Community Magazine September 2009

120 CoMMUniTy MagazinE tHe lost Balloonist A man is flying in a hot air balloon and realizes he is lost. He spots a man down below and shouts, “Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?” The man below says, “Yes, you’re in the basket of a hot air balloon hovering 50 feet above this field.” “You must be an engineer,” says the balloonist. “I am,” the man replies. “How did you know?” “Well,” says the balloonist, “everything you have told me is technically correct, but it’s of no use to me.” The man below says, “You must be in management.” “I am,” replies the bal- loonist, “but how did you know?” “Well,” says the man, “you don’t know where you are, or where you’re going, but you expect me to be able to help. You’re in the same position you were before we met, but somehow now it’s my fault.” Tutu Mulu oBJect of tHe GaMe A man took his girlfriend to her first football game on the opening day of regular season play. It was a crisp September day and they had great seats, right behind the home team’s bench. The game was filled with great plays and capped off with a come-from-behind win by the home team. After the game, the man asked his friend how she liked the experience. “It was okay,” she replied. “Just okay?!” he demanded. “Well, I just couldn’t understand why they were killing each other for such a small amount of money.” “What are you talking about?” the man asked. The girl explained, “They flipped a coin, one team got it and then for the rest of the game, all they kept screaming was: ‘Get the quarterback! Get the quarterback!’ and I’m like Helloooooo? It’s only 25 cents!” Soly Z Bawabeh Riddle: Broken Typewriter SUBMITTED BY: Nathan Harary Alfred needs to pay his gardener, Phillipe, for a year of lawn service. The charge for each month is $900 (he’s got a big lawn). The problem is that Alfred insists on typing out the check and his typewriter is missing the letter “a” both capital and lowercase. How can Alfred pay his bill in full by check without misspelling the amount? Last month’s Riddle: Replica Rocks Paulette brought a genuine diamond to a jeweler for appraisal. But the jeweler accidentally mixed the diamond among 26 identical looking replicas. The replicas look exactly the same as the real diamond except that they weigh exactly one gram more. Using a two sided balance scale, what is the minimum number of times the jeweler can weigh different combinations of stones to guarantee correct identification of the real diamond? Solution: Only 3 weighing combinations are necessary. Divide the 27 stones to three groups with nine stones in each. Compare two groups – the lighter one contains the real diamond. If the two sides of the scale are equal, then the diamond is in the third group. Thus we know among which nine stones is the real diamond. Divide these nine stones into three groups of three. Compare two groups and, as mentioned above, identify the group of three which have a stone of different weight. In the third and final weighing, compare two stones (of the three possibly lighter ones) and the real diamond is identified. Solved by: Brian Deane, Orli Dayan, Ezra Sitt, Neta Socher Junior Riddle: Strange Coins SUBMITTED BY: David Cohen Joe has two US coins totaling 55 cents. One is not a nickel. What are the two coins? Last Month’s Junior Riddle: Math Test Teaser Seniors at a local high school, received the following results on their math Regents: One-third of the grade got a 70, one-quarter an 80, one-sixth a 90, and one-eighth a 100. The remainder of the students failed. What is the minimum number of students in the grade? Solution: 24. Since fractional students are not possible, the minimum number of students is the smallest factor of 3, 4, 6 and 8. Solved by: Michael Stein, Ezra Sitt, Tikva Samouha, Barry Katz, Victor Grazi, Joseph A. Chehebar, Paulette Cohen, Rozzie Tawil Trivia: Give Yourself Some Credit The average credit card debt per household at the end of 2008. (Nilson Report, April 2009) Years to pay off that debt plus $12,983 in accumulated interest by making only minimum payments each month. (BankRate and Index Credit Cards) ! SEND YOUR SOLUTIONS! email: riddles@community m .com • fax: 718-504-4246 mail: 1616 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11223 Correct solutions received by the 20 th of each month will be featured in the next issue along with your name. $10,679: 28.75: top 10 siGns tHe us econoMy is Bad 10: CEO’s are now playing miniature golf. 9: Walmart is now only the second largest chain store in the country... behind Pawnmart. 8: Even people who have nothing to do with the Obama administration aren’t paying their taxes. 7: Hot Wheels andMatchbox stocks are trading higher than GM and Chrysler. 6: Obama plans to discuss the Stimulus Package with small businesses like GE, Pfizer and Citigroup. 5: A truckload of Americans just got caught trying to sneak into Mexico. 4: The most highly-paid job in Texas is now jury duty. 3: People in Africa are donating money to Americans. 2: Motel Six won’t leave the light on. 1: Congress says they are looking into the Bernard Madoff scandal. Great idea... the guy who made $50 billion disappear is being investigated by the people who made $3 trillion disappear. Elliot Sutton ELUL 5769 SEPTEMBER 2009 120