A windmill. The typical windmill, like the ones Don Quixote chased, have four vanes or sails. You might even say they look like wings. Windmills don’t have emotions, so they can’t laugh or cry. And since they don’t have actual wings, windmills don’t get off the ground. A well-oiled little bugger won’t make a peep.
I hesitated to add this because it’s poorly worded, ambiguous and the answer could be almost anything. I prefer teasers with a single answer, but there you go.
If you came up with a different answer and can explain how you did it, don’t think you’re wrong. It’s probably just as valid. Feel free to share yours in the comments.
My answer for the first number is 2.
Here’s how I got it.
The generic rule for a number in the sequence is: 2^(n – 1) + 1, where n is the position in the sequence.
Note: The teaser doesn’t specify the position of 17. In this case, it’s fifth.
Position 1: (so n = 1) is 2^(1 – 1) + 1 = 2
Position 2: 2^(2 – 1) + 1 = 3
Position 3: 2^(3 – 1) + 1 = 5
Position 4: 2^(4 – 1) + 1 = 9
Position 5: 2^(5 – 1) + 1 = 17
For the curious, the next 5 numbers of the sequence would be:
Maya’s mother asked her to buy some stamps. The available stamps were 3 cents, 9 cents, 11 cents, 17 cents and 21 cents. Her mother asked her to buy eight each of three stamps and nine of each of the remaining two stamps. Unfortunately, Maya forgot which stamps she was supposed to buy eight and nine of. Luckily, her mother had given her $5, the exact amount required to buy the stamps. Which stamps did she buy?
