What four-digit number has Digit 1 three smaller than Digit 4, which is one more than Digit 2, which is twice Digit 3, which is one more than one third of Digit 4?
Answer
I asked for 9 foot 2 inches (110 inches) and my friend brought me 2 foot 9 inches (33 inches).
Reasoning
I asked my friend to buy me A feet and B inches, which is a total of 12A + B inches.
He accidentally bought me B feet and A inches, which is 12B + A inches.
We know that 12B + A is actually only 30% of what I wanted, so:
12B + A = 0.3 x (12A + B)
Multiply throughout by 10:
120B + 10A = 3 x (12A + B)
120B + 10A = 36A + 3B
117B = 26A
B = 26A ÷ 117
Don't forget that A and B can only be integers, and between 0 and 11.
Since 26 x A has to be at least 117, the lowest possible value for A is 5. We can check the remaining possibilities.
5 x 26 = 130
6 x 26 = 156
7 x 26 = 182
8 x 26 = 208
9 x 26 = 234 (*)
10 x 26 = 260
11 x 26 = 286
The only number wholly divisible by 117 is 234, which means that A = 9, and B = 2.
So, I originally asked for 9 feet 2 inches.
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Puzzle 423
Can you complete this paragraph using two words that are anagrams of each other?
While driving their car at a reckless speed, the driver was distracted by their dog ?. Luckily, they managed to complete the ? manoeuvre without crashing.
Hint
There are currently two answers. One answer contains 7 letters, and starts with the letter B. The other contains 4 letters, and starts with the letter S.
Answer
While driving their car at a reckless speed, the driver was distracted by their dog barking. Luckily, they managed to complete the braking manoeuvre without crashing.
Alternative Answer
While driving their car at a reckless speed, the driver was distracted by their dog Spot. Luckily, they managed to complete the stop manoeuvre without crashing.
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Puzzle 424
Alex likes soda very much. At the local convenience store, for every 5 empty soda bottles the reward is a full fresh bottle.
As part of a local recycling initiative, Alex collected 77 empty bottles.
How many bottles of soda could Alex drink in total?