A Fistful of Brain Teasers

Ian G. posted:

'Time" itself fits many of those.....

Time !

Spot on Ian.

These riddles aren't precise in the way of mathematical brain teasers. They are open to doubt and discussion.

But "time" is the (officially) correct answer

Don Atkinson posted:

Ian G. posted:

'Time" itself fits many of those.....

Time !

Spot on Ian.

These riddles aren't precise in the way of mathematical brain teasers. They are open to doubt and discussion.

But "time" is the (officially) correct answer

Got to love a lucky guess !

Another one, this time from the 7th century..........

Long since, the holy power that made all things

So made me that my master’s dangerous foes

I scatter. Bearing weapons in my jaws,

I soon decide fierce combats; yet flee

Before the lashings of a little child

A hephalump.

sjbabbey posted:

A hephalump.

............as in Winnie the Pooh ?

Don Atkinson posted:

sjbabbey posted:

A hephalump.

............as in Winnie the Pooh ?

Indeed but slightly fiercer and not pink (you couldn't move for bumping into one in 7th Century England).

sjbabbey posted:

Don Atkinson posted:

sjbabbey posted:

A hephalump.

............as in Winnie the Pooh ?

Indeed but slightly fiercer and not pink (you couldn't move for bumping into one in 7th Century England).

well, it just shows, these riddles can have more than one justifiable outcome, but........

..........there is only one right answer, and it's goes by a bit more common name than a heffalump

I had thought the riddles were a relatively easy pastime.

Just making way and light entertainment between a couple of more devastating brain teasers.........

………………… in the I-Pad factory not a creature was stirring except for... In an attempt to discover the secrets of Apple’s new i-Pad Streaming App, a team of Naim engineers decided to gain illegal entry to the i-Pad factory. Oh the shame of it!

They arrive at the factory in the dead of night and decide to try to gain entry via the roof. Naturally they aren't carrying a ladder because this would arouse suspicion among the locals. So they search for one and eventually find an old wooden ladder with a slightly rotten set of rungs. The ladder has length L. The factory roof is hard to access, even with a ladder, and on their first attempt the ladder crackles and threatens to break. They stop climbing and wonder what to do. Scouting for a way in they find a wall against which a large, cubic crate has been left, of side 1m. They reason that if they position the ladder so that it touches the ground, the wall and the outer, top edge of the crate, that this will provide sufficient support to prevent the ladder from breaking. Good.

Being exacting engineers and slaves to planning they first decide to calculate the exact distance that they must place the foot of the ladder away from the bottom edge of the crate so that it will just touch both the wall and the edge of the crate. Can they work it out before sunrise?

In terms of the ladder length L, what is the horizontal distance the foot of the ladder must be placed away from the bottom edge of the crate? Assume the ground is horizontal, the wall vertical and the crate a perfect cube.

The winner will have the most elegant formula, but you might find it more profitable to share ideas.....!

..Almost everyone is familiar with Meatloafs ' I'd do anything for love ( but I won't do that). famous hit from Bat out of Hell.

Does any one know what THAT was, THAT which wouldn't be done ?

Not a song I particularly like, but isn’t the whole point that it is up to the listener to imagine?

Don Atkinson posted:

Another one, this time from the 7th century..........

Long since, the holy power that made all things

So made me that my master’s dangerous foes

I scatter. Bearing weapons in my jaws,

I soon decide fierce combats; yet flee

Before the lashings of a little child

It’s beaten me, though probably blindingly obviious - weapons in jaws, suggests an animal with fearsome fangs, but fleeing from a child..? So I think not a living thing, but an abstract concept from religeous, possibly Christian teaching, but not satan.

TOBYJUG posted:

..Almost everyone is familiar with Meatloafs ' I'd do anything for love ( but I won't do that). famous hit from Bat out of Hell.

Does any one know what THAT was, THAT which wouldn't be done ?

The last time I talked to Meatloaf**, he wasn't giving any response to this question, so I assumed then, and have done to this day, just as Innocent Bystander has, that it would be the listener who would determine their own limit beyond which they would not go "for love".

For me, I have not yet discovered a limit, although I have to admit thoughts of my mother in law seem to conjour an image of what "That" might be.

** I'm blatently and unashamedly name dropping here as you have already summised, but it's true... I met Meatloaf back in 1984 at a Heathrow hotel - he'd just dropped his motorcycle trying to park it and wasn't feeling very communicative.  

rjstaines posted:

TOBYJUG posted:

..Almost everyone is familiar with Meatloafs ' I'd do anything for love ( but I won't do that). famous hit from Bat out of Hell.

Does any one know what THAT was, THAT which wouldn't be done ?

