Solve Enjoyable Enigmas with Mr.E's Challenge

  • Thread starter Enigman
  • Start date
In summary: Four princes approach the king vying for the hand of the princess. In order to choose the best among the four suitors the king and the princess arrange a test: the suitors are brought to a large rectangular hall. The floor is covered with a carpet all over except at the corners- where there are four squares of bare floor and the suitors are told to stand at these corner. Each suitor takes a corner and stands there while the princess stands at the center of the hall. The king then proclaims the prince who without leaving their respective squares shall put a ring on the princess's hand will be declared to be the bridegroom of his daughter and the heir to Enigmania. No ropes or rods are
  • #491
Enigman said:
sleep muddled, brain addled,
funny little Enigman
:blushing:
(was I hallucinating or did collinsmark too reply to this one?)

Yes, I replied with the correct
3 Shillings and 3 pennies
answer. But then I saw that you had already provided the correct answer (I had missed it at first glance) so I deleted my post.
 
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  • #492
zoobyshoe said:
Fifty-six biscuits are to be fed to ten pets; each pet is either a cat or a dog. Each dog is to get six biscuits, and each cat is to get five. How many dogs and how many cats are there?
What is this interesting and creative "common sense" answer?
The sum should be 56.
units place should be 6
A-units place of biscuits eaten by cats should 0 or 5
You can get 6 in units place by (adding 1 to A=5) or (adding 6 to A=0)
B- units place of biscuits eaten by dogs can't be 1
A=0 B=6
Multiple of 6 with units place 6--> 36,6
36 satisfies all conditions
6-->dogs 4-->cats
 
  • #493
collinsmark said:
Yes, I replied with the correct
3 Shillings and 3 pennies
answer. But then I saw that you had already provided the correct answer (I had missed it at first glance) so I deleted my post.

Don't do that... I have a paranoia of having paranoid schizophrenia...
:biggrin:
 
  • #494
collinsmark said:
Yes, I replied with the correct
3 Shillings and 3 pennies
answer. But then I saw that you had already provided the correct answer (I had missed it at first glance) so I deleted my post.
Your correct answer was much better than his correct answer. He seemed to have lost the ability to form plurals: "3 Shilling, 3 Penny."
 
  • #495
Enigman said:
The sum should be 56.
units place should be 6
A-units place of biscuits eaten by cats should 0 or 5
You can get 6 in units place by (adding 1 to A=5) or (adding 6 to A=0)
B- units place of biscuits eaten by dogs can't be 1
A=0 B=6
Multiple of 6 with units place 6--> 36,6
36 satisfies all conditions
6-->dogs 4-->cats
Absolutely not!

We're looking for an "interesting, creative, 'common-sense'" answer.
 
  • #496
Those are vague guidelines, I steered clear of the more set in ground ones- No algebra; No trial and error.

Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.
-A.E.
 
  • #497
When you read the answer, you'll go "Doh!"
 
  • #498
This is still math but maybe less enough that it counts:
If there were 10 dogs, we would need 60 biscuits. We need 4 fewer biscuits so there must be 4 cats.
 
  • #499
Maximum case 60 biscuits
Actual case 56 biscuits
Shortage 4
No. of cats 4
No. of dogs 6
O_S replied already...
won't delete it.
 
  • #500
Doh!

A man marries a woman, but is not her husband. How?
 
  • #501
The clergyman?
 
  • #502
Correct. There is another answer also...

Edit-Actually the second answer may not be found by people of all cultures.
 
Last edited:
  • #503
"It" is ambiguous, and could be referring to the woman, in which case it is clear that she is not her own husband
 
  • #504
Office_Shredder said:
"It" is ambiguous, and could be referring to the woman, in which case it is clear that she is not her own husband

:confused: You can read it as-

A man marries a woman, but he is not her husband. How?
 
  • #505
Hmm... somehow the first time when I read it I thought it said
"A man marries a woman, but IT is not her husband. How?"

Never mind, carry on.
 
  • #506
he is her widower? her ex-husband?
 
  • #507
Office_Shredder said:
This is still math but maybe less enough that it counts:
If there were 10 dogs, we would need 60 biscuits. We need 4 fewer biscuits so there must be 4 cats.
Right idea. The solution in the book is to make note of the fact each animal gets at least 5 biscuits. Removing 5 x 10 from the total leaves 6, which must also be the total number of dogs.
 
  • #508
@Enigman, I haven't heard this phrase used in that sense. But I have in another sense though. Not sure about you guys.
 
  • #509
Okkkaaaay...
Baseball?
 
  • #510
The Puzzleland Toy Store charges $6 for a doll, $7.50 for a train, $4.50 for a top, and $12 for a paint set.

What would you pay there for a bicycle?
 
  • #511
zoobyshoe said:
the puzzleland toy store charges $6 for a doll, $7.50 for a train, $4.50 for a top, and $12 for a paint set.

What would you pay there for a bicycle?

$10.50
[Edit: More detailed spoiler:]
The store charges by the letter.
 
Last edited:
  • #512
collinsmark said:
$10.50
[Edit: More detailed spoiler:]
The store charges by the letter.
Correct on both counts!
 
