24 Arithmetic & Algebraic Problems"All the trains take five hours, ma'am, either way," replied the official.
"And how many trains shall I meet on the way?"
This absurd question tickled the guard, but he was ready with his reply:
"A train leaves Wurzletown for Mudville, and also one from Mudville
to Wurzletown, at five minutes past every hour. Right away!"
The old lady induced one of her fellow passengers to work out the answer
for her. What is the correct number of trains?- CARRYING BAGS
A gentleman had to walk to his railway station, four miles from his house,
and was encumbered by two bags of equal weight, but too heavy for him to
carry alone. His gardener and a boy both insisted on carrying the luggage; but
the gardener is an old man and the boy not sufficiently strong, while the
gentleman believes in a fair division oflabor and wished to take his own share.
They started off with the gardener carrying one bag and the boy the other,
while the gentleman worked out the best way of arranging that the three should
share the burden equally among them. How would you have managed it?
- THE ESCALATOR
"I counted fifty steps that I made in going down the escalator," said Walker.
"I counted seventy-five steps," said Trotman; "but I was walking down three
times as quickly as you."
If the staircase were stopped, how many steps would be visible? It is
assumed that each man travelled at a uniform rate, and the speed of the
staircase was also constant.- THE FOUR CYCLISTS
The four circles represent cinder paths. The four cyclists started at noon.
Each person rode round a different circle, one at the rate of six miles an hour,
another at the rate of nine miles an hour, another at the rate of twelve miles
an hour, and the fourth at the rate of fifteen miles an hour. They agreed to ride