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    Professor toythatkills and the Stumped Forum

    Greetings.

    I've found a treasure from my childhood, a book of puzzles. It's compiled by Gyles Brandreth so the title of this thread should probably be "Professor Brandreth" but shut up, I'm running this thread!

    The book nears the age of 25, and is so old it actually contains some computer programs which it recommends you write into a Spectrum.

    But, the puzzles! Until I get bored, I'm going to keep putting a new puzzle in this thread every time someone solves one. You get one point for every star that the puzzle is rated by the book in difficulty.

    NO CHEATING. SHOW YOUR WORKING. Answers in spoiler tags, please. If you correctly guess the answer first but have not used spoiler tags, you will score minus one point for that question.

    You may only answer one question correctly, and score points, in a row. For every one you get correct, you must skip the next one; or just solve for fun!

    Originally posted by TWO STARS: The Statue of Pallas
    The following inscription was on a statue of Pallas Athene: "I, Pallas am made of beaten gold, the gift of the poets. Half was given by Kariseus, an eighth by Thespis; Solon gave a tenth, and Themison a twentieth. The remaining nine talents were the gift of Aristodicus."

    How many talents of gold were there in the statue?
    LEADERBOARD:

    7 - abigsmurf
    7 - Mayhem
    3 - peeveen
    3 - demon9k
    3 - Nijo
    2 - xist
    2 - prinnysquad
    1 - Malc
    Last edited by toythatkills; 23-06-2009, 19:52.

    #2
    I'm cack at puzzles but it's worth a guess...


    1/2 1/8 1/10 1/20
    =
    40/80 10/80 8/80 4/80 = 68/80

    Therefore 9 talents = 18/80, and 1 talent = 2/80

    Therefore 40 Talents in the Statue.

    (I'm wrong aren't i....)

    Comment


      #3
      Well done Luke, my boy!

      Next puzzle soon...

      Comment


        #4
        Yay me...and not a flat-cap, Piccarat (or hint coin) in sight!

        Comment


          #5
          A new rule appears!

          You're only allowed to win one question in a row. So you can answer the next one only for fun, xist, otherwise no one else'll get a chance, since you're the only one watching this thread right now!

          Super effective!

          Originally posted by TWO STARS: One question
          A hiker comes to a fork in the road and doesn't know which way to go to reach his destination. There are two men at the fork, one of whom always tells the truth while the other always lies. The hiker doesn't know which is which, though. He may ask one of the men only one question to find his way. Which man does he ask, and what is the question?
          Maybe the question should be "how do I know that one of you lies and one tells the truth?" or "why do I only have one question?"

          But no!

          Comment


            #6
            Hmmm, Now i wonder why i get the sudden urge to watch Labyrinth.....

            Comment


              #7
              Pfft that's an old one


              "if I was to ask the other guard which road to take, what would he say?" Then you take the opposite door



              Also : slightly spoilerish but funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fasaXIR66tE


              I've lots of great riddles, can I do one?

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by abigsmurf View Post
                Pfft that's an old one


                "if I was to ask the other guard which road to take, what would he say?" Then you take the opposite door
                Well done Luke! That's not the answer in the book, but it works. I had to draw a diagram to make sure it worked. And that one's old? The first one was from Ancient Greece

                Originally posted by abigsmurf View Post
                I've lots of great riddles, can I do one?
                Certainly! Don't forget to award a rating between 1-5 stars for difficulty.

                xist, you're back in the game!

                Comment


                  #9
                  A painful puzzle - 2 stars

                  I was stung by 2 bee's which caused me to become ill. I can express this in the following way

                  I + BB = ILL

                  To my astonishment I found each letter could be replaced by a number. Which number does each letter represent?
                  Not sure if it's easy or hard, I got it when I was 8 (only person in my class to though)

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Total guess, and if there is any obvious trickery involved I apologise in advance:



                    I = 1
                    B = 9
                    L = 0

                    So 1 + 99 = 100



                    It's too straightforward to be right, I'm sure!

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Correct.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Thank christ for that. My carefully placed minefield of disclaimers didn't have to be set off, I didn't get my ass kicked by an eight year old.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          I got that too, after messing around with Roman numerals for ages

                          Originally posted by THREE STARS: Mistaking the hands
                          "Between two and three o'clock yesterday," said Colonel Crackham, "I looked at the clock and mistook the minute hand for the hour hand, and consequently the time appeared to be fifty-five minutes earlier than it actually was." What was the correct time?

                          Comment


                            #14
                            This one is ancient, I first heard it on a course years ago. Only a few people got it, but it's not inherently difficult.

                            Two pointer

                            Here is a sequence:

                            OTTFFSS

                            What are the next three letters in the sequence?
                            Last edited by prinnysquad; 16-06-2009, 20:57. Reason: put it in spolier tags for some reason, like a nobhead

                            Comment


                              #15
                              I might dock you a point for this insubordination

                              Comment

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