10 candles

[ailevation]

10 candles stand burning in a dining room. A strong breeze blows in through an open window and extinguishes 2 of them. Checking back in on the candles later, you see that one more candle has gone out. To make sure no more flames go out, you shut the window. Assuming the wind doesn't extinguish any more candles, how many candles do you have left in the end?

 

[Higlac]

10 candles

 

[Pesmerga]

Ten.


THOUUUUUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

 

[ailevation]

HAHA! both of you are WRONG!

think critically my friends.

 

[Pesmerga]

Nine?

This is assuming candles have legs and can, indeed, "go out".

 

[Zephos]

None.

 

[Pesmerga]

Depends on when "the end" is.

If you define the end in a biblical sense, then, well, the candles might still be there assuming the molecules don't decay into entropy.

If you mean by the end of the universe, well, surely the atoms of all the candles will have decayed, ending their existence as candles. Or perhaps some bugger ran off with them.

 

[delusional]

Why would you have to assume that the wind won't extinguish anymore candles if you shut the window?

 

[ailevation]

Okay, I forgot to add at the end of the day. and the candles are round, 5 inches tall and are 2 inches wide.

for clarification delusional

 

[Higlac]

3 partial candles, assuming that the 3 that were blown out weren't relit and the others burnt until they went out.

 

[Vegeta897]

Three?

Edit: Damnit, beaten.

 

[ailevation]

correct and higlac got it first so his turn now.

 

[Higlac]

I'm too lazy to post a hard one, so here goes.

If an electric train is traveling north at 80 mph and the wind is blowing southeast at 20 mph, which direction is the smoke going?

 

[ericms]

Cool a puzzle thread. That one is kind of too easy?

Spoiler

It's electric.

Edit: Posted below.

 

[Higlac]

correct, now since I'm lazy you get the next one.

 

[ericms]

Here is one my brother told me.

You have 10 piles of dollars each with 10 one dollar bills in them. You also have a scale that you can weigh the money on. One of the piles is made up of counterfeit dollars that weigh 1.1 grams each, while the other 9 piles make up real dollars that weigh 1.0 gram. What is the minimum number of weighings you can do in order to figure out which pile the counterfeit ones are in?

 

[ailevation]

2 weighings. gather 4 piles on one side and another 4 on the other. If the weight is neutral then that leaves 2 bags left and one of those bags is gonna be the pile of fake cash and will have a weight bias. If not then oh my god we're all here to die.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Bah, number puzzles. I knew the first one straight away.

Edit - Also, by that logic, the minimum would be 1. You'd just have to be really lucky.

 

[MiccyNarc]

Here is one my brother told me.

You have 10 piles of dollars each with 10 one dollar bills in them. You also have a scale that you can weigh the money on. One of the piles is made up of counterfeit dollars that weigh more than real dollars. What is the minimum number of weighings you can do in order to figure out which pile the counterfeit one is?

What I would do is put 5 on each, see which is heavier, take them all off, put 4 of the heavier group on (2 on each), see which is heavier. If they're equal then the one you took off is counterfeit. If they're not, just split the last group in two and weigh them.

 

[ericms]

I mean a strategy that you will succeed with every time. The minimum is one, but it has nothing to do with luck.

Also guys, this is not a comparison scale. It just weighs what is on it.

 

[Dan]

oh, well in that case, 2

 

[ericms]

It's just one (I actually said that above). How do you get it?

One of the piles is entirely counterfeit. I worded my question badly.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

How many candles in total?

 

[ericms]

How many candles in total?

I lol'd for whatever reason.

 

[Dan]

It's just one (I actually said that above). How do you get it?

One of the piles is entirely counterfeit. I worded my question badly.

I don't see how unless it is a trick completely arbitrary to the weighing.

 

[ericms]

It's not. It's not a trick question at all. It's very short and clever, but hard to see.

 

[Dan]

Well I can't get the clever part. If it's just a matter of objects with weights, it's not possible in one weighing with the information given.

 

[ailevation]

Here is one my brother told me.

You have 10 piles of dollars each with 10 one dollar bills in them. You also have a scale that you can weigh the money on. One of the piles is made up of counterfeit dollars that weigh more than real dollars. What is the minimum number of weighings you can do in order to figure out which pile the counterfeit ones are in?

Oh I get it now... you go to the store and buy a counterfeit marker, mark a bill from each pile and the oddball dollar out is from the counterfeit pile. Put it on the weight to see how much fake money weighs. Minimum weigh-in 1.

 

[ericms]

Yeah, you're right Dan. Looking back at my question I forgot to mention that each real dollar is 1.0 gram and each counterfeit is 1.1 grams.

 

[Dan]

Yeah, you're right Dan. Looking back at my question I forgot to mention that each real dollar is 1.0 gram and each counterfeit is 1.1 grams.

Well then it's obvious.

A better question in that case would that you have 5 piles of cash. Each pile has 20 bills in it. And any number of the piles may be counterfeit including 0. How can you tell exactly which piles are counterfeit.

 

[ericms]

I wouldn't say it's "obvious."

Spoiler

Take 1 dollar from 1 pile, 2 from another and so on. By weighing these 55 dollars you'll be able to tell.

 

[spunge]

that was actually a good answer to a riddle

i'll remember this one x

 

[Druckles]

Complete the following mastermind:

Edit: I'm assuming everyone knows the rules... or at least remembers them from looking at it...

 

[Dan]

I think I don't understand how it deals with multiple of the same colours. Either that or it is impossible.

 

[Dan]

ah I see: yellow blue blue red

 

[Druckles]

ah I see: yellow blue blue red

Yeah, it took me a while, and there was a lot of "hey, wait, that doesn't work!"