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THE LITTLE BRIDESMAIDS
When Jean and Ailie were
bridesmaids at the wedding of their only aunt, Jean was but a fifth of the
present age of Ailie, but has now reached twice the age that Ailie was
then. If the sum of Jean's and Ailie's ages at the time of the wedding was
fifteen years, how long has the aunt been married?
THE ROPE TRICK
A rope is hung over a
pulley and an Englishman and a Scot, of equal weights, are given the two
free ends. They are told that the first to reach the pulley and touch it
will receive a prize. The Englishman is the better rope-climber and tries,
while the Scot is dour and does not try, but he wins. Why?
THE MASSACRE OF MACPHERSON
Macpherson spent the first
third of his life in Scotland, and then went to Canada to live there for
six years. War broke out, and for the next four years Mac was a soldier.
He then married, and spent a ninth of his life with his wife as his chief
companion, when a son was born to share his affection. The boy, much to
his parents' regret, died when he had only attained a third of the age
that his father reached five years later when he passed away. How old was
Macpherson when he died?
THE GENEROUS FATHER
A man decided to give each
of his children, nephews and nieces, assembled to celebrate his silver
wedding, a present of twenty-five shillings. Unfortunately the calls on
his purse that day had left him in the position of being ten shillings
short of the requirements. He was, therefore, reluctantly compelled to
change his mind, and make his present a pound. By doing so he found
himself with twenty-five shillings left. What had he at first and how many
recipients were there?
THE NOBLEST PROSPECT
Four brothers decided to
leave Glasgow to start work in London and all adopted different means of
travel. Ronald paid 120s. to proceed by aeroplane in 52 hours; Hamish took
the train and did the journey in 8 hours at a fare of 50s. 3d.; Ian went
by coach, being charged 30s. for an adventure taking 15½ hours; and Gordon
chose the steamer, which meant a train journey from Glasgow of an hour's
duration costing 5s. 10d. and a fine sea trip from Edinburgh of 36 hours
costing 32s. 6d. What would you suggest as being the relative values of
the brothers as Scotsmen, and, putting that consideration aside, what
relative values do you consider they put on their time, if, and it is a
very questionable if, the comfort and other considerations were the same?
NORTH AND SOUTH
An express train left
London for Glasgow, a distance of 401½ miles, at the same time as a
parliamentary train left Glasgow to do the opposite journey. The express
travelled at an average speed of sixty miles per hour and the other train
at half that rate. Which was the nearer to London when they met?
CAPITAL
A merchant finds that his
capital grows each year by one-third of what is left after he has taken
£1000 out of the business each year for his personal expenses. If, at the
end of three years' trading, he discovers that his capital has doubled,
what sum had he to commence operations?
THE HOSPITAL
A hospital showed an
increase of 3 per cent in the total number of patients treated during the
year. The change was not uniform in the different sections, for the number
of in-patients fell by 12 per cent while the out-patients increased by 5
per cent, due to the change in road risks. What was the ratio of the two
types of patients?
RAILS
In railway lines the
lengths of metal are not closely butted together, but gaps are left
between them. The reason is that allowance must be made for the expansion
due to rise of temperature. On the other hand, tramway rails are laid
without any such provision and, indeed, are often welded together. Why?
CAMPBELL, PERKINS AND MURPHY
If it takes Campbell 50 per
cent longer to do a job of work than Perkins and Murphy could do it in
working together, and if it takes Perkins twice as long on the same job as
Campbell and Murphy working together, how many times the period taken by
Campbell and Perkins in partnership, would it take Murphy to accomplish
the job on his own?
N.B. - This is not meant to
be funny. It is quite a nice problem.
RATS!
If anyone told you that he
was pursued by rats so big that every dimension was one hundred times the
normal, and even though you could see them yourself, you would know they
were not real, because no such creatures could ever exist in Nature. Why
should they be so regarded?
N.B. - This is a serious
question.
THE THREE BALLS
If you were told, and it
seems to be a fact, that a bullet leaving a rifle does not attain its
maximum velocity until it has got a certain number of feet upon its
journey, and yet a golf-ball leaves the club and a football leaves the
foot on a free kick with the highest speed they ever have in their flight,
how would you account for the difference? |
