Quickies: The Resurrection

[ralphmerridew]

It looks like an anagram magic square. (Semimagic, actually, since diagonals aren't listed.)

1) Poker, dinner, water, e.g.
2) How tall are you? HEIGHT (EIGHTH)
3) Worked for
4) Bother
5) Where you find deodorant
6) Your father's daugter SISTER (resist)
7) Basic necessity
8) Prison boss WARDEN (wander)
9) Appoint
10) Sword RAPIER (repair)
11) Knock off track
12) Existing from birth
13) Silicone alternative
14) Most domesticated TAMEST (MATTES)
15) Filmed again
16) Take into custody ARREST (rarest)
17) Closer NEARER (earner)
18) Riding whips QUIRTS (squirt)
19) Like a bear
20) Mean
21) Endured
22) Overrun
23) NFL referees ZEBRAS (brazes)
24) Lure into a crime
25) Discount after a purchase REBATE (berate)

[ralphmerridew]

[Return of the Quickies]

Got it, leaving it for someone else
-grz

[jbvntx]

I got it, too. The password is tranquilizer

1) Poker, dinner, water, e.g. TABLES
2) How tall are you? HEIGHT
3) Worked for EARNED
4) Bother PESTER
5) Where you find deodorant ARMPIT
6) Your father's daugter SISTER
7) Basic necessity STAPLE
8) Prison boss WARDEN
9) Appoint ORDAIN
10) Sword RAPIER
11) Knock off track DERAIL
12) Existing from birth INBRED
13) Silicone alternative SALINE
14) Most domesticated TAMEST
15) Filmed again REMADE
16) Take into custody ARREST
17) Closer NEARER
18) Riding whips QUIRTS
19) Like a bear URSINE
20) Mean INTEND
21) Endured LASTED
22) Overrun INFEST
23) NFL referees ZEBRAS
24) Lure into a crime ENTRAP
25) Discount after a purchase REBATE

jbv
_________________
jbv

[Return of the Quickies]

Okay, just to get a new puzzle out there without too much delay, here's an interesting rectangular box I came across while messing around with the rectangular box in my last quickie.

My box has all integer length sides (A, B and C), where A is the longest and C is the shortest.

The main diagonal, D, is also of integer length.

Of the four numbers, A, B, C and D, there are three perfect squares and two perfect cubes (one of them is both).

Password is in the form AABBCC, six digits total.

jbv.

[Return of the Quickies]

Got it, but I used a computer assist, so I'm not sure that counts. Anyway, I don't have a puzzle handy, so I'll leave it.

Zag

[Zag]

I just realized that there is another solution which I almost overlooked because of a simplifying assumption that I made (and you did too, probably).

Sides are {8, 4, 1) which makes the main diagonal 9. (1 and 8 are cubes, 1, 4, and 9 are squares).

This is not the solution jbv was going for. Also, I've confirmed that there are no other solutions.

[Return of the Quickies]

I'm thinking of a three digit number.
It's possible to change one of the digits to a 1 to get a perfect square.
It's possible to change another digit to a 2 to get twice a perfect square.
It's possible to change the remaining digit to a 3 to get three times a perfect square.

What is the number?

--rm

[Zag]

rm, you're supposed to post the answer to the previous one, eh? Get with the program, man!!

For jbv's puzzle:

For a number to be both a square and a cube, it has to be a sixth power of something. Since the sides are all <100 and different, the diagonal has an upper limit of sqrt( 99^2 + 98^2 + 97^2) ~= 170, which means that 3^6 = 729 is out of the question. The simplifying assumption that jbv and I both made was that one of the sides (or the diagonal) would therefore have to be 64, which is 2^6.

At this point I just wrote a program that tried all combinations of {a, b} where a goes from 1 to 100 and b goes from a+1 to 100, looking for combinations where sqrt( a^2 + b^2 + 4096 ) was an integer. Then I just looked over them for the combination with another cube and two other squares. The only such combination is {64, 49, 8} which makes a diagonal of 81.

However, I just happened to notice the combination {64, 32, 8} D = 72, which, divided through by 8, produces {8, 4, 1} D = 9, the extra solution I pointed out above.

[Zag]

rm did you use a computer analysis to get this, or is there some other way that I don't know about. I've got the answer, but I just did 10 minutes of programming and my computer did all the work. Is there, in fact, an elegant way to arrive at this result?

