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	<title>Comments on: Brain Teasers For The Pub</title>
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	<link>http://jonontech.com/2009/07/08/brain-teasers-for-the-pub/</link>
	<description>Confessions of a Digital Agency Nerd</description>
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		<title>By: Jon Marks</title>
		<link>http://jonontech.com/2009/07/08/brain-teasers-for-the-pub/#comment-2127</link>
		<dc:creator>Jon Marks</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:53:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jonontech.com/?p=830#comment-2127</guid>
		<description>Not quite:

50% chance of 0 girls, 1 boy
25% chance of 1 girl, 1 boy
12.5% chance of 2 girls, 1 boy 
6.25% chance of 3 girls, 1 boy

There will always a be 1 boy in there. But it makes more sense to think about it the other way. Every birth is just a normal 50%-50%. Doesn&#039;t matter when any particular family decides to stop.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Not quite:</p>
<p>50% chance of 0 girls, 1 boy<br />
25% chance of 1 girl, 1 boy<br />
12.5% chance of 2 girls, 1 boy<br />
6.25% chance of 3 girls, 1 boy</p>
<p>There will always a be 1 boy in there. But it makes more sense to think about it the other way. Every birth is just a normal 50%-50%. Doesn&#8217;t matter when any particular family decides to stop.</p>
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		<title>By: Joanna</title>
		<link>http://jonontech.com/2009/07/08/brain-teasers-for-the-pub/#comment-2126</link>
		<dc:creator>Joanna</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:38:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jonontech.com/?p=830#comment-2126</guid>
		<description>#10. Your answer seems written up wrong. Does not 50% chance of no girls equal 50% chance of a girl first up. Then 25% chance of 2 girls (or a boy and a girl). Followed by a 12.5% chance of a girl ,girl, boy or girl, girl, girl combination?

 I am totally confused, although I guess the probability numbers do add up equally for both sexes. My impression was that as only people with girls and no boys continue breeding, there would be more girls. Then I threw a coin 100 times and was dismayed to get the equivalent of 97 boys and 86 girls where  heads symbolized a boy and tails a girl.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>#10. Your answer seems written up wrong. Does not 50% chance of no girls equal 50% chance of a girl first up. Then 25% chance of 2 girls (or a boy and a girl). Followed by a 12.5% chance of a girl ,girl, boy or girl, girl, girl combination?</p>
<p> I am totally confused, although I guess the probability numbers do add up equally for both sexes. My impression was that as only people with girls and no boys continue breeding, there would be more girls. Then I threw a coin 100 times and was dismayed to get the equivalent of 97 boys and 86 girls where  heads symbolized a boy and tails a girl.</p>
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		<title>By: Mo</title>
		<link>http://jonontech.com/2009/07/08/brain-teasers-for-the-pub/#comment-1874</link>
		<dc:creator>Mo</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:31:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jonontech.com/?p=830#comment-1874</guid>
		<description>Problem #6 is a little trickier if you are a girl trying to &quot;do&quot; 3 boys. But a similar reasoning applies: Boy A puts 2 condoms on and do you. Then boy A gives the outer condom to boy B. Boy B does you. Finally, boy A gives the innermost condom to boy C, who wears it inside-out. On top of it, boy C also wears the condom from boy B. Properly doubly protected, boy C does you.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Problem #6 is a little trickier if you are a girl trying to &#8220;do&#8221; 3 boys. But a similar reasoning applies: Boy A puts 2 condoms on and do you. Then boy A gives the outer condom to boy B. Boy B does you. Finally, boy A gives the innermost condom to boy C, who wears it inside-out. On top of it, boy C also wears the condom from boy B. Properly doubly protected, boy C does you.</p>
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		<title>By: eapen</title>
		<link>http://jonontech.com/2009/07/08/brain-teasers-for-the-pub/#comment-1845</link>
		<dc:creator>eapen</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:20:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jonontech.com/?p=830#comment-1845</guid>
		<description>Wow.. I can&#039;t believe I totally missed the (x-x).</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Wow.. I can&#8217;t believe I totally missed the (x-x).</p>
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		<title>By: Jon Marks</title>
		<link>http://jonontech.com/2009/07/08/brain-teasers-for-the-pub/#comment-1843</link>
		<dc:creator>Jon Marks</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:50:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jonontech.com/?p=830#comment-1843</guid>
		<description>My solutions (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.mcboof.com/trivia/brains_ans.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;from 13 years ago&lt;/a&gt;!) below. I think at least one person got the correct answer for all the questions.