The last time I talked to Meatloaf**, he wasn't giving any response to this question

** I'm blatently and unashamedly name dropping here as you have already summised, but it's true... I met Meatloaf back in 1984 at a Heathrow hotel - he'd just dropped his motorcycle trying to park it and wasn't feeling very communicative.  

In other words, he didn't explain in 1984 what the lyrics to a song he wouldn't perform until 1993 meant?  Strange that. :-)

He has explained (since) ... including using blackboard to illustrate on VH-1 (TV).

Innocent Bystander posted:

Not a song I particularly like, but isn’t the whole point that it is up to the listener to imagine?

No; its up to the listener to listen to the lyrics of the song ... each verse has two things he (Meatloaf) would do for love, and one thing he wouldn't...

In other words in the first verse:

And I would do anything for love
I'd run right into hell and back
I would do anything for love
I'd never lie to you and that's a fact
But I'll never forget the way you feel right now
Oh no, no way
And I would do anything for love
Oh I would do anything for love
I would do anything for love, but I won't do that
No, I won't do that

He would "run right into hell and back" and would "never lie to you" but he wouldn't "forget the way you feel right now".

Jim Steinmann thought it would confuse the listeners apparently, but Meatloaf felt it was clear.  I guess Mr Meatloaf was wrong!

Eloise posted:

rjstaines posted:

TOBYJUG posted:

..Almost everyone is familiar with Meatloafs ' I'd do anything for love ( but I won't do that). famous hit from Bat out of Hell.

Does any one know what THAT was, THAT which wouldn't be done ?

The last time I talked to Meatloaf**, he wasn't giving any response to this question

** I'm blatently and unashamedly name dropping here as you have already summised, but it's true... I met Meatloaf back in 1984 at a Heathrow hotel - he'd just dropped his motorcycle trying to park it and wasn't feeling very communicative.  

In other words, he didn't explain in 1984 what the lyrics to a song he wouldn't perform until 1993 meant?  Strange that. :-)

He has explained (since) ... including using blackboard to illustrate on VH-1 (TV).

Innocent Bystander posted:

Not a song I particularly like, but isn’t the whole point that it is up to the listener to imagine?

No; its up to the listener to listen to the lyrics of the song ... each verse has two things he (Meatloaf) would do for love, and one thing he wouldn't...

In other words in the first verse:

And I would do anything for love
I'd run right into hell and back
I would do anything for love
I'd never lie to you and that's a fact
But I'll never forget the way you feel right now
Oh no, no way
And I would do anything for love
Oh I would do anything for love
I would do anything for love, but I won't do that
No, I won't do that

He would "run right into hell and back" and would "never lie to you" but he wouldn't "forget the way you feel right now".

Jim Steinmann thought it would confuse the listeners apparently, but Meatloaf felt it was clear.  I guess Mr Meatloaf was wrong!

Seeing the words (I never had enough interest in the song to follow it fully when sung, let alone look up the lyrics), it is still ambiguous, in that as well as “won’t do that” reinforcing the statement that he’ll never “forget the way you feel right now”, it also could be reinforcing that he would never lie to her (him?).

Of course, if he is lying...

Eloise posted:

rjstaines posted:

The last time I talked to Meatloaf**, he wasn't giving any response to this question

** I'm blatently and unashamedly name dropping here as you have already summised, but it's true... I met Meatloaf back in 1984 at a Heathrow hotel - he'd just dropped his motorcycle trying to park it and wasn't feeling very communicative.  

In other words, he didn't explain in 1984 what the lyrics to a song he wouldn't perform until 1993 meant?  Strange that. :-)

He has explained (since) ... including using blackboard to illustrate on VH-1 (TV).

Hey, at my age what's ten years between friends ?   1974, 1984, 1994... they are all back in the mists of time; we were still on NAT01 and the NAP135 ruled the roost. 

Innocent Bystander posted:

Don Atkinson posted:

Another one, this time from the 7th century..........

Long since, the holy power that made all things

So made me that my master’s dangerous foes

I scatter. Bearing weapons in my jaws,

I soon decide fierce combats; yet flee

Before the lashings of a little child

It’s beaten me, though probably blindingly obviious - weapons in jaws, suggests an animal with fearsome fangs, but fleeing from a child..? So I think not a living thing, but an abstract concept from religeous, possibly Christian teaching, but not satan.

I'm still erring towards an animal. 7th century suggests the weapons will either be sharp or blunt instruments, rather than anything modern in style. My first pass was a bee, it scatters foes of the hive, will fly away from a kid waving their arms, but I suspect even in the 7th century they didn't think the sting was in the mouth, the queen as master of the hive is a stretch, and bees don't decide fierce combats in any way I can stretch to.

