Oil Lamp Solution

[Vanyo]

Methinks oil is lighter than water. Yes, I'm certain. Pour a little oil on some water, and you'll see it floats.

[Hellcat]

Another Suggestion for the oil lamp problem is to add a few clear glass beads, it might even add a nice look to the lamp. It would certainly cause the owner not to have to buy as much oil. and it would be quite simple to reverse. So on average how log did it take people to solve this one. I thought it was kinda simple. (simple means under 1 min to find solution)

-HC

[Pefrection]

Hi ya'll, first time back in a long while... In case you don't who I am find "TOUCHY SUBJECT" and read... Hope all is well with the fellow GL'ers. On that note, my two cents on this darn puzzle. The bottom line, the oil level has to rise, be it with water, marbles, or sand. If you look at the picture, you'll see that the only opening this lamp has to refuel is the wick opening itself. It's too 'nice' of a lamp to tarnish it with something stupid like a hole to refuel. Considering the average width of a wick, and a marble, I don't think marbles can fit, but with a small funnel, liquid can easily be added. Since this guy has no oil, water will suffice. YES?? NO??
-Pefrection
If God didn't want us to eat cows, why did he make them out of beef??

[HyToFry]

I'm sorry your wrong.

You have to have marbles.

Water is not found in the land of the labyrinthians, except in an oasis in the middle of a desert that is in the middle of a town. There you can get an unlimited supply of water, but it would take you like 7.5 days to get home.

[hank]

There seems to be a body of opinion that marbles are the answer and provided for in the lower right hand corner fof the table. My take on these objects are that their aspect to the view is slightly oval, suggesting tiddlywinks rather than marbles.

[HyToFry]

One body, mine.

No one else actually buys my theory do they?

[Ghost Post]

Hi I'm new here and fascinated!

How about trying a different tack?
Considering this is a dinner party, first open the bottle of wine and pour a glass!
Now carefully peel off the lead cover to the top of the bottle. Tear off a rectangle.Take the wick out of the lamp and wipe gently on a napkin to remove excess oil.Roll the thin lead around the wick,leaving a little wick poking out of the top and a centimetre or so of thin lead tube at the bottom. Now the oil level should rise just enough to touch the wick and youv'e made a little capillary siphon which should replenish itself for a while.
As for time, make it into a party piece. If the date isn't fascinated, hardly a puzzler's ideal mate?

[firemeboy]

I have finally got the definitive answer. It was staring us right in the face all of the time.

Everybody knows that the minotaur is fond of cats so there is certainly going to be a cat in the house...

You don't want to shake the lamp every 2 or three minutes because that may 'wreck the mood'. So you simply duct tape the candle to the back of the cat, and then the cat to the top of the table. The cat will try and break free, thus sloshing the oil onto the wick.

Granted, the cat may eventually give up and lie still, but that can be remedied by letting a mouse loose on the table. The cat will get excited, and the sloshing will start right up again.

I would suggest 10-15 mice in the pockets before dinner.

Well, I am off to try and get a date for the weekend. I wonder why I alsways have such a hard time...?

[hank]

Actually, if we just assume there is an orifice that can accept a heavier fluid or objects, then marbles are definitely a better solution than water. It is more direct and you don't have to worry about clarifying the oil in time. Remember that deisel engines can really get screwed up by a little water in the fuel, and it is entirely possible that a little low viscosity water can can supplant the oil on the wick resulting in an extinguished flame. Furthermore, suppose you have a few drinks and get up from the table knocking it forward slightly. That would slosh things up again. But I don't see an orifice, the tube is too small to accept a fluid,
and I just assume it is like any other candle that you throw away when you are done.

[peter-r]

heat the oil so it expands to reach the wick

[Digglu]

hrm, new here, but heating it makes no sense. what would he do, hold another match under the lamp? and as for adding water/marbles, who's to say that one of the sides doesn't twist off in order to open? just some ideas....

[Water]

By the time we are done with this puzzle we are going to have about 30 answers to the stupid thing, and still be argueing over which one is right. Personally I think my answer has some merit to it but no one seems to think it will work.

------------------
If you could think, and you knew how to think, what would you think.

All are flawed and none are perfect.
Therefore all are perfect and none are flawed.



[This message has been edited by Water (edited 11-29-2000).]

[thunder]

Just for the record - I like the salt idea. I'm not saying it is correct (because what the heck do I know) but I like it. It sounds right to me. Lets see what happens.

[firemeboy]

As has been mentioned, by looking for the oil, we can certainly assume that there was a way to get the oil into the lamp. Otherwise, the minotaur would have been looking for another lamp, rather than the oil.

[HyToFry]

MAN!

I didn't see that someone else had put the marble idea before me... ]=

How depressing.

I'm going to go cry in my bedroom now.

[This message has been edited by HyToFry (edited 11-29-2000).]

[net jocke]

you can't spoil it because it's so easy!!

[Ghost Post]

this is a easy puzzle from 'net jocky'