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Riddles — Page 15

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Originally posted by: MeBeJedi
"So, in order to get it right, you needed to know that a license plate starts with 13? So anyone outside the US can't answer it..."

"Are there no other countries that use numbers in a license plate?"

That's not what was meant. As far as I know, there's nothing limiting a US license plate to only having the number 13 at the beginning. Your mileage may vary.


Im confused by the mileage comment.

Also, to help clarify. While Bossk did say you can eliminate 36, 1, 1 from the possible answers because of the age, he also reeliminated it along with the other choices. Once the neighbor said he needed more information you would be able to deduce that the license plate starts with 13 because that is the only number repeated when each of the 7 possible sets of ages is summed. if it started with any of the other choices he would have had the answer. the stating that his oldest as bossk said allowed the neighbor to assume that the younger 2 were twins and not the older 2.

so essentially the country aspect of the license plate doesnt matter

-Darth Simon

p.s. I didnt get the answer until Bossk's explanation either, there just seemed to be some confusion as to the license plate number so figured id see if i could help clear it up
Why Anakin really turned to the dark side:
"Anakin, You're father I am" - Yoda
"No. No. That's not true! That's impossible!" - Anakin

0100111001101001011011100110101001100001

*touchy people disclaimer*
some or all of the above comments are partially exaggerated to convey a point, none of the comments are meant as personal attacks on anyone mentioned or reference in the above post
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"so essentially the country aspect of the license plate doesnt matter"

Which is actually what I meant.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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Originally posted by: MeBeJedi
"So, in order to get it right, you needed to know that a license plate starts with 13? So anyone outside the US can't answer it..."

"Are there no other countries that use numbers in a license plate?"

That's not what was meant. As far as I know, there's nothing limiting a US license plate to only having the number 13 at the beginning. Your mileage may vary.


Exactly. Is it a lucky charm, that all license plates begin with a 13? As far as I know, there's no such thing.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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You're not supposed to actually know that the license plate starts in 13. That is a clue for the neighbor trying to figure it out. Think about it critically. If the neighbor can look at the car and see the first two digits, he knows the answer immediately unless those first two numbers happen to be a 1 and a 3 because there are two different combinations of ages that result in a 13. If it was anything other than 13, he would not need the added information that the eldest daughter liked strawberry ice cream. It would be worthless information. You, as someone looking at this riddle from the outside, don't need to realize anything other than the fact that the first two digits on the license plate did not help the neighbor solve the riddle at all. When you see that he wasn't able to solve it, you then realize that the only possibility is that it is one of the two combinations of numbers that equal 13. Then the ice cream clue about the eldest daughter and, bingo-bango-bongo, you can figure it must be the 9-2-2 answer.

No clairvoyance, lucky charms, or preexisting knowledge of one's mileage (this one I really don't get) are necessary at all.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
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OK I get it now. Since he needed one more information, that means he had 2 or more answers so far, and the only combination that appears more than once is 13.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Bingo.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
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kapgar.com
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Was his name-O.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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Originally posted by: Bossk
Bingo.


Bingo!
* removes bingo card from a locker *

(let's see how many catch on that reference)
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Is that another Brazilian joke?

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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Uh.. no it's from "Naked Gun".
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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I haven't watched those in so long. Seeing OJ in them kinda spoils the fun for me (though he always gets the shit beat out of him. )

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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So, anyone want to go back and answer the riddle I posted on the 16th?

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A professor tells her assistant that she dined with three people last night. She also tells him that the sum of the three people's ages is twice the secretary's own age and that the product of the three people's ages is 2,450. Then, she asks him to tell her the ages of the three people. After a while, the assistant tells the professor that he doesn't have enough information to solve the problem. She agrees and adds that she is older than all three people with whom she dined. The assistant, who knows her age, promptly gives the professor the correct ages. The question is: What are the ages of all five people in this story?
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
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kapgar.com
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OK so far I have...

x+y+z=2a
xyz=2450
p > x
p > y
p > z
p > a ?

x = 2a - y - z; so...

