DAY 446

THE WOOD CHOPPING PROBLEM

Two men chopped wood all day long at exactly the same rate. The first man worked straight through without stopping to rest. At the end of the day he had a sizeable pile of logs. The second man would chop for fifty minutes and then take a ten-minute break. At the end of the day he had a much larger pile. He did not work any faster after his breaks, nor did the first man work any slower as the day wore on. How was the second man able to chop more wood?

HINT:
He did something else during his breaks other than resting.

Answer:

During each ten-minute break he sharpened his ax.

DAY 445

Credit: Nashville Banner
Red O-Donnell
In Reader's Digest
May, 1985

     The minister was pleading for funds for the church. "The Lord has done so much for you," he reminded the congregation. "You should reciprocate. Each of you here today should give a tenth of your income."  
     One member was overcome by the sermon. "A tenth isn't enough," he shouted. "Each of us should give a twentieth!" 

DAY 444

IT ALL ADDS UP
Credit: GAMES Magazine
March, 2013
Henry Dudeney

An old challenge is to get the numbers 1 through 9, in order, to form an expression that equals 100, using only basic arithmetic operations (+, -, x, div.) and parentheses. For example,

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + (8 x 9) = 100

Can you find another solution that uses just three steps and no parentheses?

HINT:
#1: Only addition and subtraction are used.

Answer:

123 - 45 -67 + 89 = 100

DAY 443

Starting at ONE, how high would you have to count to reach a number containing the letter A?

Answer:

One thousand