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I suppose so...I just signed up, mainly because of this board...Ok, i have a riddle...

You have two pieces or rope that are exactly the same length. However, some pieces of the rope are thicker than other pieces of the rope. There is no pattern. For example, one rope could look like this:

========-----==-==-=-=--=-=-======--===============

and another could look like this:

-------=-=-=-===========================----=-======

One thing that you definitely know is that each rope takes one hour to burn from one end to the next. How can you use these two ropes and a box of matches to measure 45 minutes? You cannot fold the ropes. This was on the entrance exam to Cambridge University, or so my cousin tells me.

i'm sure a variation of this has been posted. let there be 2 ropes i and ii. light rope i on both ends, and light rope ii on one end. when rope i burns out, 30 mins have passed, and thus there are 30 total minutes of rope left on rope ii. it follows that lighting rope ii from the other end at this point would give exactly 15 more minutes of time, for a total of 30+15=45.

free for grabs i forgot all my riddlessssssss

I'm no good at riddles but I may as well start putting my brain to use. Here are my guesses:


1. Line up both ropes so that that three quarters of their length matches up each. Then light the ropes on opposite ends that match up. You'll know when 45 minutes is up when the rope has no area that matches up remaining. That's because you'll know only one quarter of a rope is left. Assuming that you've correctly lined up the ropes, you can just do some simple subtaction to determin that three quarters of either rope is gone. Since three quarters of an hour is the equilvelant of 45 minutes and one rope equals one hour, that means three quarters of a rope equals 45 minutes. I can probably post a clearer explination if needed but I'm a little tired now.

2. An alternate answer. Light one rope just wait untill that rope is three quarters of the way burned up. No second rope needed. A simmilar (but not quite the same) line of logic as above.

Since I don't know any riddles, if I'm right the next one is left to whomever wants to ask. Also if I am right can you please tell me if it was number one, number two or both? I'm kinda curious. Welcome to the forums by the way, I hope you enjoy your stay here.

This post has been edited by Tonepoet on 26th January 2005 16:22

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Role reversal at its finest.

Actually, Gozaru got it, so its up for grabs....

Well, if it's up for grabs, then I'll have a shot.

My maker didn't need me.
My buyer didn't want me.
My user never saw me.
What am I?

EDIT: I realize now that I haven't checked to see if this has been used yet, so if it has then feel free to bring on the flames.

This post has been edited by laszlow on 27th January 2005 00:54

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
END SPOILER

It's been done and it's a coffin.

Who shoots people, blows them up, then hangs them?

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And behold, I saw a Pale Gaming System, and the name of he who rode it was Squaresoft, and Enix followed him.

Photographer.

Up for grabs.

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Is PJ

I have six pairs of green gloves and six pairs of orange gloves in a box. If i were blind, how many gloves would I have to take out of of the box to be sure that I have one pair of matching gloves?

I'd have to say three. You can have a pair of oranges and a green, a pair of greens and an orange and you can have all three matching but I can't think of how you would have all three not match because you only have one pair of colors. If I am right the next riddle is up for grabs.

This post has been edited by Tonepoet on 27th January 2005 21:37

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Role reversal at its finest.

Nope, three is wrong, thats what most people would think....but there is one word makes that wrong...

Four.?

This post has been edited by MogMaster on 27th January 2005 21:54

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If you've been mod-o-fied,
It's an illusion, and you're in-between.
Don't you be tarot-fied,
It's just alot of nothing, so what can it mean?
~Frank Zappa

Sins exist only for people who are on the Way or approaching the Way

Tricky, tricky. Due to the process of elimination then I guess it would have to be two. If you have your gloves neatly orginized or grouped together somehow you can be sure you have a matching color, even blinded.

Edit

Forget this edit ever existed. Okay?

This post has been edited by Tonepoet on 27th January 2005 22:01

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Role reversal at its finest.

nope, wrong again....lets just say that I dont have then neatly organized. Try now.

I'll give a hint if needed

Moderator Edit

Hint: Please don't double post. Seriously, you can always go back and edit your post. Read the rules for more information. - Elena99

This post has been edited by Elena99 on 27th January 2005 22:35

Seven. Gloves have specific hands they need to go on.

Edit

Woops, I thought you said 6 green gloves, not six green pairs. >_>

This post has been edited by FallingHeart on 28th January 2005 00:04

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"We're not tools of the government or anyone else. Fighting... fighting was the only thing I was ever good at, but at least I always fought for what I believed in." - Frank Yeager (a.k.a. Grey Fox)

Yes, glove do have specific hands that they need to go on. That was going to be the clue that i was going to give. But, still wrong. You forgot about one little thing.

Five

Five is also wrong. FallingHeart was the closest so far.

I'd have to say 13.

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This is my world: (Got my second chapter up, 3rd Chapter about 80% complete)
http://www3.sympatico.ca/daniel876/homepage.html

Racthoh is correct. The answer is 13. Since I have 12 PAIRS althogether, thats 24 gloves. Then, since I can remove 6 left-hand green gloves and 6 left-hand brown gloves, the next glove that I pull out would have to form a complete pair. Good job, Racthoh, your turn.

Quote (Bhamdeo @ 27th January 2005 17:33)

Racthoh is correct. The answer is 13. Since I have 12 PAIRS althogether, thats 24 gloves. Then, since I can remove 6 left-hand green gloves and 6 left-hand brown gloves, the next glove that I pull out would have to form a complete pair. Good job, Racthoh, your turn.

Not all gloves are hand-specific.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Hurrah.

John and Mary are lying dead in a room. The room is empty except for their bodies, a puddle of water, and some broken glass. There are no wounds on the bodies. How did they die?

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This is my world: (Got my second chapter up, 3rd Chapter about 80% complete)
http://www3.sympatico.ca/daniel876/homepage.html

They're goldfish, and the bowl fell over.

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"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

Blast, hoping it wouldn't be so easy.

Alright, your question Del S.

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This is my world: (Got my second chapter up, 3rd Chapter about 80% complete)
http://www3.sympatico.ca/daniel876/homepage.html

Drat, left it too long! Luckily, I was going to leave it open anyway, so it looks like time has done my task for me.

The riddling floor is open for the first poster!

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"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

Although I don't think it's fair to post two in a row... I'll try to make a more difficult riddle.

A man is lying dead in a room with a bullet through his head, collapsed over a table. The only other thing in the room is 53 bicycles. Why was he killed?

Edit: Grammer/Spelling

This post has been edited by Racthoh on 31st January 2005 21:16

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This is my world: (Got my second chapter up, 3rd Chapter about 80% complete)
http://www3.sympatico.ca/daniel876/homepage.html

He cheated at cards.

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"That Light has bestowed upon me the greatest black magic!"

Blast... again too easy.

You're go The Ancient.

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This is my world: (Got my second chapter up, 3rd Chapter about 80% complete)
http://www3.sympatico.ca/daniel876/homepage.html

I read the john and mary and the 53 bicycles riddles in the same book, methinks, along with the two guys dead in a cabin one.

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
END SPOILER