August 23rd, 2007
Solution related comments go here!
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August 30th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Cutting the cake: I knew of the 8 pieces. I found a way to cut 14 pieces (not identical) in 4 cuts.
Colorblind pills: I imagine the pills aren’t in their boxes… what about their weight?
Cup of coffee: this is a good one, and it is really fun. I even generalized it, by taking away the “mix well” part. What do you think happens in that case?
August 30th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
Seb,
The pills aren’t in their boxes and they weigh exactly the same. Actually all of their “measurable” features are the same.
Of course the riddle remains unchanged when taking away the “mix well” part, but when writing it I thought that taking it away would make it easier – and it is already easy enough!
.
September 15th, 2007 at 4:34 am
I actually think taking away the “mix well” part makes the riddle harder and not easier, but nevermind, since it’s very easy in any case!
(I actually think it’s a fun riddle anyway, since the answer contradicts my initial intuition)
August 15th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
For the pills: you melt or dissolve the four pills in water, mix thoroughly, and drink one half of the mixture on the first day, and the second half on the second day.
August 15th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Seb, your solution is of course correct.
Mine is essentially the same, but a little more usable in practice – you cut all four pills in half and eat one half of each pill on the first day, and the second half on the second day.
August 15th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Yes, your solution is more practical. It reminds me of the person who has to split 7 equal pieces of metal into 12 identical subsets, with the least amount of cutting.
August 28th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Ah, found page 2 ^^
Thoughts on cutting the cake: use the two first cuts to cut a cross, making 4 identical pieces. Now use the third cut to cut through the center of the cake horizontally, making 8 pieces, stacked two and two. Don’t see any other way of doing it…
September 23rd, 2008 at 12:46 pm
i cant figure out what questions you could ask to get a right answer