Jump to Brainteasers
The Break Room
(Issue 10, 2008)

Thanks for the advertising, but...

by Tina Crowe
Publisher
_____________________________________________________________________________________________



My dad is always looking for ways to help out with my mother’s business – a day spa in my small hometown. He’s also always on the lookout for ways to save money. A few years ago, he purchased a new van and decided to put advertising graphics for her spa on the side, call it a business vehicle, and thereby take a tax deduction for the vehicle. With quite a bit of hesitation, she agreed.

My dad purchased the graphics and began tooling around town, running errands for Mom, but mostly doing his own “thing.”

After only two weeks, my mother began fielding phone calls complaining about her “rude company driver.” People reported observing her company van not stopping at stop signs, failing to use turn signals, driving too slowly, and cutting people off.

Fearing irreparable damage to her business’ reputation, and innumerable phone calls, she made him remove the graphics and told him, “no thanks” for the free advertising.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Brainteasers

1. Widget Fidget:
A factory owner took a certain number of widgets to a county fair and sold some of them. He took the unsold widgets back to his factory that night and - while he slept - his fully automated factory doubled the number of widgets on hand. He took these to the fair the next day and sold the same number as on the first day. That night his factory tripled his remaining widgets. Again he went to the fair and the same number was sold. On the third night his remaining widgets were quadrupled, and on the following day he sold the same number yet again. On the fourth night the factory quintupled his remaining stock of widgets. The next day he took those to the fair and sold the exact number as on each of the previous days, and thus depleted his entire stock.

What is the minimum number of widgets he could have taken to the fair on the first day? And on which night was his factory the most productive?
____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Triangle Wrangle:
How many triangles can you count in this figure?

____________________________________________________________________________________

3. Fuse Ruse:
Can you transform the shape below, formed by these six Edison fuses, into two diamonds, by moving only two and adding one fuse?

Click here for Brainteaser answers

__________________________________________________________________

Links to the current issue of Automation Notebook are found below.
Click the Back Issues link to visit the archives.