&lt;b&gt;Solution #1:&lt;/b&gt; The shape made is a regular hexagon.

&lt;b&gt;Solution #2:&lt;/b&gt;  It is impossible. Consider the colours of the squares of the chessboard. There are 32 white squares, and 30 black squares. Each domino will cover one black and one white square. No matter how you do things, the last domino wil have to cover two white squares, which is impossible.

&lt;b&gt;Solution #3:&lt;/b&gt;  140 km. It takes 2 hours for the trucks to collide. So the fly is flying for two hours at 70 km/h. He flies 140 km. In a test, university students took longer to answer this than 12 year olds.

&lt;b&gt;Solution #4:&lt;/b&gt;   1 weighing. Take one coin from the first pile, two from the second and 10 from the last pile. You have 55 coins on the scale, which would weigh 550g if all coins were real. If it weighs 1g more, then the 1st pile is counterfeit, 2g more the second etc.

&lt;b&gt;Solution #5:&lt;/b&gt;  17 minutes: 1 and 2 go across - 2 mins. 1 comes back - 3 mins. 5 and 10 go across - 13 mins. 2 comes back - 15 mine. 1 and 2 go across - 17 minutes

&lt;b&gt;Solution #6:&lt;/b&gt;  First, put on both condoms together, and &#039;do&#039; A. Then, take off the top condom, and do B. Finally, turn the removed condom inside-out, put it back on over the first, and do C. This is the only way to do it.

&lt;b&gt;Solution #7:&lt;/b&gt;  0. The 24th term in the expansion is (x-x) = 0. Anything multiplied by zero is zero. Sorry.

&lt;b&gt;Solution #8:&lt;/b&gt;  A has a black hat. As far as I can see, it is not possible to determine the hats of the other two. When C says he doesn&#039;t know, this must mean that it is impossible for both A and B to have white hats. Otherwise, C would know he had a black hat. Thus, when B say he doesn&#039;t know, A must have a black hat. If B saw that A had a white hat, he would know he had a black hat. So, A can determine that he is wearing a black hat.

&lt;b&gt;Solution #9:&lt;/b&gt;  The question is again completely misleading. Only twenty-seven dollars were paid by the three men. 25 went to the hotel and 2 to the receptionist. Trying to add to get back to 30 is simply nonsensical.

