The men in the illustration are disputing over the liquid contents of a
barrel. What the particular liquid is it is impossible to say, for we
are unable to look into the barrel; so we will call it water. One man
says that the barrel is more than half full, while the other insists
that it is not half full. What is their easiest way of settling the
point? It is not necessary to use stick, string, or implement of any
kind for measuring. I give this merely as one of the simplest possible
examples of the value of ordinary sagacity in the solving of puzzles.
What are apparently very difficult problems may frequently be solved in
a similarly easy manner if we only use a little common sense.
[Illustration]
365.--NEW MEASURING PUZZLE.
Here is a new poser in measuring liquids that will be found interesting.
A man has two ten-quart vessels full of wine, and a five-quart and a
four-quart measure. He wants to put exactly three quarts into each of
the two measures. How is he to do it? And how many manipulations
(pourings from one vessel to another) do you require? Of course, waste
of wine, tilting, and other tricks are not allowed.
366.--THE HONEST DAIRYMAN.
An honest dairyman in preparing his milk for public consumption employed
a can marked B, containing milk, and a can marked A, containing water.
From can A he poured enough to double the contents of can B. Then he
poured from can B into can A enough to double its contents. Then he
finally poured from can A into can B until their contents were exactly
equal. After these operations he would send the can A to London, and the
puzzle is to discover what are the relative proportions of milk and
water that he provides for the Londoners' breakfast-tables. Do they get
equal proportions of milk and water--or two parts of milk and one of
water--or what? It is an interesting question, though, curiously enough,
we are not told how much milk or water he puts into the cans at the
start of his operations.
367.--WINE AND WATER.
Mr. Goodfellow has adopted a capital idea of late. When he gives a
little dinner party and the time arrives to smoke, after the departure
of the ladies, he sometimes finds that the conversation is apt to become
too political, too personal, too slow, or too scandalous. Then he always
manages to introduce to the company some new poser that he has secreted
up his sleeve for the occasion. This invariably results in no end of
interesting discussion and debate, and puts everybody in a good humour.
Here is a little puzzle that he propounded the other night, and it is
extraordinary how the company differed in their answers. He filled a
wine-glass half full of wine, and another glass twice the size one-third
full of wine. Then he filled up each glass with water and emptied the
contents of both into a tumbler. "Now," he said, "what part of the
mixture is wine and what part water?" Can you give the correct answer?
368.--THE KEG OF WINE.
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