Dog isn't a bad shout. A dog's teeth can be seen as weapons. A guard dog can still scatter dangerous foes, and even more so in the 7th century. The fierce combats could be dogfights, hunting or even warhoundsr. And yet most dogs will flee from a kid hitting them. It's a bit of a stretch, but the best I can do.

While my brain hurts thinking about the ladder one I came back to this, 1st thoughts on that soon.

I also wondered about dog, but dogs that are not pets  wouldn’t  flee from a child lashing out.

i’ve considered a weapon like a ballista, but though it might be damaged by a child’s flailing arms, it scarcely flees them. 

“Lashings”, of course, could be lashings by tongue rather than physical: though it usually refers to acerbic or sarcastic comments -  was that the case in the 7th century and could it be referring to the sound of a screaming child?   (That doesn’t prompt anything for me, unless dragons were reputed to be scared of screaming children?)

I know there was no real need for a picture, but....................................

...........just to be on the safe side !

We don't want to get stuck in the "riddle" part of the teaser !!!!

  The original recording of " Massachusetts" in 1967 on the 'Horizontal" album by all of the Bee Gees took 2:19. Minutes.

 Later from a live 1997 version without Andy Gibbs the boys took 2:27. Minutes to perform this song.

If Barry was to today perform this song on his own, how many minutes and seconds would it take him ?

TOBYJUG posted:

  The original recording of " Massachusetts" in 1967 on the 'Horizontal" album by all of the Bee Gees took 2:19. Minutes.

 Later from a live 1997 version without Andy Gibbs the boys took 2:27. Minutes to perform this song.

If Barry was to today perform this song on his own, how many minutes and seconds would it take him ?

Did Andy ever perform as part of the Bee Gees ? As opposed to “not” performing at a specific live event ?

Eoink posted:

Innocent Bystander posted:

Don Atkinson posted:

Another one, this time from the 7th century..........

Long since, the holy power that made all things

So made me that my master’s dangerous foes

I scatter. Bearing weapons in my jaws,

I soon decide fierce combats; yet flee

Before the lashings of a little child

It’s beaten me, though probably blindingly obviious - weapons in jaws, suggests an animal with fearsome fangs, but fleeing from a child..? So I think not a living thing, but an abstract concept from religeous, possibly Christian teaching, but not satan.

I'm still erring towards an animal. 7th century suggests the weapons will either be sharp or blunt instruments, rather than anything modern in style. My first pass was a bee, it scatters foes of the hive, will fly away from a kid waving their arms, but I suspect even in the 7th century they didn't think the sting was in the mouth, the queen as master of the hive is a stretch, and bees don't decide fierce combats in any way I can stretch to.

Dog isn't a bad shout. A dog's teeth can be seen as weapons. A guard dog can still scatter dangerous foes, and even more so in the 7th century. The fierce combats could be dogfights, hunting or even warhoundsr. And yet most dogs will flee from a kid hitting them. It's a bit of a stretch, but the best I can do.

While my brain hurts thinking about the ladder one I came back to this, 1st thoughts on that soon.

 

These riddles are never precise in the sense of 2+2=4

A Dog it is !

Well done

Anybody made any progress with the "Ladder" ?

Don Atkinson posted:

Anybody made any progress with the "Ladder" ?

The first steps (apologies for the pun !) are simple geometry !

Might be worthwhile sharing progress to date.............

The ladder and the cube - nice problem; unexpectedly difficult.

I considered the general case of a cube with side a and a ladder of length 2L. The outer top edge of the cube then divides the ladder into sections of length L+d and L-d. Note that there are two symmetric solutions depending on whether the ladder is placed at a shallow or steep angle.

The first step is to find d. To do this, use Pythagoras on the two small right angled triangles in the diagram. You also need to use the fact that the slope of the ladder is constant: a/x = y/a (where x is the distance between the bottom edge of the cube and the bottom of the ladder, and y is the distance between the inner top edge of the cube and the top of the ladder). After much faffing, I get:

d^2 = (L^2 + a^2) + (or -) sqrt(a^4 + 4L^2a^2)

Then use Pythagoras on the small right angled triangle at the bottom of the diagram:

x^2 = (L-d)^2 - a^2

to obtain x. I prefer to leave the solution as a two-step process rather than write a single formula for x in terms of L.

I checked with L = sqrt(2) and a = 1, and (taking the - in the + or -)  this gives d = 0 so x = 1, as expected (i.e. the ladder is bisected by the top outer edge of the cube to form two right-angled isosceles triangles).