It cannot be seen, it cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, Lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills. Comes first follows after, Ends life kills laughter.
The missing numbers are 4 and 9. The list is sorted alphabetically by the English spelling of the numbers, so four belongs after five and nine comes after fourteen.
With pointed fangs it sits in wait, With piercing force it doles out fate, Over bloodless victims proclaiming its might, Eternally joining in a single bite
A similar problem can be found in L.A. Graham’s Ingenious Mathematical Problems and Methods with a range of 1 to 9, but the principle remains the same – the numbers with the smallest difference produce the largest product. You start out with the highest two digits, 7 and 6, then attach 5 and 4, putting the smaller of the two digits with the larger number, giving you 74 and 65. The next two highest digits are 3 and 2, giving you 742 and 653. Finally, you add the 1 to the lower number. Page 80 has the details of that solution.
Supposedly this is given as a test in Japan. I have no idea if that’s accurate.
There are 8 people who have to cross the river on a raft.
1. Policeman 2. Thief 3. Father 4. Boy 1 5. Boy 2 6. Mother 7. Girl 1 8. Girl 2
The rules are:
Only two people can cross at a time. Only the adults can operate the raft. The father can’t be with the girls unless the mother is there. The mother can’t be with the boys unless the father is there. The thief can’t remain with anyone unless the policeman is present.
How do you get them all across?
Instead of working it out by hand, here’s a flash version.
Click on the circle to start. Click on a person to put them on the raft and click on the lever to make the raft cross.
The riddle refers to a variety of meanings of the word fine.
Feeling normal refers to when you feel fine. Extremely thin refers to a fine thread. A punishment refers to being charged a fee. The one who wins refers to an athlete who is physically trained and hardened close to the limit of efficiency. Free from impurity refers to measuring the fineness of precious metals. A keen edge refers to a knife with a fine edge. Refined refers to fine manners or elegance.