'NUTS!"

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 75, 29 March 1930, Page 29

'NUTS!"

INTELLECT SHARPENERS All rights reserved.

(By T. U Briton.)

Readers with a Uttle Ingenuity will find In this column an abundant store of ' entertainment and amusement, and the solving of the problems should provide excellent mental exhilaration. While som« of the "nuts" may appear harder than others, It will be found that none will require a sledge-hammer to crack them. A BY-ELECTION. Two men' Wore discussing a recent by election, and one of thorn stated tlia the total number of votes recorded, in eluding informal, was 13,259 (om three, two, five, nine). His friend the: asked if the other could remember th exact number of votes that each caudi date received, but these ho could no manage to give. He, however, was abl to state that the successful candidat " N " obtained 226 votes (two, two, six more than the- next one- "X," an> 2383 (two, three, eight, three) inoi than "J," adding that the numbe of informal votes exactly; equalled th excess, that. ''N'' polled over.five thou sand. 'There is a.'useful and very sim pie method of finding each candidate' votes in eases like this, and it will b published next Saturday. In the mean time can the reader, say what the; were? A SUROEON' S CALL. ; A surgeon had to make a hurried visi one early morning recently, and travel led the eighty-mile 4 journey. by aero plane, starting off alone, ho being 1 qualified air pilot. Exactly half-wai a stop was made to .pick up a docto: whom lie had engaged for the purposi of administering the anaesthetic, am the. two travelled together to their dcs tination,. which as stated" was eight; miles from where the surgeon had start ed from. Everything at the operatioi being satisfactory,. the two left aftci lunch, and mado a stop at the same place to leave- the anaesthetist. Kow the sum paid by the surgeon for tho hire of the aeroplane for himself for the full trip, was £25 (twenty-five pounds) and as the two medicos agreed that a proportionate share should be paid by the one picked up at the "half-way'-point, can the reader say how much the assistant doctor should pay for his use of the; machine, his share being assessed mathematically1? COCKTAILS. A club steward preparing cocktails was observed to mix the ingredients in the following manner:—He first filled a glass with D.G., and into another glass of exactly, twice the capacity ho poured some similar liquor, making that tumbler ono-third full.r Into another glass he put "French" and "Italian" in the proportion of four to three respectively, and after adding the usual flavours, etc., he filled the two D.(J. glasses with liquor from the third. The contents, of these two filled glasses of the mixture were then poured into an empty "shaker," and the question is what proportion of tho liquor in the latter vessel was D.G.I Tho reader will note'that the contents of the third glass may or may not have been wholly transferred to the'other two, that point being immaterial. The quantity of "flavours, " etc., is negligible, but in any case the "French" and "Italian" are not, in question. TBfE DAY OF THE WEEK. J The question asked was, "On what day of tho week did a certain event occur?" but there was only ono person in the discussion who knew when it really happened, and this is the way tho others were informed. If tho day after the day before the day following the day that it occurred wero "yesterday," the presont week would be farther advanced than it is. Further, the number of clear days between the day that the event happened and th© following Saturday is exactly the same as the number of days between the day before the day before yesterday, and the day before the day when "yesterday" was Wednesday. The reader when finding on what day of the week the event occurred, will quickly see that the statement is not such a tangle as it may see-m when first read. Still it may perhaps serve as a brain "stimulator." PRESH FEOM SCHOOL. A square plot of measured land exactly two-fifths of an acre in area, adjoining an oblong-shaped larger block of ten acres, both being unfenced, both situated wholly within a 40-acre enclosod paddock. This small square plot had been given by the -owner to his son, fresh from school, for use as a poultry run, but although the boy told his father that it was not large enough, the latter said that he could not extend the area, adding by way of humouring the lad that he could fene ( p in all tho land tKat could be enclosed iii a square block, provided that the four corner -pegs of the small plot were left outside the boundaries when fenced. The prospective poultry farmer with a knowledge of1 mathematics, thereupon fenced a square block, strictly in accordance , with these directions, which his father was afterwards amazed to find contained a much larger area than he intended to give the boy. Can the reader say what sized plot was fenced? It was the largest area possible under the conditions, and the corner pegs outside were geometrically no distance from the fenced boundaries. A sketch of the two blocks will render thi3 useful problem quite simple..

LAST WEEK'S SOLUTIONS.

By Calculation or Demonstration. — The 10 counters (5 pairs) can bo aTranged in 13 different ways under the conditions of the problem. A Shopping Episode.—The lady made eight purchases, the lowest priced article costing one penny per yard, of which she bought 105 yards. The other articles were 35 yards at 3d, 21 yards at sd, 15 yards at 7d, 7 yards at Is 3d, 5 yards at Is 9<\, 3 yards at 2s lid, and 1 yard at 8s 9d per yard, the quantities and material being all different, yet tho same amount was spent in each route from No. 28. Visiting the Squares.—Number tho squares 1 to 64 horizontally from left to right, and the following route will show one method of accomplishing tho feat in 16 moves. Commencing at 28 then to 31-55-50-10-16-8-1-57-64-24-19----43-46-38-36 to 28. There is another mote from No. 28. Longer Than It Seemed.—337 yards 1 foot. Method: Multiply number, of flags by that number less one, and the result by twice tho number less one. Then divide by three. A Trust Investment. —The ehango of tho investments made no difference whatever in tho profits.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

"Conundrum." —It will be examined as early as practicable, and if suitable will formulate a problem on it. "Puzzled." —If read again you will find that the exact words do not express that the cistern was empty. When solving problems mathematical, nothing should be taken for granted. (2) The point will be explained next Saturday. "Two Tough Nuts."—A largo number of readers have commented on the two charades published 15:2:30, but no solution seems to exactly hit the mark concerning No. 2, though all re-

plies to No. 1 were correct, viz., "Bed." The correspondent who forwarded them was unable to solve No. &, and that seems to bo the position arrived at. by every one who has tackled them, many readers contending' that thero is no solution of it. "Heartache," "airgun," "waterwraith," "toothache," "watorsnake," "air-gas," "food famine." are some of the words sent in, and the reader will probably agree that none are completely satisfactory, the first named being perhaps the best.

C. M'Gill, R.C.S., Ethel M.—Acknowledged.

Correspondents are requested to send their letters care of P.O. Box 1023, City.