536 Puzzles and Curious Problems

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Answers 233


  1. ROBINSON'S AGE


Robinson's age must have been 32, his brother's 34, his sister's 38, and his
mother's 52.


  1. A DREAMLAND CLOCK


The hour indicated would be exactly 23%3 minutes after four oclock. But
because the minute hand moved in the opposite direction, the real time would
be 361 '13 minutes after four. You must deduct the number of minutes indicated
from 60 to get the real time.


47. WHAT IS THE TIME?

The time is 63,.~ minutes past IX, when the hour hand is 450/16 (the square
of 6*) minutes past XII. If we allow fractions less than a minute point, there
is also the solution, five seconds (one-twelfth of a minute) past XII oclock.


48. THE AMBIGUOUS CWCK

The first time would be 55 ;'43 minutes past twelve, which might also (the
hands being similar) indicate 6o/i43 minutes past one oclock.


  1. THE BROKEN CLOCK FACE


If the clock face be broken or
cracked in the manner shown in our
illustration, the numerals on each of
the four parts will sum to 20. The
cunning reader will at once have seen
that, as three X's (in IX, X, and XI)
are adjacent, two of these must be
alone contained in one piece. There-
fore there are only two possible cases
for trial.
[The first edition of Puzzles and
Curious Problems, in which this puz-

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