing the following combinations:


Combination # Factors A+B A+C B
27 25 * 9 * 4 34 29 9
29 20 * 9 * 5 29 25 9
30 18 * 10 * 5 28 23 10
32 15 * 10 * 6 25 21 10


Zru, by answering "don't know" on his third turn, discarded the only combination with no alternatives, ie 30, so Xre was presented only with combinations 27, 29, 32; her answer "don't know" left only two combinations: 27 and 29. Then it was the first contestant again, and he was faced with the following situation:


Combination # Factors A+B A+C B
27 25 * 9 * 4 34 29 9
29 20 * 9 * 5 29 25 9


If the first contestant now answered "don't know", then the number he was given must have had to be 29; but since he was given number 25, he was able to know the correct combination requested: 20*9*5. When Xre saw that Zru had the answer, she was also able to find the solution, because she had also been able to follow the selection process. For her, it was only possible to give the answer on her 4th turn, because if Zru could have been able to come up with the answer on his 3rd turn (when the numbers appering just once in columns A+B and A+C were more than one), then Xre would not have been able to know which of the combinations contained the number given to her opponent.

If instead, the question was first asked to Xre, who was given number B, then after her first "don't know" it would have been possible to discard from the table (the one with all 32 combinations) combinations 1, 11, 12. After her opponent also said "don't know", the combinations to be discarded would have been 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 26, leaving the table looking like this:


Combination # Factors A+B A+C B
19 25 * 18 * 2 43 27 18
24 25 * 12 * 3 37 28 12
25 20 * 15 * 3 35 23 15
27 25 * 9 * 4 34 29 9
28 30 * 6 * 5 36 35 6
29 20 * 9 * 5 29 25 9
30 18 * 10 * 5 28 23 10
31 15 * 12 * 5 27 20 12
32 15 * 10 * 6 25 21 10


For the second turn, the "don't know" answer of the contestant answering first (Xre in this scenario) would have automatically discarded combinations 19, 25 and 28, and the "don't know" from her opponent would have further discarded another one: 31. For the third turn, the remaining possible combinations are: 24, 27, 29, 30 and 32. If Xre could not answer yet, then combination 24 would be discarded, while Zru's "don't know" would discard combination 30. The situation would now be:


Combination # Factors A+B A+C B
27 25 * 9 * 4 34 29 9
29 20 * 9 * 5 29 25 9
32 15 * 10 * 6 25 21 10


If Xre would now be able to know the solution, she would have been given, as B, number 10 (combination # 32), resulting with the product 15*10*6. But her opponent would also be able to answer then, thanks to Xre being able to find the solution. This scenario, like the previous one with Zru starting, where both opponents are able to find the solution at the same time, can only happen on the fourth turn. It's worth knowing that a fourth "don't know" from the candidates would have led to the problem being left unsolved.



A team of four girls and six boys put together a 2200-piece jigsaw puzzle in 4 hours. The same jigsaw puzzle was put together in 8 hours by a team of two boys and five girls.

Who are better at putting jigsaw puzzles together, boys or girls


"Why can't a bicycle stand up on it's own?"

Because it was a well known brand of playing cards.

Thanks, Try for the explanation. Now I see my error not finding the 2nd solution - although I used a different method than you describe.

I also included 900 1 1 erroneously as the 1st combination

The puzzle is on the edge of complexity I still find interesting. A little more complex and it would sound like work

Relative