&lt;b&gt;Solution #10:&lt;/b&gt;  1:1, as in any normal town. Every birth is natural, and each child still has a 50/50 chance of being a boy or a girl. No babies are being killed or anything. It wouldn&#039;t matter if they stopped after having a child with blue eyes, a child with 7 toes etc. Alternatively, you could sum the infinite series of probabilities. Each family has one boy. There is a 50% chance of no girls, and 25% chance of 1 girl, a 12.5% chance of 2 girl etc.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>My solutions (<a href="http://www.mcboof.com/trivia/brains_ans.html" rel="nofollow">from 13 years ago</a>!) below. I think at least one person got the correct answer for all the questions.</p>
<p><b>Solution #1:</b> The shape made is a regular hexagon.</p>
<p><b>Solution #2:</b>  It is impossible. Consider the colours of the squares of the chessboard. There are 32 white squares, and 30 black squares. Each domino will cover one black and one white square. No matter how you do things, the last domino wil have to cover two white squares, which is impossible.</p>
<p><b>Solution #3:</b>  140 km. It takes 2 hours for the trucks to collide. So the fly is flying for two hours at 70 km/h. He flies 140 km. In a test, university students took longer to answer this than 12 year olds.</p>
<p><b>Solution #4:</b>   1 weighing. Take one coin from the first pile, two from the second and 10 from the last pile. You have 55 coins on the scale, which would weigh 550g if all coins were real. If it weighs 1g more, then the 1st pile is counterfeit, 2g more the second etc.</p>
<p><b>Solution #5:</b>  17 minutes: 1 and 2 go across &#8211; 2 mins. 1 comes back &#8211; 3 mins. 5 and 10 go across &#8211; 13 mins. 2 comes back &#8211; 15 mine. 1 and 2 go across &#8211; 17 minutes</p>
<p><b>Solution #6:</b>  First, put on both condoms together, and &#8216;do&#8217; A. Then, take off the top condom, and do B. Finally, turn the removed condom inside-out, put it back on over the first, and do C. This is the only way to do it.</p>
<p><b>Solution #7:</b>  0. The 24th term in the expansion is (x-x) = 0. Anything multiplied by zero is zero. Sorry.</p>
<p><b>Solution #8:</b>  A has a black hat. As far as I can see, it is not possible to determine the hats of the other two. When C says he doesn&#8217;t know, this must mean that it is impossible for both A and B to have white hats. Otherwise, C would know he had a black hat. Thus, when B say he doesn&#8217;t know, A must have a black hat. If B saw that A had a white hat, he would know he had a black hat. So, A can determine that he is wearing a black hat.</p>
<p><b>Solution #9:</b>  The question is again completely misleading. Only twenty-seven dollars were paid by the three men. 25 went to the hotel and 2 to the receptionist. Trying to add to get back to 30 is simply nonsensical.</p>
<p><b>Solution #10:</b>  1:1, as in any normal town. Every birth is natural, and each child still has a 50/50 chance of being a boy or a girl. No babies are being killed or anything. It wouldn&#8217;t matter if they stopped after having a child with blue eyes, a child with 7 toes etc. Alternatively, you could sum the infinite series of probabilities. Each family has one boy. There is a 50% chance of no girls, and 25% chance of 1 girl, a 12.5% chance of 2 girl etc.</p>
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		<title>By: eapen</title>
		<link>http://jonontech.com/2009/07/08/brain-teasers-for-the-pub/#comment-1826</link>
		<dc:creator>eapen</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:20:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jonontech.com/?p=830#comment-1826</guid>
		<description>Ok, here&#039;s my attempt:
1. Triangle
2. yes,if arranged properly - just a guess
3. i&#039;ll go with stefane&#039;s 140 since i am too lazy to calculate it.
4. 1 try - stefane
5. 17 mins (1,2 go together, 1 goes back, sends 5,10 together, 2 comes back and picks 1 up)
6. 3sum/inside out - but i didn’t think of Mo&#039;s soln.
7. x^26 - x^25(a+b+c+...+z) - x^24(az+bz+cz+..+yz) + x^23(acz+bcz+...+xyz)+... - abc...z 
8. A - black, B - white, C - ?
9. no missing dollar - just $25 and a $2 tip
10. wild guess - 1:2^20

waiting (impatiently) for the answers.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Ok, here&#8217;s my attempt:<br />
1. Triangle<br />
2. yes,if arranged properly &#8211; just a guess<br />
3. i&#8217;ll go with stefane&#8217;s 140 since i am too lazy to calculate it.<br />
4. 1 try &#8211; stefane<br />
5. 17 mins (1,2 go together, 1 goes back, sends 5,10 together, 2 comes back and picks 1 up)<br />
6. 3sum/inside out &#8211; but i didn’t think of Mo&#8217;s soln.<br />
7. x^26 &#8211; x^25(a+b+c+&#8230;+z) &#8211; x^24(az+bz+cz+..+yz) + x^23(acz+bcz+&#8230;+xyz)+&#8230; &#8211; abc&#8230;z<br />
8. A &#8211; black, B &#8211; white, C &#8211; ?<br />
9. no missing dollar &#8211; just $25 and a $2 tip<br />
10. wild guess &#8211; 1:2^20</p>
<p>waiting (impatiently) for the answers.</p>
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		<title>By: Mo</title>
		<link>http://jonontech.com/2009/07/08/brain-teasers-for-the-pub/#comment-1821</link>
		<dc:creator>Mo</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:41:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jonontech.com/?p=830#comment-1821</guid>
		<description>I got #6 while running yesterday! You start with 2 condoms! You do A and carefully remove the outtermost condom.  Reserve.
Now you do B with the innermost condom.
Finally, you put the reserved condom back on, inside out!
And do C. Done.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I got #6 while running yesterday! You start with 2 condoms! You do A and carefully remove the outtermost condom.  Reserve.<br />
Now you do B with the innermost condom.<br />
Finally, you put the reserved condom back on, inside out!<br />
And do C. Done.</p>
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		<title>By: Julian Wraith</title>
		<link>http://jonontech.com/2009/07/08/brain-teasers-for-the-pub/#comment-1798</link>
		<dc:creator>Julian Wraith</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:32:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jonontech.com/?p=830#comment-1798</guid>
		<description>you see, this is why projects go wrong, you are all reinventing the answers :) :) I shall wait for the answers and appreciate the cleverness. 

