This Month’s Contest: WORDS IN COMMON
What do the following words have in common?
Boycott
Cardigan
Chauvinism
Decibel
Dunce
Fuchsia
Leotard
Saxophone
Silhouette
Please e-mail your solution to John Kador at [email protected] using the subject line “Words in Common.” Deadline is May 4, 2013. One entrant with the correct answer (or a creative alternative) will receive a signed copy of John Kador’s How to Ace the Brainteaser Job Interview. Good luck to all.
Brainteaser #2: EVERYDAY EQUATIONS
Each problem is an equation from everyday life that can be solved by substituting the appropriate words for the letters.
Examples: 3F = 1Y (3 Feet = 1 Yard), 4L.C. = G.L. (4 Leaf Clover = Good Luck)
1. M + M + NH + V + C + RI = NE _________________________________
2. 1 B in the H = 2 in the B ________________________________________
3. 8D – 24H = 1W _______________________________________________
4. 3P = 6 ______________________________________________________
5. H.H & M.H at 12 = N or M _____________________________________
6. 4J + 4Q + 4K = All the F.C. ______________________________________
7. A + N + A.F. +M.C. + C.G. = A.F. _________________________________
8. 23Y – 3Y = 2D ________________________________________________
9. N.N = G.N. __________________________________________________
10. 1 + 6Z = 1M ________________________________________________
Solution to Everyday Equations : 1. Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island equals New England. 2. “A bird in the hand equals two in the bush.” 3. Eight days minus 24 hours equals one week. 4. Three pairs equal six. 5. Hour hand and minute hand at 12 equals noon or midnight. 6. Four jacks plus four queens plus four kings equals all the face cards. 7. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard equals the Armed Forces. 8. Twenty three years minus three years equals two decades. 9. “No news equals good news.” 10. One plus six zeros equals $1 million.
Solution to previous puzzler: BUSINESS MILEAGE
To recap: Bob is an advisor on his way to a local client. The starting and ending odometer readings on his 15-year-old car are both palindromes. How many miles did Bob drive in less than an hour to meet his client?
Solution: 11 miles. There are many solutions that yield this solution, but not all solutions fit the problem statement. If you started at x999x miles and add 11, you always get a new palindrome in the next 1000 block. From the clue that the car is 15 years old, the odometer almost certainly is a six-digit number. The trick, since Bob has been driving less than an hour, is to find two six-digit numbers that yield a reasonable difference, no more than 60 miles. The most reasonable solution is a starting odometer of 199,991 miles and an ending odometer reading of 200,002.
REP. received over 100 solutions with about a third solving the problem correctly. Some ingenious solutions assumed odometers showing tenths of miles and others suggested that Bob mixed driving with public transportation. All in all, readers had fun with this one. The winner, randomly selected from all correct submissions, is Kenneth L. Riche Jr., senior vice president of The Red Stick Group, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, Baton Rouge, La. Congratulations to Kenneth and good luck on this issue’s puzzle.
John Kador is the author of 15 books. His latest book (with Brian Cohen) is What Every Angel Investor Wants You to Know: An Insider Reveals How to Get Smart Funding for Your Billion Dollar Idea, excerpted on page 30 (McGraw-Hill). www.jkador.com.