Teaser Tuesday! February 11, 2014

I hope your brains are nice and warmed up! Enjoy the brain teasers!

Note: If you could all please input your answers using the previously noted html code it will allow others to answer without having a spoiler. Also, in your answer, do not include any ' or " or it will not work properly.

Question 1

What is the smallest number that when written out in English, uses all of the vowels (sans "Y" if you're one of those people who considers "Y" a vowel) exactly once?

Question 2

You have been given the task of transporting 3,000 apples, 1,000 miles, from Appleland to Bananaville. Your truck can carry 1,000 apples at a time. Every time you travel a mile towards Bananaville you must pay a tax of 1 apple but you pay nothing when going in the other direction (towards Appleland). What is the maximum number of apples you can transport to Bananaville?

Enjoy!

32 Comments
 

As I recall, "and" is technically indicative of a decimal place.

RE #1 though: are you asking for the smallest whole number? If so, my prelim number is five thousand (probably wrong, just lazy). Also, absolute value?

People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for freedom of thought which they seldom use.
 

No 'i' and no 'a' in the actual number.

Thousand will give you A, O, and U. One thousand gets you an E. One Thousand Five gets you A, O, U, E, I.

1005.

I figured out number 2 but that is NOT easy.

Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."
 

Eh, I was stuck on that one. Does it have to do with transporting the apples x number of miles and dropping them off to come back with more? haha; the 'solution' in my head seems so complicated that it can't be the real answer.

People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for freedom of thought which they seldom use.
 

Your answer seems right, as I just came two that conclusion too, but I reread the question at hand and you can only use the vowel exactly one time.

make it hard to spot the general by working like a soldier
 
2 is 3,000. Because going towards Bananaville you pay the tax of 1 apple, but going in the direction of Appleland you don't. So you head that direction and go all the way around the world instead of the direct 1000 miles. Kind of like going East to get to China from LA instead of going West.

I didn't put this in a spoiler because this isn't the correct answer.

make it hard to spot the general by working like a soldier
 

I think your answer is correct. You want to take the least amount of trips as possible per mile, so you would consolidate loads as soon as possible (i.e. from 3 to 2 to 1). I'm sure theres a nice equation that shows this but way too lazy to try to come up with it...

 

Yeah I just used excel and did the drag method until I got the results I wanted. I too am too lazy to figure out something like that.

make it hard to spot the general by working like a soldier
 

Another riddle:

How many people were able to carefully read the teaser questions, yet inexplicably failed to read the note (emphasized in italics) indicating the proper html code for hiding answers?

 

I got 833 too.

Here is the quick (and bad) python script I wrote:

startingApples = 3000

def apples(x): if x % 1000 == 0: return x - x/1000 else: return x/1000*1000 + x%1000 - 1 - x/1000

currentApples = startingApples

miles = 0

while miles 1000: currentApples = apples(currentApples) miles = miles + 1

Basically you are just taking 1,000 or whatever is left 1 mile at a time.

This to all my hatin' folks seeing me getting guac right now..
 

That's what I had and explained in plain english below

Travel 333 miles for 3 trips with 1000 apples. Pay your 999 apples. 2001 Apples

Travel 500 miles for 2 trips of 1000 apples. (one left behind from 2001) Pay your 1000 apples. 1000 Apples

Travel 167 miles for 1 trip of 1000 apples. Pay your 167 apples. 833 Apples.

Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."
 
yeahright

That's what I had and explained in plain english below

Travel 333 miles for 3 trips with 1000 apples. Pay your 999 apples. 2001 Apples

Travel 500 miles for 2 trips of 1000 apples. (one left behind from 2001) Pay your 1000 apples. 1000 Apples

Travel 167 miles for 1 trip of 1000 apples. Pay your 167 apples. 833 Apples.

I don't understand with the first trip. You carry 1000 apples for 333 miles. You got 667, then you come back and carry another 1000? where do you save the other 667?
Money never sleeps.
 
Cruncharoo

I got 833 too.

Here is the quick (and bad) python script I wrote:

startingApples = 3000

def apples(x):
if x % 1000 == 0:
return x - x/1000
else:
return x/1000*1000 + x%1000 - 1 - x/1000

currentApples = startingApples

miles = 0

while miles 1000:
currentApples = apples(currentApples)
miles = miles + 1

Basically you are just taking 1,000 or whatever is left 1 mile at a time.

Wow. I just put it in Excel. Too lazy to think ;-) Congrats @yearight for pointing out we all should really be able to do it without any tools.
 

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