(2a-y-z)*yz=2450
p > 2a - y - z; so...

p > 2450/yz


with x, y, and z being the ages of the three persons, a the assistant, and p the professor.

I'll try to solve that one later.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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Go for it, John Nash.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
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kapgar.com
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Here's my guess.

The diners ages are 5, 10 and 49. The assistant is 32, and the professor is 50.

Explanation available upon request.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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Well, I'm requesting it. I wanna see how you got it. Oh, and you are correct so the next riddle is yours.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
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Wow, tha's cool. I think I finally got the hang of these questions.

First of all, if the product of the ages was 2450, then I needed to apply prime factorization to that number.

This got me 2*5*5*7*7. The 3 ages must be products of these numbers.

Multiplying them, and then dividing the product by 2 to get the assistant's age, I got:

Ages + assistant

2, 25, 49 + 38
10, 5, 49 + 32
14, 5, 35 + 27
10, 7, 35 + 26
14, 7, 25 + 23

Now, none of these helped, and I remembered from the last problem like this that there needed to be a combination that came out with an assistant age exactly like one of these, so I started multplying 3 factors together, and got:

50, 7, 7 + 32

This would explain why the assistant needed more info, since there are now two possible combinations with his age; 32.

Therefore, when the professor said she was older than the 3 people she dined with, we look at the combinations again:

10, 5, 49 + 32
50, 7, 7 + 32

As soon as she said she was older, the answer became obvious to the assistant. One set has a high number of 49, and the other set has 50. Only one set can be correct, and since the apprentice knows her age, he can ignore the set that has her age (making one of the diners the same age.) It has to be 10, 5, 49, and since the difference between the highest numbers is 1 - which doesn't provide enough range for ages higher than the professor's - then the professor is 50.

Make sense?

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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Yeah, I think so.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
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kapgar.com
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You think so? LOL. Did you solve this one yourself, or just have the answer?

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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I didn't solve this one myself. I found this on the site that I checked my answer to the last riddle on. I'm tired of riddles right now. That last one took far too much time explaining.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
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Using prime fatorization was brilliant, I didn't think of that. But still, that solution is based on "trial and error", it's not a fully mathematical answer, mostly because it is not possible to achieve one. Of course one could argue you could build an algorithm to find such answer, like a graph search algorithm (which is, in a way, also trial and error), and that would give a mathematical solution, but still... maybe I should just shut up and not be such a geek. Sorry.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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"Using prime fatorization was brilliant, I didn't think of that."

Well, I have to teach it to my fifth graders, so it kinda jumped out at me.

"But still, that solution is based on "trial and error",

Based on the responses from the "assistant", it's how he came to the answer as well. Hence the need for more information to eliminate other possible solutions.

"Of course one could argue you could build an algorithm to find such answer,"

Not with the amount of inferencing and lateral thinking involved in deducing the answer, not to mention the fact that prime numbers occur at random intervals and cannot be predicted. You are welcome to try, though.

Okay, I just remembered a riddle I read a long time ago. I hope I remember it correctly.

A man is in a square room with 4 windows, one on each wall. All of the windows face south. He sees a bear go past one of the windows.

What color is the bear?

Good luck.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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None. It's impossible for all 4 windows to face south.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
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the room is at the north pole (thats why all 4 windows face south) so the bear would be a polar bear i believe making it white

-Darth Simon
Why Anakin really turned to the dark side:
"Anakin, You're father I am" - Yoda
"No. No. That's not true! That's impossible!" - Anakin

0100111001101001011011100110101001100001

*touchy people disclaimer*
some or all of the above comments are partially exaggerated to convey a point, none of the comments are meant as personal attacks on anyone mentioned or reference in the above post
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It could be... a black bear who uh... got in a plane by mistake and ended up in the north pole... near a room with no doors which was built in the precise magnetic north pole for some weird reason...

Hehehehe north pole, of course.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering