Alice in Wonderland
Get from START to FINISH in this maze, created by Joe Wos.
SOLUTION
The solution is shown below.
Category: Puzzles
Joe Wos is a professional cartoonist and maze artist from Pittsburg. He and his work have been featured in various media outlets, including Huffington Post and the Wall Street Journal. Until 2015, Joe was holding the record for the largest hand-drawn maze.
Going to the Fair
While going to the town fair, Tristan met 5 clowns on his way. Each clown had 4 dogs, each dog had 2 cats and each cat had 2 mice. How many in total were going to the fair?
SOLUTION
Only Tristan. He met the others on his way to the fair, so they were coming back from there.
FEATURED
Three Daughters
Two friend mathematicians meet each after
– I have 3 daughters, the product of their ages is 36.
– I can’t figure out how old they are, can you tell me more?
– Sure, the sum of their ages is equal to the number of my house.
– I know your house number, but still can’t figure out the ages of your daughters.
– Also, my eldest daughter is called Monica.
– OK, now I know how old your daughters are.
What ages are the three daughters of the mathematician?
SOLUTION
Using the first clue, we find that there are 8 possibilities:
(1, 1, 36) -> sum 38
(1, 2, 18) -> sum 21
(1, 3, 12) -> sum 16
(1, 4, 9) -> sum 14
(1, 6, 6) -> sum 13
(2, 2, 9) -> sum 13
(2, 3, 6) -> sum 11
(3, 3, 4) -> sum 10
Since the second mathematician couldn’t guess the ages even after the second clue, the sum has to be 13. Therefore the only possible options are (1, 6, 6) and (2, 2, 9). However, the third clue suggests that there is an “eldest” daughter and then the correct answer is 2, 2 and 9.
The Rope Is Short
You have to descend a 100-meter vertical cliff. However, you have only a 75-meter long rope and a knife with yourself. On the top of the cliff and halfway down – 50 meters above the ground, there are two big pins stuck in it. How can you get safely down to the ground?
SOLUTION
First, you cut the rope at 25 meters and make a loop at the end of the short part. Then you pass the longer part through the loop so that you get a 50-meter long rope (the second 25 meters are doubled). You use this rope to descend to the pin and grab it. Then tie one of the ends of the 50-meter rope to the pin, pull the rest back through the loop and let it fall to the ground.
Murder in a Car
The police found a murdered man in a car. The windows of the car were raised, the doors were locked, and the keys were inside, in the man’s hands. The man was shot several times with a gun, but there were no holes anywhere on the car. How is this possible?
SOLUTION
The car was convertible, with the top retracted back.
Just One Line
Add just one line to create a correct equality.
SOLUTION
Add a line to the plus to transform it into a four.
Simple Sum
Which number must be written in the place of the dots?
Remark: The missing number does not necessarily have 3 digits.
SOLUTION
If you turn the paper around, the text will read:
… = 19969 + 68199
99106 = 18108 + 80998
Therefore, the missing number is 88168, which after 180 degrees rotation becomes 89188.
Tight Spot
White starts and mates in 2 moves.
SOLUTION
White plays Rh6. If Black moves the bishop, Rxh7 is a mate. If Black takes the rook, g7 is a mate.
FEATURED
Prisoners and Hats
100 prisoners are given the following challenge: They will be taken to a room and will be arranged in a column, such that each of them faces the backs of the prisoners in front. After that, black and red hats will be placed on their heads, and the prisoners will be asked one at a time what is the color of their hat, starting from the one at the back of the column. If a prisoner guesses his color correctly, he is spared; if not – he is executed. If every prisoner can see only the hats of the prisoners in front of him in the line, what strategy should they come up with, so that their losses are minimized?
SOLUTION
There is a strategy which ensures that 99 prisoners are spared and there is 50% chance that one of them is executed. Clearly, one can not do better.
The strategy is as follows: The first prisoner (at the back of the line) counts the number of black hats worn by the prisoners in front. If the number is odd, he says “BLACK”. If the number is even, he says “RED”. Then, the second prisoner counts the black hats in front of him, figures out the color of his own hat, and answers the question.The third prisoner sees the number of black hats in front of him and uses this information, along with what the second prisoner’s hat is, to determine the color of his own hat. The prisoners continue in the same manner until all 99 prisoners in the front guess their hat colors correctly. The chance for survival of the first prisoner is 50%.
Puzzle Giveaway 2
Our second giveaway is over. Congratulations to the winner, M M Del Rosario, and to his nephew, who will have countless hours playing with all the wonderful toys we chose for him from Fun.com!
For our July giveaway, we are partnering with our friends at Fun.com, a great website for games, toys, and fun Halloween costumes. We have prepared for you a colorful picture with lots of hidden stars in it. Answer correctly what their number is and on the 15th of July, you could be the lucky winner who gets more than $100 worth of puzzles and games, including “Perplexus”, “Codenames”, “Manifold”, and many more!
