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Post by Salzmank on Nov 17, 2017 16:14:55 GMT
Correct, brimfin, and my apologies about writing “murdered” instead of “killed” in the puzzle, leading to unnecessary confusion! |
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Post by alfromni on Nov 18, 2017 9:23:08 GMT
Salzmank , brimfin , moviebuffbrad , jervistetchOk riddlers, 2 poetic riddles. What am I? #1. Dare trespass my threshold? Don’t dream you shall flee; The strongest, the swiftest, cannot evade me. I’ll seize you and crush you and wrench you apart, Though no one may gaze on my singular heart. #2. Dipping, glinting, gliding by, Rainbow-fretted, wrought of breath. I live only while I fly – Earth’s rough kiss my sudden death.
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Post by Salzmank on Nov 19, 2017 22:13:18 GMT
And, while we're working on alfromni's riddles, let me throw this into the equation. The great humorist Robert Benchley (1889-1945) once wrote a hilarious article about puzzles and riddles, entitled " Who Done It?" In one of his best examples, he writes this: Question: Ready for the answer? Ready? You sure? You positive? 100%? Answer: See? I told you he was a humorist.  Seriously, though, can anyone find a serious answer for Benchley's set-up? It'll be difficult, I tell ya... |
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Post by brimfin on Nov 21, 2017 17:15:29 GMT
Poetic riddles I would guess the first one is "Death." The second one I would guess is a raindrop or a snowflake. I lean toward raindrop because of the rainbow reference. |
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Post by alfromni on Nov 22, 2017 4:21:32 GMT
brimfin Good guesses brim, but both wrong. Back to the drawing board I fear. 
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Post by Rodney Farber on Nov 24, 2017 1:10:57 GMT
Let's define an "Executive" as either the U.S. President or U.S. Vice president. The longest serving Executive was Richard Nixon who served 13+ years; eight years as VP and 5+ years as President. The second longest serving Executive was F.D.R. who served for a bit more than 12 years, all as President.
Who was the 3rd longest serving Executive?
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Post by Salzmank on Nov 24, 2017 1:26:53 GMT
Rodney FarberSome offhand thinking: My first thought was George H.W. Bush (12 years between VP and president)--but there's got to be a trick here, no? I thought it might be a VP who served in multiple administrations, but I couldn't find one to beat FDR's record.
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Post by alfromni on Nov 24, 2017 10:00:32 GMT
Rodney Farber _ --- Re "Executive". POTUS: FDR --- 12+ years (he died in his 4th term)
Thomas Jefferson --- 8 years
Richard Nixon --- 5 years
George H. W. Bush --- 4 years----------- Vice-POTUS: Richard Nixon --- 8 years
George H. W. Bush --- 8 years
Thomas Jefferson --- 3 years
FDR --- n/a =========== All others who served two terms as POTUS either didn't serve longer as VP than the above, or weren't VPs at all. Answer: 1. Richard Nixon 2. FDR 3. George H. W. Bush 4. Thomas Jefferson ...but I'm open to correction.
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Post by Rodney Farber on Nov 24, 2017 12:56:57 GMT
Let's define an "Executive" as either the U.S. President or U.S. Vice president. The longest serving Executive was Richard Nixon who served 13+ years; eight years as VP and 5+ years as President. The second longest serving Executive was F.D.R. who served for a bit more than 12 years, all as President. Who was the 3rd longest serving Executive? Let me add a clue: Five men were an Executive for more than 8 years (R.M.N., F.D.R. and three others). Hint: There's a twist involved here. You have to show the twist in your answer. Have you read the amendments to the U.S. Constitution? Note to alfromni: Thomas Jefferson was not a VP for three years. |
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Post by alfromni on Nov 24, 2017 13:18:33 GMT
Rodney FarberYou're right. Not sure how the mistake was made. According to Wiki, Jefferson was VP from March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801 which makes 4 years, not 3. It comes down to days served between George H. W. Bush and Thomas Jefferson for places. But apparently I'm wrong anyway. It seems there are 33 Amendments to the US Constitution. Being a non-American I wouldn't know where to start.
