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He gives Ted the sheet of paper that is torn on two
edges (i.e the middle third). When he reaches into the hat, he feels for
the one that does not have a sharp edge on either of the long side.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 11:36
AM
Subject: Puzzler of the week
This week's puzzler:
There�s a high
school election for senior class president. There are three guys running: Tom,
Ted and Tim.
As luck would have it, after all the votes are counted
they each have exactly the same number. So, the principal calls them into his
office. He says, "We could have another election but there�s a good chance
that the count is going to be the same. Let�s decide this right now. We�ll
throw each of your names into a hat, and the name I pull out will be the
winner. Is that alright with you?"
They agree. So, the Principal takes
a clean, white, eight and a half by 11 sheet paper off of his desk and folds
it into thirds. Holding the paper on the sharp edge of the desk, he tears it
so there are three pieces that are exactly the same size.
He then hands
them each a blank piece of paper and tells them to each write their name on
their piece of paper.
"Just to make sure that it�s on the up and up,
you can blindfold me," he says, "I�m going to hold the hat above my head,
reach in and pull out the winner�s name."
Here�s the catch. The
principal wants Ted to win because the other two kids are knuckleheads, and he
knows that if either one of these kids becomes president, the school is going
down, and he�s going to lose his job.
The question is, "How does
principal fix it so Ted wins?"
Last week's puzzler:
A few
weeks ago, my vacuum cleaner broke. This is a conventional vacuum cleaner --
the kind that's on wheels, with the hose that plugs in on one end. It looks
like a torpedo.
Before I threw it out, however, I decided I'd take it
apart to see if I could fix it. I surprised myself and found the problem. It
was a broken wire.
While I'm fixing it, I notice a huge chunk of iron
attached to the base of the vacuum. It looks like it weighs about two
pounds.
I remembered two years ago when I took a stereo component
apart. I noticed that it also had a similar chunk of iron, so you wouldn't
think it was a big empty box with 65 cents worth of components.
I
thought, "Do I want my wife dragging around this vacuum cleaner that's two
pounds heavier? Of course not! I'll just throw the iron out." So, I pry off
the piece of iron and I put the vacuum back together.
It works fine.
But something very funny happens. The question is, what
happens?
Last week's puzzler answer:
Well, I'm sure most
of you would expect that the thing burst into flames or vibrated itself to
death. But I gave a hint and the hint was: I was chewing on an apple and the
apple should remind you of whom? Isaac Newton, there you go. And I was
reminded of Newton's third, second or first law of motion. I think it's the
third, which says, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
And when she hit the switch, the fact that I had removed this hunk of
iron made the vacuum cleaner behave in a peculiar manner. The motor started
turning in one direction and the whole vacuum cleaner turned in the other
direction. Ripping the cord out of the wall, creating all kinds of sparks at
which point my wife said, good work, Hon. So they had put the weight in for a
reason.
_______________________
Scott
MacLean
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
ICQ:
9184011
http://www.nerosoft.com
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