[groza528]

Personally, I'd start with all the 3-digit numbers that are thrice a perfect square and contain a 3. There aren't *that* many of them: 243, 300, 363, and 432.
Next I'd find the 3-digit doubles of squares containing a 2: 128, 162, 200, 242, 288, 392, 512, 722, 882. Find compatible pairs: 363 & 162, 432 & 242. That means we need either 113 or 441 to be a perfect square, and 441 is (of 21). That makes the number 442.
For the record, I hadn't even started working on it before this post. I didn't time myself but it didn't take much more than your ten minutes. I did use a calculator, but I didn't program anything.

[Scurra]

Well, I looked at it, said "oh, it's maths" and didn't go any further
_________________
_{still Quiz Olympiad champion. Must get a life.
New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[Zag]

Ah ha! I suspected that there was a better way. I'm a little ashamed I didn't think of it, since it seems so obvious now that you've pointed it out. You should take the next puzzle, groza.

[Return of the Quickies]

I also prodded phw about the other profile. But here's the new one:

• Are there any requests for me and my harmonica?
  
• Astronomically speaking, what is a "year?" (x2)
  
• Blast, where did I leave my marushka dolls?
  
• Does anyone want to eat the last piece of cobbler?
  
• How did George Washington address his wife?
  
• Joss, what's my line after I launch the decoy?
  
• Little Jimmy, what did you just call your toes?
  
• Mr. organ grinder, why are you *ahem* naked?
  
• What did your Nigerian friend say after his stereo was stolen?
  
• What do bees eat for dessert?
  
• What do *feral* bees eat for dessert?
  
• What do Ocean's Eleven, Save the Last Dance, and Seinfeld have in common?
  
• What does an alpine sow hunt for?
  
• What does everyone have exactly one of?
  
• What is the subtitle of Chalet Charles?
  
• What less specific title did Poe reject?
  
• What line certainly did *not* appear in Charlie Brown's song?
  
• What makes you cry twice: when you cut it, and when it cuts you?
  
• What puzzle type do you like from Games Magazine?
  
• What three adjectives describe the Great Wall of China?
  
• What would W.C. Fields call two dozen martinis, two bottles of scotch and a gin and tonic?
  
• When do you plan to rewrite all these songs a cappella?
  
• Where should we play hopscotch while the driveway is being repaved?
  
• Which is your favorite of the cardinal virtues?
  
• Who fought against Cubbear Lang?
  
• Who refused to build a pinewood derby car on moral grounds?
  
• Who was the hot, appropriately-named girl who asked you to the dance?
  
• Why don't you want to see the midnight showing of [new movie]?

[jbvntx]

My first reaction is that whichever of you submitted this one needs to be careful about mixing medications without reading the labels.

I don't have an answer (yet), but here are a couple things I noticed that might stimulate someone else.

1) The questions are alphabetized.
2) Since the quesitons seem not intended to be taken at face value, I assume some wordplay is involved. Maybe each line provides a single letter that contributes to the answer. Or else each line provides a word, and the first/last letters of the words spell out the answer.
3) The number of words in each line, or letters in each word, don't seem to lead to any clear numeric sequences.
4) I thought I was on to something with "harmonica" and "astronomical". The word astronomical contains all the letters of harmonica except for the "H". I tried getting a letter from each line in this manner and ended up with gibberish. "Blast" - B = "Last", etc.

jbv
_________________
jbv

[mikeamok]

Once you realize what we're dealing with, it appears rather simple. Austere, even.