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Post by Rodney Farber on Nov 24, 2017 13:53:02 GMT
Rodney Farber You're right. Not sure how the mistake was made. According to Wiki, Jefferson was VP from March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801 which makes 4 years, not 3. It comes down to days served between George H. W. Bush and Thomas Jefferson for places. But apparently I'm wrong anyway. It seems there are 33 Amendments to the US Constitution. Being a non-American I wouldn't know where to start. Note to alfromni: The 20th amendment to the U.S. Constitution sets the inauguration date for the President and VP. However, as you are not in the U.S., I'll mention that the "clue" was a red herring and not part of the puzzle. |
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Post by alfromni on Nov 24, 2017 14:05:18 GMT
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Post by Rodney Farber on Nov 25, 2017 14:20:13 GMT
Rodney Farber _ --- Re "Executive". All others who served two terms as POTUS either didn't serve longer as VP than the above, or weren't VPs at all. Did you consider those that served two terms as VP (like R.M.N.) before becoming POTUS? |
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Post by alfromni on Nov 26, 2017 4:53:51 GMT
Rodney Farber
Yes. I made an error with Jefferson who had a full term and not 3 years, but those wiki lists give the terms served in both Offices. 2 terms = 8 years.
POTUS:
FDR --- 12+ years (he died in his 4th term)
Thomas Jefferson --- 8 years
Richard Nixon --- 5 years
George H. W. Bush --- 4 years
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States_by_time_in_office
-----------
Vice-POTUS:
Richard Nixon --- 8 years
George H. W. Bush --- 8 years
Thomas Jefferson --- 4 years
FDR --- n/a
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Vice_Presidents_of_the_United_States_by_time_in_office
---------------
VP + POTUS:
1. Richard Nixon = 8 + 5 = 13 years
2. FDR = 0 + 12+ = 12+ years
3. George H. W. Bush = 8 + 4 = 12 years
4. Thomas Jefferson = 4 + 8 = 12 years
Places 3 & 4 are dependent on days, maybe hours, served. Leap years perhaps, but then doesn't the wiki lists give specific number of days served?
I can't see any other calculations to be considered.
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Post by Rodney Farber on Nov 30, 2017 0:09:43 GMT
Let's define an "Executive" as either the U.S. President or U.S. Vice president. The longest serving Executive was Richard Nixon who served 13+ years; eight years as VP and 5+ years as President. The second longest serving Executive was F.D.R. who served for a bit more than 12 years, all as President. Who was the 3rd longest serving Executive? The key to this puzzle is based on something that an Italian named Ugo Boncompagni did a few decades before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Who? I expected someone to notice was that John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and George H. W. Bush each served three terms as an Executive, (1789 to 1801, 1797 to 1809, and 1981 to 1993, respectively). That would make it look like a three-way tie. Nobody mentioned John Adams. It's just as well because the U.S.A. did not start on time. George Washington and John Adams were supposed to assume their respective offices on 04-MAR-1789. Congress arrived fashionably late and neither POTUS nor VP took office until late April. So Adams’ term was the shortest of the three. This leaves Thomas Jefferson, who was an Executive from 04-MAR-1797 to 04-MAR-1809, and George H. W. Bush, who was an Executive from 20-JAN-1981 to 20-JAN-1993. This appears to be a tie of exactly 12 years each. So, what did Ugo Boncompagni do to break this tie? In 1582, Ugo Boncompagni, better known as Pope Gregory, XIII, implemented the Gregorian Calendar. The difference between the Gregorian Calendar and the previously-used Julian Calendar is that certain years would NOT be a leap year even though they were divisible by four. 1800 was just such a year. Thomas Jefferson's twelve years as an Executive only contained two leap-days, whereas George H.W. Bush's twelve years as an Executive contained the normal three leap-days. |
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Post by alfromni on Nov 30, 2017 3:50:58 GMT
Rodney Farber --- I was just about to explain all that...NOT. Great question!
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Post by Salzmank on Jan 11, 2018 13:36:03 GMT
Brief mathematical puzzle that a friend just showed me...
What links these numbers?
3, 3, 5, 4, 4, 3, 5, 5, 4, 3, 6, 6
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Post by alfromni on Jan 11, 2018 15:25:02 GMT
Salzmank 3, 3, 5, 4, 4, 3, 5, 5, 4, 3, 6, 6
One = 3
Two = 3
Three = 5
Four = 4
Five = 4
and so on...
Number of letters which spell out each number.
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Post by Salzmank on Jan 11, 2018 23:20:55 GMT
That’s it, alfromni. A fine and fast piece of work! Another numbers puzzle… 1. What is the next number in the sequence? 2. What are the first two missing numbers? _, _, 9, 7, 7, 9, 13, 10, 9, 1, 4, 9, 16, _ |
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Post by alfromni on Jan 12, 2018 20:41:40 GMT
SalzmankThe previous puzzle just came to me in a "Eureka" moment, but this one has me stumped. Can't find any sort of pattern that fits. Is it purely mathematical or are there letters/words involved?
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