Christmas Quiz(2)
Dave 22 Dec 2000 at 17:44 GMT

Here's another for the more mathematically minded:

A ladder hanging down the side of a boat is six meters long, and it has five rungs. The bottom rung
of the ladder is one meter above sea-level, but the tide is coming in and every 15 minutes the
water rises by the same amount as the distance between rungs of the ladder. How many rungs of the
ladder will be above water at full tide, in one hour's time?

Answer
Dave 28 Dec 2000 at 03:25 GMT

The correct answer is:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
All 5 rungs.

As the water level rises, so does the boat and so does the ladder which is attached to it.

Answer
Weasel (in the United Kingdom) 28 Dec 2000 at 12:18 GMT

Did u say the ladder was attached to the boat?

Answer
Dave 28 Dec 2000 at 14:53 GMT

Well I said it was "hanging down the side of a boat", which does kind of imply that it must be
attached to it! Otherwise it would have been hanging down the side of something else.

The greater flaw is that I never said the boat was in the water and theoretically it could have been
in dry dock. But in that case the answer would still be 5 rungs above water, even though not all
above sea level!

Answer
Tom (in the United Kingdom) 30 Dec 2000 at 23:34 GMT

Well my arms are hanging down the side of this chair (or at least they are when I stop typing) it
doesn't imply they are attached to it

Answer
Dave 30 Dec 2000 at 23:40 GMT

But if the chair was lifted up, your arms would go up also, would they not?

Answer
Tom (in the United Kingdom) 31 Dec 2000 at 00:03 GMT

Not if I lifted up the chair

Answer
chinewrde (in the United Kingdom) 31 Dec 2000 at 13:04 GMT

how apt, quine died yesterday )