Oh and I think the answer to 3 is no where. When the train and the fly collide they are not moving. If you assume squashed to me the collision then no where is the answer. Anyway, I shall not try and reinvent anything. 

;)</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>you see, this is why projects go wrong, you are all reinventing the answers <img src='http://jonontech.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' />  <img src='http://jonontech.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' />  I shall wait for the answers and appreciate the cleverness. </p>
<p>Oh and I think the answer to 3 is no where. When the train and the fly collide they are not moving. If you assume squashed to me the collision then no where is the answer. Anyway, I shall not try and reinvent anything. </p>
<p> <img src='http://jonontech.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
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		<title>By: John Goode</title>
		<link>http://jonontech.com/2009/07/08/brain-teasers-for-the-pub/#comment-1792</link>
		<dc:creator>John Goode</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:27:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jonontech.com/?p=830#comment-1792</guid>
		<description>I like no.8

A, B, C are rowed up: b is looking at a&#039;s back, c is looking at a &amp; b&#039;s back, a is looking at the wall 

c can see a and b, b sees a, a sees no one

c must see 1 black hat and 1 white as he&#039;s not able to make a guess. He is therefore be wearing black

b hears nothing from c but can see a is wearing black. He is in fact wearing white

a knows he&#039;s wearing black and states this.


When we finally get to meet, I&#039;m going to NOT buy you a pint!


Here&#039;s one for you:

2 doors — one leads to life, the other, death. Problem: they are not marked *life* or *death*.

Both doors have a guard. You may ask one guard one question to make your selection.

Further problem: one guard tells the truth, the other lies {no doubt the manager!}. There is no discernible difference between the guards. 

What one question could ask either guard to ensure you make the right choice?

Grrrrrrrrr! What a way to start Friday!!!!!!!</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I like no.8</p>
<p>A, B, C are rowed up: b is looking at a&#8217;s back, c is looking at a &amp; b&#8217;s back, a is looking at the wall </p>
<p>c can see a and b, b sees a, a sees no one</p>
<p>c must see 1 black hat and 1 white as he&#8217;s not able to make a guess. He is therefore be wearing black</p>
<p>b hears nothing from c but can see a is wearing black. He is in fact wearing white</p>
<p>a knows he&#8217;s wearing black and states this.</p>
<p>When we finally get to meet, I&#8217;m going to NOT buy you a pint!</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s one for you:</p>
<p>2 doors — one leads to life, the other, death. Problem: they are not marked *life* or *death*.</p>
<p>Both doors have a guard. You may ask one guard one question to make your selection.</p>
<p>Further problem: one guard tells the truth, the other lies {no doubt the manager!}. There is no discernible difference between the guards. </p>
<p>What one question could ask either guard to ensure you make the right choice?</p>
<p>Grrrrrrrrr! What a way to start Friday!!!!!!!</p>
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		<title>By: Mo</title>
		<link>http://jonontech.com/2009/07/08/brain-teasers-for-the-pub/#comment-1789</link>
		<dc:creator>Mo</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:37:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jonontech.com/?p=830#comment-1789</guid>
		<description>8. Black
[The fact that C didn&#039;t know his hat eliminates the possibility that C saw two white hats. So, C saw at least one black hat. If B had seen a white hat, B would have known that he was wearing the black hat seen by C. B didn&#039;t know, therefore B was seeing a black hat on A&#039;s head.]</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>8. Black<br />
[The fact that C didn't know his hat eliminates the possibility that C saw two white hats. So, C saw at least one black hat. If B had seen a white hat, B would have known that he was wearing the black hat seen by C. B didn't know, therefore B was seeing a black hat on A's head.]</p>
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