AND BACK DOWN THE LADDERS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 2, Issue 44, 26 April 1940, Page 16

AND BACK DOWN THE LADDERS

HE fun, readers, is definitely over. We have climbed down the ladders, walked under the ladders, climbed back up the ladders, and now we have jumped off the top of the ladders. Whether we have landed on our feet or not, puzzlers must judge for themselves, but we do say that it has all been very enjoyable. Charges that he has misread the problem are made against our Edendale correspondent (see April 12 issue), by E.H.C., of Tokaanu, by Gerald M. Williams (Kaiapoi), who has throughout maintained a nobly consistent stand against the ladders, by Tane, and by many others whose letters have turned aside from more serious matters (such @s wine, water, and what-have-you, and the worries of Willie), to take a parting stab at a corpse which was really dead when first seen, but which somehow has survived these many: moons. (G. Tisbury suggests that this unusual problem required an unusual wall, and sends us a diagram with one wall of the lane leaning out; but we’re not biting any more). We are inclined this week to carry on with the good work of avoiding responsibilities. Norway is the whole trouble. We have been learning about the "fatal lethargy" induced by the long northern winter, and nights lit by the midnight sun, The Arctic equivalent of the tropical lotus is tempting, but the mail has just come in, with one envelope (from Central Otago) boldly overprinted in red and white: "What Do You Know?" It is not much, in sorry fact, but we must pretend to know something, so here are the answers, as complete as we can find them in the latest correspondence. ANSWERS Currents: We have given H.G.L. some liberty in the way of inflicting the differential calculus on readers, but we shall not abet him. S.G.E. sends answers to his space ship problems and we have others from Tane, Age 17, and any others whose letters may at this moment be buried under the dismaying pile of correspondence on The Desk. The calculus, Mr. Lambert, is on a voluntary basis, and we shall not introduce conscription by noticing it officially. We are willing, however, to pass on to Mr. Lambert S.G.E.’s request that we ask him -to find a simple rule for locating any series of any number of consecutive whole numbers not one of which is prime. "That will, or ought to set him back on his heels," says S.G.E. Walking Trip: E.H.C. says that Dick’s daily run was 12 miles and Tom’s 18 miles. The Thirsty Tourist: G. Tisbury and L.C.T. say £17 10/-. Rowing: E.H.C. says 2 2/3 m.p.h., end G. Tisbury says 234 m.p.h.’ _ Wine, etc.: G. Tisbury says one-third of a pint from the 3 to 1 mixture and two-thirds of a pint from 2 to 1 mix‘ture. E.H.C. says four parts of number ene with two parts of number two,

Military: E,H.C. and L.C.T. had sent the only answers when this page went to the printer. E says 93 men in the front rank of the square, and L. says 92. Kauris; E.H.C.’s alternative problem was not reproduced very well. The upper horizontal should have been half the length of the lower. The field could then be divided into four, as follows:

The Trees, Enigmatical: Elder, Oleander, Palm, Pine, Spruce, Mango, Birch; Plane, Ash, Beech, Willow, Cypress. Archeology: Blank at this end. The Frugal Scot (April 5): Thanks to P.J.Q., we are able to advise The Mac Skooshook that he will do quite

well with a calendar for 1912. "It will do him fine for the whole year,’ says P.J.Q., "and if he is still on top he can use it again in the years 1968 and 1996." More About Beer: The letters used in the statement of the problem, arranged mathematically, make the word "pints." "Be Quick" (April 5): Mac writes to say that the umpires can call two and three short runs when the batsmen have still three runs to make, and that in practice, complete runs made after short runs have been signalled, are counted. Snizzle and Snozzle: P.J.Q. suggests that a siphon would ‘do the trick if the casks were equal in circumference. The Donkey Knew (March 29): Tane says 60.43 yards. PROBLEMS The Cannibals Three white men sat woefully upon the bank of a river with three cannibals watching them wistfully. The white men could match the.cannibals while their numbers were even, but if at any stage

the blacks outnumbered the whites then the whites knew that the wistful looks meant they would be eaten, hence the woe. But they had to cross the river, and their boat would only hold two people. Never in any circumstances could two cannibals be within striking distance of only one white man, Luckily the cannibals would do as they were told; so that the white men could send the boat across with, say, two cannibals, and order one to bring it back. But even this did not make their problem any easier, nor will it be very easy for you in your easy chair at home. Try it. There is no catch, and the problem can be solved. Confused Words E.H.C. requires us to make sense of the following: ASATURIX ; ELWHOFOIN, NDOF: IALSHEBROOFXTHOOFHI SWVIISOHISWAISTB &TOBVIII&TOXDTOG ETLEANERHESO (When we give his answer, part of the fun for readers will be finding out how he worked it. Of course, they should find the answer themselves). Factorial Anagrams When the response to L.C.T.’s appeal for anagrams on the name of Adolf Hitler prompted us to ask readers how many different combinations of these 11 letters they could conceive, disregarding the dictionary, H. G. Lambert took the 11letter word MATHEMATICS and sends us his decision that the letters, including the Ms, As, and Ts twice, can be used in 39,916,800 combinations. This he says, is 11 factorial, and 11 factorial is the mathematical express of 11 x 10 S226 xzF2zb6 aR sy 4 33 e232 84, Because of the repetitive letters, in actual practice the number of "words" from MATHEMATICAL should actually be 4,989,600, including the original word, says H.G. Egg * The old one about the egg and a-half, etc., is tacked on to a letter from S.N.S. (Coromandel) with a note that the problem actually has an answer: 4 2/3 eggs for the week; but, as J. B. Hogg, of Wanganui, pointed out about our misprinted egg problem from Mr. Chippindale, his wife refuses to allow him to experiment with parts of eggs, and the problem says nothing about boiling them. Double Acrostic Our double acrostic has inspired L.C.T. to send some of his own. This is one: One time owner of New Zealand sheep Has earned at Home a laureled sleep (1) Under the sea The mermaids see. (2) All words in fetters But for five letters. (3) Domesticated or wild Meet food for a poetic child. (4) With legs to pull The word’s useful,

(5) Poets use forever Most of us never (6) With the animals in a large zoo This little chap would be tound by you. Pond When E.W.M. wrote last from Kati Kati his typewriter had interpreted his berserk rage at the Puzzle Page (that’s what comes of doing anagrams) but this time he’s settled down and sends this: A man owned a square artificial pond. In the centre was a square of concrete which was exactly 12 feet in from any outside edge of the pond. He had two boards 12 inches wide by 12 feet long. How did he place the boards so that he got across without getting his feet wet? Maths., etc. Since H. G. Lambert insists on confounding us ’umbler puzzlers by using the calculus, we are delighted to find that J. B. Hogg (Wanganui) can keep him company. Mr. Hogg. asks: At a point in the circumference of a circular field, one acre in extent, a donkey is tethered. The tether is such that it permits the donkey to graze over another acre exactly outside the field. If neither donkey nor tether is allowed in on the circular area, find the length of the tether. Cone They may both try this one, from G. F. Chippindale: The radius of the base of a right circular cone is five inches. The area of the curved surface is twice the area of the base. What is the volume? ek eee ,%