* Are there any requests for me and my harmonica? -- Yer Blues
* Astronomically speaking, what is a "year?" (x2) -- Revolution
* Blast, where did I leave my marushka dolls? -- Back In The U.S.S.R.
* Does anyone want to eat the last piece of cobbler? -- I Will
* How did George Washington address his wife? -- Martha My Dear
* Little Jimmy, what did you just call your toes? -- Piggies
* Mr. organ grinder, why are you *ahem* naked? -- Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
* What did your Nigerian friend say after his stereo was stolen? -- Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
* What do bees eat for dessert? -- Honey Pie
* What do *feral* bees eat for dessert? -- Wild Honey Pie
* What do Ocean's Eleven, Save the Last Dance, and Seinfeld have in common? -- Julia
* What does an alpine sow hunt for? -- Savoy Truffle
* What does everyone have exactly one of? -- Birthday
* What is the subtitle of Chalet Charles? -- The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
* What less specific title did Poe reject? -- Blackbird
* What makes you cry twice: when you cut it, and when it cuts you? -- Glass Onion
* What three adjectives describe the Great Wall of China? -- Long, Long, Long
* What would W.C. Fields call two dozen martinis, two bottles of scotch and a gin and tonic? -- Good Night
* When do you plan to rewrite all these songs a cappella? -- While My Guitar Gently Weeps
* Where should we play hopscotch while the driveway is being repaved? -- Why Don't We Do It In The Road
* Which is your favorite of the cardinal virtues? -- Dear Prudence
* Who fought against Cubbear Lang? -- Rocky Raccoon
* Who refused to build a pinewood derby car on moral grounds? -- Mother Nature's Son
* Who was the hot, appropriately-named girl who asked you to the dance? -- Sexy Sadie
* Why don't you want to see the midnight showing of [new movie]? -- I'm So Tired

Which leaves:
* Joss, what's my line after I launch the decoy?
* What line certainly did *not* appear in Charlie Brown's song?
* What puzzle type do you like from Games Magazine?

And:
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Don't Pass Me By
Helter Skelter
Cry Baby Cry

[Suspence]

Well, then "What puzzle type do you like from Games Magazine?" would be Helter Skelter
_________________
I hate people who try to write interesting things in their signature.

[Zag]

And "What line certainly did *not* appear in Charlie Brown's song?" would be Happiness Is A Warm Gun . (In the musical "Peanuts" Charlie Brown sings a song "Happiness is..." with lots of warm fuzzy things.)

[Suspence]

Apparently, on the cancelled series "Firefly" (created by Joss Whedon of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" fame) the line Cry Baby Cry activates a decoy.

So that leaves Don't Pass Me By
_________________
I hate people who try to write interesting things in their signature.

[Return of the Quickies]

My Travel Plans

Berlin to Paris - 944 miles
Paris to Vienna - 788 miles
Vienna to Lisbon - 1,195 miles

[Zag]

So, was "Don't Pass Me By" the answer to the previous one, or was there another step? What?

For this one: Assuming the cities refer to capital cities in Europe, the distances are wrong. Driving from Berlin to Paris is, according to Google maps, 1055 km which is 656 miles.

Since all the distances are in miles, perhaps they refer to cities in the U.S. There are Berlins in MD, NH, CT, WI, NJ, PA, MA, ND, OH, and NY (where MD is Google's default if you just say "Berlin, USA" though I have no idea if that means anything special).

There are Paris's in TX, TN, IL, KY, AR, MO, MI, ID, OH, and MS. (TX is the default.)

Ok. I tried every combination and none of them is 944 miles, though quite a few are close. Possibly the distance is not meant to be miles driven, but as the crow (albatross?) flies. Several of them were in the range that this might be the case.

That's all I got so far.

[Return of the Quickies]

It's definitely a road trip I planned with the help of Google Maps.

And get this, on my trip from Berlin to Paris, I'll pass right through Hamburg.

[Return of the Quickies]

Zag is on the right track. I guess he's never been to Paris, though.

[Return of the Quickies]

Still having trouble finding Paris? Here's a little help.

Paris is 243 miles from Milan, 303 miles from Hanover, and 223 miles from Geneva.

[groza528]

*bump*

[Ctuchik]

I guess the Paris is Paris, Illinois:

Milan, IL -> Paris, IL = 243 miles
Hanover, IL -> Paris, IL = 303 miles
Geneva, IL -> Paris, IL = 223 miles

I couldn't find any Berlin or Vienna that would match the distances, though.

[groza528]

Not knowing which states we're looking at, my guess for step two is that we're looking for states who can make words from their abbreviations. So for Berlin - Paris we're looking for a four-letter word of the form xzIL where xz is another state abbreviation, such as CO perhaps?
Edit: There is no Berlin, CO.

[groza528]

I confirm that I also could not find any Berlin or Vienna at the appropriate distances; I checked that by drawing circles of the correct radius and checking every state (and province) that was on or close to that line.

