Logic Bunks

Ethan, Scott, Fernando, Damon, Mark and Hiroshi are sharing a cabin at summer camp.  There are six bunks in each cabin, three upper and three lower.  The bunks are numbered 1, 2, and 3 from left to right.  Which boy ended up in each bunk?

1. The tallest boy has the lower bunk below the shortest boy.
2. Ethan is the youngest boy.  He picked a top bunk on the left.
3. Scott has the bunk below Hiroshi.
4. Fernando is the shortest boy.
5. Damon has a bunk below the youngest boy.
6. Scott and Damon are not tall.
7. Hiroshi has a middle bunk to the right of the youngest boy.

Four Pizzas Watched a Football Game

Four guys are watching a football game.  At the beginning of the game, they defrost and cook four pizzas.  They sliced up the pizzas so that the pepperoni pizza had three slices.  The cheese pizza had five slices.  The sausage pizza had four slices and the vegetarian pizza had four slices.

So, which guy ate which kinds of pizza, and how many slices did they have of each?

1. All four guys had four slices.
2. No one ate more than three slices of any one kind.
3. 1 of the pizza slices, a pepperoni one, was chosen by Hank.  Another 1 that he had was vegetarian.
4. 3 of Peter's choices were just one kind.  1 was vegetarian.
5. Two of the guys ate one of each kind.
6. Jason does not like cheese pizza.

Three Bars for Four Boys

Four boys have three candy bars; a Snickers, a Hershey's chocolate bar and a Mars bar.  They agreed to cut one bar into three pieces, one into four pieces and one into five pieces.  They each took turns to pick one piece of a bar of their choice until everyone had three pieces.  Figure out who got which pieces and each of their last names.

1. Smith did not select a Mars piece.
2. Jeremy took two of the four Mars pieces, but no Hershey's.
3. Jones was the only one who did not get a piece of Snickers.
4. Derek and Smith each had one more Hershey's than Tyler.
5. Jason took no Mars pieces.
6. Greene took no Hershey's.
7. Ozzie took one Mars piece.


To be clear: first names are Derek, Jason, Jeremy, and Ozzie.  The last names are Greene, Jones, Smith and Tyler.

Boxes of Paper Clips

A total of 303 whole paper clips are in 12 boxes.  The box with the fewest has four.   Another box has 39.  Based on the following, how many paper clips are in each box?

Box C contains half as many as Box J.
Box F contains 1/10 as many as Box D.
Box L contains 1/5 as many as Box E.
Box H contains five times more than Box F.
Box L contains two fewer than Box C.
Box I contains three times as many as Box C.
Box A contains half as many as Box K.
Box K contains one fewer than Box I.
Box B contains four times as many as Box F.
Box G contains twice that of Box L.

Joan Did Not Set Up Eric

It was midnight when Joan and Eric arrived home. They had just got out of the car when a man stepped out of the shadows and shot Eric at close range. Eric slumped to the ground. The man fired again, as if to ensure that his victim was dead. He then walked away slowly.

Joan collapsed in shock and was taken to the next house by the man who lived there. She was still there when she was questioned by the police the next morning.

The investigation into the affair produced evidence of Eric's involvement years ago in organized crime. Joan, it turns out, was the sole beneficiary of a substantial insurance policy on Eric's life.

Her relationship with the neighbor was unusually close. Not surprisingly, she was considered a prime suspect in the case. Although Joan gave a very detailed description of the shooter, it turned out to be completely false.

Joan had tried to mislead the police, but she was not involved in the homicide. Joan had been very devoted to her husband. Why then did she mislead the police?

Lose Your Temper

No question today, just a quote from Lewis Carol on Sums


`And you do Addition?' the White Queen asked. `What's one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one?'

`I don't know,' said Alice. `I lost count.'

`She can't do Addition,' the Red Queen interrupted. `Can you do Subtraction? Take nine from eight.'

`Nine from eight I can't, you know,' Alice replied very readily: `but -- '

`She can't do Subtraction,' said the White Queen. `Can you do Division? Divide a loaf by a knife -- what's the answer to that?'

`I suppose -- ' Alice was beginning, but the Red Queen answered for her. `Bread-and-butter, of course. Try another Subtraction sum. Take a bone from a dog: what remains?'

Alice considered. `The bone wouldn't remain, of course, if I took it -- and the dog wouldn't remain; it would come to bite me -- and I'm sure I shouldn't remain!'

`Then you think nothing would remain?' said the Red Queen.

`I think that's the answer.'

`Wrong, as usual,' said the Red Queen: `the dog's temper would remain.'

`But I don't see how -- '

`Why, look here!' the Red Queen cried. `The dog would lose its temper, wouldn't it?'

`Perhaps it would,' Alice replied cautiously.

`Then if the dog went away, its temper would remain!' the Queen exclaimed triumphantly.

Alice said, as gravely as she could, `They might go different ways.' But she couldn't help thinking to herself, `What dreadful nonsense we are talking!'

`She can't do sums a bit!' the Queens said together, with great emphasis.

My Friend the Test Pilot

I met my friend the test pilot, who had just received a lot of publicity for a record round-the-world flight by hot-air balloon. With my friend was a little girl of about two. "“What’s her name?"” I asked my friend, whom I hadn’t seen in 5 or 6 years and had gotten married four years ago. "“Same as her mother,"” was the reply. "“Hello, Susan",” I said to the little girl. How did I know if I had never seen the wedding announcement?