  • #513
Wait on me...yet again.
(more hypothetical money this time.)
I go to a restaurant and ask the waiter (you) to bring me two glasses, a jug of water, matchsticks, a table spoon, fork, paper towels and a fruit (just for the sake of tradition).
You bring the said things and set them on the table. I pour water from the jug into a glass and challenge you to transfer some water from the glass to the empty glass so that they both have approximately equal amounts of water. And of course do this without touching the glasses (or breaking them), you may use anything on the table and nothing else. Glasses are set at a close distance and may not be moved from their original places.
Extra tips- $200*

*T&C applied- money in concern is perfectly imaginary.
 
  • #514
I know this one, so I'll recuse myself.
 
  • #515
This is a cheap answer to the water transfer problem:
It says that we have to transfer SOME water from one glass to the other, so that both have about the same amount of water. So step 1 is to pour water from the jug into the empty glass until the glasses have about the same amount of water. At this point, if I transfer a very small amount of water from one glass to the other, then I will have transferred some water from one glass to the other, so that both have about the same amount of water (indeed, if I transferred more I would make the one glass have too much!). So I dip the paper towel into the one glass, and squeeze the water out into the other glass, completing the task
 
  • #516
Office_Shredder said:
This is a cheap answer to the water transfer problem:
It says that we have to transfer SOME water from one glass to the other, so that both have about the same amount of water. So step 1 is to pour water from the jug into the empty glass until the glasses have about the same amount of water. At this point, if I transfer a very small amount of water from one glass to the other, then I will have transferred some water from one glass to the other, so that both have about the same amount of water (indeed, if I transferred more I would make the one glass have too much!). So I dip the paper towel into the one glass, and squeeze the water out into the other glass, completing the task

...quite acceptable but there's a better physical answer... though this is certainly much quicker...
 
  • #517
I can't really move on to the next one till someone answers it...
ANYONE?
PLEAAASSSEEE?
 
  • #518
Does the answer involve boiling and condensation?
 
  • #519
nope. hint: most of the things I asked for are useless... choose that/those which will help. Also its going to take a long time...
 
  • #520
Enigman said:
Wait on me...yet again.
(more hypothetical money this time.)
I go to a restaurant and ask the waiter (you) to bring me two glasses, a jug of water, matchsticks, a table spoon, fork, paper towels and a fruit (just for the sake of tradition).
You bring the said things and set them on the table. I pour water from the jug into a glass and challenge you to transfer some water from the glass to the empty glass so that they both have approximately equal amounts of water. And of course do this without touching the glasses (or breaking them), you may use anything on the table and nothing else. Glasses are set at a close distance and may not be moved from their original places.
Extra tips- $200*

*T&C applied- money in concern is perfectly imaginary.

This is just a guess (I haven't experimented with this [yet]), but I'm thinking that all that is really necessary is the paper towel.

Let's assume that the two glasses are close together. If not use the fruit to attract Gad and then light a match which is laced through the prongs of the fork which is placed under the table. This startles Gad causing her to bump the table such that the glasses end up being closer together. (Or you could just kindly ask Gad to move one of the glasses next to the other.)

So at this point, the two glasses are next to each other, and one is filled with water, the other empty. Roll up the paper towel into a tube sort of shape. Fold this paper tube in half and put one end into each glass. That should do it, I think.

What I'm guessing will happen is that the water will rise up the paper towel through capillary action, and down the other side (into the empty glass). The water will will flow from the full glass to the empty glass as long as the water level in the once full glass is higher than the water level in the once empty glass. This is similar behavior to a siphon. The water level in each glass should asymptotically approach each other, ignoring evaporation effects. However, it might take a long time to reach something resembling equilibrium.
 
  • #521
Or how about
Use the spoon to scoop out a cavity in the fruit. Stick the fork in the fruit, and dip it into the full glass. Then pour the water filling the cavity into the empty glass. Rinse and repeat. Light your 200 dollar tip on fire with the matchstick and use it to smoke a cigar.

Or even better
Use the spoon to scoop water out of one glass and dump it in the other one. Rinse and repeat
 
Last edited:
  • #522
collinsmark said:
Let's assume that the two glasses are close together. If not use the fruit to attract Gad and then light a match which is laced through the prongs of the fork which is placed under the table. This startles Gad causing her to bump the table such that the glasses end up being closer together. (Or you could just kindly ask Gad to move one of the glasses next to the other.)
:smile: a tad sadistic and wholly unnecessary- I already mentioned that they are close to together.
And that's the answer I was looking for...
Office_Shredder said:
Or how about
Use the spoon to scoop out a cavity in the fruit. Stick the fork in the fruit, and dip it into the full glass. Then pour the water filling the cavity into the empty glass. Rinse and repeat. Light your 200 dollar tip on fire with the matchstick and use it to smoke a cigar.

Or even better
Use the spoon to scoop water out of one glass and dump it in the other one. Rinse and repeat
I am regretting ordering the spoon now...
:-p
 
  • #523
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8tlEoBs
A demo.

Okay, next one-
I show you a bottle of water* and say that I'll bet you a hundred bucks that you won't be able to pour the water out of the bottle any time soon, you refuse the bet.Why?
*Edit- liquid
 
  • #524
No fruit involved? :pThere's no water in the bottle/bottle is broken.
 
  • #525
Bottle is fine and filled with water. What's your favourite fruit Gad?
 

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