This is assuming Paris, IL is even correct-- the poster's comment that Zag has never been there implies otherwise, but Ctuchik is right. The distances check out exactly.

New idea: Perhaps each route goes via another city that we have to identify for our answer? Don't know how to accomplish that without a lot of trial and error though.

[Ctuchik]

Vienna, MD -> Paris, IL matches the 788 miles.
It's the reverse route but maybe that's a mistake in the puzzle.

[groza528]

You're right-- I wonder why it's two miles shorter going the other direction?
Anyway, the lesson learned is I have to come even further in from my circle. I'll see if I can find a Lisbon the right distance from Vienna MD

[groza528]

No luck so far, but Berlin, CT is pretty close to the distance we want from Paris, IL. Closest I could get for Lisbon was LA.

[Return of the Quickies]

Actually, there is an error in the clue I posted recently, but not in the original puzzle. My apologies.

The distances from Hanover IL, Milan IL and Geneva IL, did indeed point to Paris IL, but this is not the intended Paris. Oddly enough, Illinois is not the only state with a Hanover, Milan, Geneva, and a Paris, so my mistake didn't become immediately apparent when I used Google Maps and inadvertently got directions in IL rather than in the correct state.

These are the correct distance from Hanover, Milan, and Geneva to the Paris that you are looking for:

Geneva > Paris - 183 miles
Hanover > Paris - 18.5 miles
Milan > Paris - 47.3 miles

Also, just to hurry this along, the Paris you need is not listed in Zag's initial reply, but the correct location for Berlin is in that list.

[groza528]

*shakes fist*
That puts Paris in Indiana. I'll start looking for the others now.

[groza528]

Found Berlin in MA
Vienna, NY appears to be *688* but I don't think any of the ones google suggests are 788. Guess it's time to pull out the radius again.
Edit: OK, found Vienna in LA

[Return of the Quickies]

Solved, password unchanged - grz

[yuethomas]

Hooray. Can we have a hint for the other one? ... Someone?
_________________
Tom Yue

[Return of the Quickies]

Fine, if nobody else is going to take it then I will...

Answer to previous is MAINLAND. This answer comes from the abbreviations of the states containing each of the listed cities: Massachusetts, Indiana, Louisiana, North Dakota.

Now for a bit of maths.

Question 1. I have been playing Diplomacy on facebook. My profile there provides certain statistics. Among these statistics are the percentage of my games that I have won, the percentage of my games in which I was eliminated, the percentage of my games in which I survived without winning, and the percentage of my games that are still ongoing. Each of these percentages is rounded to the nearest whole number.
a) I recently realized that the sum of these four percentages is currently at its highest possible value. What is this value?
b) Furthermore, the number of games listed in my profile is the smallest possible value to fulfill part 1a). How many games have I played/am I playing?
c) How many possible combinations of wins, defeats, survivals, and current games would fulfill a) and b)?

Question 2. Also included on some profiles (but not mine, yet) are the percentage of games that have ended in draws, and the percentage of games that the player has left before the end of the game. These two values are also rounded to the nearest whole number.
a,b,c) Answer the same questions above taking into consideration all six statistics.

The password is a number (in Arabic numerals) expressed in the form 1a1b1c2a2b2c where 1a is the answer to Question 1 part a, etc. Use no leading zeroes for any part of the password.

[ralphmerridew]

How are numbers exactly halfway between two whole numbers rounded?

[groza528]

Up.

[Ctuchik]

Well, I got solutions to your questions, but apparently one or more are wrong, so it would help a lot if you could tell me where I'm wrong:

1a) Should be 102 if all 4 numbers are rounded up by the maximum, that is .5
1b) Should be 8 cause 1/8 is the first number that gives those nice .5 percentages, e.g. (Wins/Defeats/Survivals/Ongoing) = (3/1/3/1) = (37.5%/12.5%/37.5%/12.5%)
1c) edit: I got this one wrong
2a) I get 103 here for the same reason as 1a)
2b) 8 games again, e.g. (3/1/1/1/1/1) = (37.5%/12.5%/12.5%/12.5%/12.5%/12.5%/)
2c) 6 possible ways, cause one value is 3 and the rest is 1 which gives us 6 possibilities.

That's it, but it isn't the password, so which answer(s) is/are wrong?

edit: I know my mistake, stupid me!