3 Riddles

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erdnasephile
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3 Riddles

Postby erdnasephile » April 28th, 2017, 11:56 am

I saw this article linked in R Paul Wilson's twitter feed https://twitter.com/rpaulwilson and found it a fun read (The riddles were provided by Adam Rubin):

https://www.theguardian.com/science/201 ... pickle-jar

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Brian Douglas
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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby Brian Douglas » April 28th, 2017, 1:05 pm

The first two were easy, the pickle one is rather abstract but I'm still working on it.

Anthony Vinson
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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby Anthony Vinson » April 28th, 2017, 1:53 pm

Hmm... I agree, the first two are easy enough - in fact the first has been around since at least the 1970s, but wrapped in a different narrative - but that pickle jar has me expending more brain cells that I think are necessary. Bet I'm overthinking it.

Fun distractions - Thanks for posting!

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Brian Douglas
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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby Brian Douglas » April 28th, 2017, 2:11 pm

About how long will it be until then?


I think this is the key to solving number 3 but I may be wrong. That phase sits awkward.

I have a possible solution, but it is a solution with me taking a lot of liberties with the scenario.

I just hope it doesn't turn out that the blind man is robbing him,that he is blind as well, or that he never has change. That would be disappointing...

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Brad Jeffers
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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby Brad Jeffers » April 28th, 2017, 2:47 pm

Brian Douglas wrote:
About how long will it be until then?
I believe the answer to that question is 3 months.

Anthony Vinson
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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby Anthony Vinson » April 28th, 2017, 3:17 pm

The answers are posted and I peeked. I was correct on 1 an 2, but 3... Even knowing the answer I still want to argue about it! The wording is deceptive and the answer presupposes too many variables.

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Brian Douglas
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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby Brian Douglas » April 29th, 2017, 5:04 am

That was a rather weak answer for a riddle that had multiple possibilities...

John Bowden
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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby John Bowden » April 29th, 2017, 7:10 am

Brad Jeffers wrote:
Brian Douglas wrote:
About how long will it be until then?
I believe the answer to that question is 3 months.



If he was bringing the blind man for a meal it would be six months............. if he was paying.

Bill Mullins
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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby Bill Mullins » April 29th, 2017, 3:39 pm

John -- that assumes that the amount of money accumulated in the jar is the right amount to pay for a meal. But the premise doesn't lead to that -- it only says that the length of time to fill the jar is when meals are bought. The jar may have well in excess of the amount to pay for the steak, or not enough so that the meal is paid for out of Harold's wallet.

(I was about to write to Adam and Alex with the same argument, but caught myself first.)

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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby Jonathan Townsend » April 29th, 2017, 4:04 pm

Agreed six months - per "Three months later" and "once the jar is full" and twice.
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time

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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby John Bowden » April 29th, 2017, 4:46 pm

There are way too many ambiguities for this to be a definitive puzzle and I had taken into account that the jar may have been filled and refilled a number of times in the three month period but as it required a time frame for the filling and the only time given was the three months, one would have to assume it was filled just once or otherwise the puzzle would be missing a vital piece of information.

All in all the three riddles were interesting, if not too difficult to reach a conclusion as to the answers, and I hope we get more of the same.

Thanks to the compiler.

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lybrary
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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby lybrary » April 29th, 2017, 7:33 pm

For all you puzzlers, Max Oedlund (a magician, bridge and puzzle expert in Sweden), has just released his second volume of "Cranium Conundrums" http://www.lybrary.com/cranium-conundru ... 21480.html

I really like his puzzle books, because he provides a level of difficulty for each puzzle which makes it easy to keep the hard ones for a rainy weekend, and a hint, which is sort of a 'half solution' which gives one a second chance to solve the puzzle before giving up. Puzzle #65 is also a magic trick.
Lybrary.com Magic & Gambling
preserving magic one book at a time

Richard Stokes
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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby Richard Stokes » April 30th, 2017, 12:04 pm

These riddles can have multiple solutions.
For example, Number One.
The wrestler is strong and fit , but very tall - say 7 foot plus, so people offer him a seat so that he can sit down and have a more comfortable train ride.

Jack Shalom
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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby Jack Shalom » April 30th, 2017, 1:06 pm

Or it's the end of the line--and the rest of the passengers are getting off, while the wrestler is getting on, at the start of his trip.

Bob Farmer
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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby Bob Farmer » April 30th, 2017, 2:02 pm

The wrestler is a woman who is pregnant.

Bill Duncan
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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby Bill Duncan » April 30th, 2017, 5:08 pm

The Pickle Jar riddle is a cheat. No one would exclaim "Incredible" in the circumstance described in the solution, and line exists only to prevent a solution.

Those who are still struggling with an answer should ignore that sentence, after which the solution is pretty simple.

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AJM
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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby AJM » April 30th, 2017, 5:15 pm

A lot of discussion about 3 'meh' puzzles.

Grab one of Martin Gardner's books if you're looking for some decent conundrums to get your teeth into.

Andrew

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Re: 3 Riddles

Postby Bill Mullins » April 30th, 2017, 6:02 pm

Richard Stokes wrote:The wrestler is strong and fit , but very tall - say 7 foot plus, so people offer him a seat so that he . . .

doesn't throw them out the window.


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