ATTERNOON TEA.

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 56, 9 March 1929, Page 19

ATTERNOON TEA.

;, ;It,is.said that the proprietors of tea looms are;in agreement in thoir pre-

fofeiv-.e for men customers ratherl than

, ior the fair sex (this of course for reasons only),' for notwith-

itahding that women wage-edrners , no'w-a-days are comparatively much more numerous than ever, tho proprietors say that men spend money, even

in/ajea room, more freely than.women,

folk; Let up have a little problem ba,sed< upoji this statement.. Ladies who ! ; : take,:.t'e,a 4ion6 spend niuepenco each, !.'jejnJHtfiiien' unaccompanied spend- one j, arid^*thrXM3pe.nce each, while a, gentleVniah ,who escorts a lady.to tea spends, ji sa.v,;. fiyo, shillings ■ and threepence upon i;> hisl.fjfiendj'and himself. On this basis, H supposing 'twenty-five " persons of both !(se«.es;-.-w'cr(D-. served' with refreshments 1, !'< sbme rSitti jig-at, tables alone, others in .'•;,cO;UpJe's, V;is;.,.-.;lady and gentleman. If Ivthey. 'spent''between them fifty shil-

lings, can the reader calculate how tho twenty fivo persons tvejo made up, the tables being occupied in tho following manner:—Ladies alone at somo, gentlemen: alone at others, and a lady and

gentleman together at each of tho rest, * xio table being occupied by more than two people, viz., by a lady and gentleman! And how many tables were thus occupied?

WHAT WAS HIS INCOME? At the end of two years after his marriage a gentleman found that ho had fpent exactly one-third of his anBual^income in rent, insurance, and taxes, one-half of it in household expenses, and one nineth of it in other waygj his credit balance at tho bank Bt^ the end of the time stated being > one hundred and ninety pounds. Can the reader discover from theso few details what his annual income

Tvijs *or those tuo years? No money * was drawn from the bank eicopt for the services mentioned and no other nianey was placed to his credit but his earnings, it being assumed that tho account waß opened on his iveddmg day; Simplo as this little problem is, it is quite possible to trip tho unwary. "FIGURING IT OUT." A correspondent writes to ask for the publication of a problem "not too hard but one requiring a good lot of iguring," and adding that ho piefers this kind to the "armchair" variety. Well, it is an unusual request, but hero is one that should meet the correspondent's wishes exactly. How often does tho hc<?rt beat in a lit<L of seventy-five years, if the number of beats is ono hundred and | forty per minute during the first three 1 years of life, ono hundred and twentyfive per minute "during the next three ' years, one hundred per miuuto for the next si\ years, ninety per minuto for the next ten je.irs, seventy-five per minute for the ne\t twenty-eight yiars.,, seventy per, minute for the •following twenty years, and eighty per minute during tholast flvo years. Though quite an elementary calculation it should provide the correspondent with exactly the variety of problem, he asks for, viz., one requiring a "good lot of figuring." It should bo worked out on the basis of an even $65 days in a year.

A MENTAL CALCULATION.

At tho stamp counter of a busy post effice the clerks must necessarily be

very expert in mental calculation pertaining to tho business, for the rush to Toe seen periodically during the day does not permit of these stamp vendors ■using pen or pencil as a help to reckonings And the requests of some of the applicants are often made in puzzling •ways. Here is ono of many, and it ■will provide the reader with recreative mental exercise, if ho ivill solve it fitting where he is and before passing to the next problem.— l A person tendered at the counter the

sum of five shillings to bo wholly expended in stamps in the following manner, the buyer not mentioning a speci iic number of any of tho denominations asked for: Some twopenny stamps, six times as many penny stamps and the balance of the five shillings in twopenco half-penny stamps. Can tho reader say how tho stamps should be apportioned in conformity with tho buyei's stipulations? A. £1400 LEGACY.

A peculiar situation was levealed in the Probate Court not long ago, and 1 hough tho incidents prompts this little problem, the actual details so far .as. names and conditions'of tho will are concerned are, of course, not necessary to be referred to.

A. gentleman when drawing up his iv ill made provision, for a sum of fourteen hundred pounds to be divided be 1/neen three people, A, B, C, in tho pro portion of one-third, one-fourth, and one ninth respectively.

After the old gentleman died, and before the estate was wound up for ad miiuatration, one of the beneficianc , vu<, C, died. Tho will, however, pro vided for such a contingency by tlie full amount being divided fairly and equitably between tho two survivors in the manner set out an the will. Can tho i-oader say what sum A and B should equitably receive respectively, having duo regard to the terms of tho will as stated?' This will bo found to bo au

interesting little poser , which is quite possible to trip tho wouid-bo solver. 1

LAST WEEK'S SOLUTIONS, A Mathematical Fruit Dealer,

The minimum amount,that, the dealer could, spend in- tho manner indicated, is £,3 7s 9d, buying 361 of each kind.'.

A Curiosity,

The smallestj-number using nine, out of ten-digits (calling the cipher a digit) is 102347586. .. ... k

Percentage of Profit,

The.cost of the article sold for £2 4s was £!■ 17s. ', " :

An Accommodating Peg,

One side of tho square-bole being oqual to the diameter of tho circle :ind also to tho height of tho triangle, the cork should bo cut to tliat length. As stated tho. ftork just fits the circular hole, and if inserted end up it will then, exactly fit the square hole. -To adapt it to the triangular aperture first draw a line across one end of the cork through the centre, and from that lino cut an- equal section in a sloping direction down to each side of the circular base. The cork will be then so shaped that it will exactly fit any of the three holes, .which the reader could quite easily demonstrate. [ Bags of Coins. The bags can be arranged in' 42 different ways under the conditions im-

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS "Business" Jho lo«s of piobpe^tive profit on tho sale oi tho s,ood cant not obviouslj bo lcckoncd as "out of pocket" loss

"N.D.": Scven:and,a half y ; cars is : correct. , '. . • ." ■-..;■

"Average":, The total must be 17-J- 'as ; stated, this'-bcing -half the sum of ; 12, 9, and, 14.;■, :: ; . ! : ,

C. M'Dermott: It appeared ': on the ■ Sth December,; 1925, and ;the solution on the following Saturday.

M Cameron It vis i tjpognphicil pnoi, as "ninthsj" obMously should reid "niuet> ninths " TCC lhrtiiks, they will be usclul