You are a prisoner sentenced to death. The Emperor offers you a chance to live by playing a simple game. He gives you 50 black marbles, 50 white marbles and 2 empty bowls. He then says, "Divide these 100 marbles into these 2 bowls. You can divide them any way you like as long as you use all the marbles. Then I will blindfold you and mix the bowls around. You then can choose one bowl and remove ONE marble. If the marble is WHITE you will live, but if the marble is BLACK... you will die." How do you divide the marbles up so that you have the greatest probability of choosing a WHITE marble?
HINT: The answer does not guarantee 100% you will chose a white marble, but you have a much better chance.
Place 1 white marble in the bowl, and place the rest of the marbles in the other bowl (49 whites, and 50 blacks). This way you begin a 50/50 chance of choosing the bowl with just one white marble, therefore life! BUT even if you choose the other bowl, you still have almost a 50/50 chance at picking one of the 49 white marbles.
Elmer Johnson went to the hardware store to make a purchase for his house.
He asked the store clerk, "How much will one cost?"
The clerk thought for a moment and said, "Three dollars."
Elmer Johnson, who looked a little puzzled said, "Well then, how much will twelve cost?"
"Six dollars," replied the clerk.
Elmer Johnson scratched his head and said, "If I were to purchase two hundred, how much would that cost?"
"That," said the clerk, "will cost you nine dollars." What was Elmer Johnson buying?
You are killed in a plane crash and find yourself in front of 2 doors: one leads to heaven and one will lead you to hell for eternity. There is an identical troll at each door. You find instructions posted on the wall behind you. You can ask only one question and you can only direct it to only one of the trolls. One troll will always lie to you - regardless of your question - and the other will always tell you the truth. And only the trolls themselves know which one will lie and which one will be truthful. That is all that you are told.... What is the one and only question that will ensure you passage to heaven, and why?
Ask any of the tolls this question. "If I were to ask the other troll which is the door to Heaven, which door would he point to?" Now when the troll answers by pointing to one of the doors you simply take the other door.
Count the number of times the letter "F" appears in the following paragraph:
FAY FRIED FIFTY POUNDS OF
SALTED FISH AND THREE POUNDS
OF DRY FENNEL FOR DINNER FOR
FORTY MEMBERS OF HER FATHER'S FAMILY.
It appears 14 times. Make sure to count the "F"s in the word "OF", which people commonly miss.
