Unutterably Silly Quiz

[Hamlet53]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Geography - Canadian

How many of Canada's six largest lakes are not part of the Great Lakes?

Three?

[HomeInMyShoes]

And Hamlet53 has it.

Superior, Ontario 82,100 sq km
Huron Ontario 59,600 sq km
Great Bear, NWT 31,328 sq km
Great Slave, NWT 28,568 sq km
Erie, Ontario, 25,700 sq km
Winnipeg, Manitoba, 24,400 sq km

If you added up the area of these lakes, you'd have a country around the size Ecuador. If you totalled up all of Canada's lake area, you'd have a country around the size of Pakistan or Venezuela.

[Hamlet53]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

And Hamlet53 has it.

Superior, Ontario 82,100 sq km
Huron Ontario 59,600 sq km
Great Bear, NWT 31,328 sq km
Great Slave, NWT 28,568 sq km
Erie, Ontario, 25,700 sq km
Winnipeg, Manitoba, 24,400 sq km

If you added up the area of these lakes, you'd have a country around the size Ecuador. If you totalled up all of Canada's lake area, you'd have a country around the size of Pakistan or Venezuela.

I am headed out until late tonight. I have nothing at the moment so anyone who has a good question jump on in here.

[Fbone]

This is a most unusual paragraph. How quickly can you find out what is so unusual about it? It looks so ordinary you'd think nothing was wrong with it - and in fact, nothing is wrong with it. It is unusual though. Why? Study it, think about it, and you may find out. Try to do it without coaching. If you work at it for a bit it will dawn on you. So jump to it and try your skill at figuring it out but don't blow your cool!

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Fbone

This is a most unusual paragraph. How quickly can you find out what is so unusual about it? It looks so ordinary you'd think nothing was wrong with it - and in fact, nothing is wrong with it. It is unusual though. Why? Study it, think about it, and you may find out. Try to do it without coaching. If you work at it for a bit it will dawn on you. So jump to it and try your skill at figuring it out but don't blow your cool!

I know! Spoilered for those who want to ponder further.

Spoiler:

There's not a single 'e' in it.

But I'm off to bed. Someone else had best post the next question.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I know! Spoilered for those who want to ponder further.

Spoiler:

There's not a single 'e' in it.

But I'm off to bed. Someone else had best post the next question.

Yes, I guessed the same. Considering it is the most common "thing" in the English language, it's quite an achievement to write such a long paragraph without it.

[pdurrant]

No-one's posted a question!

There's a grassy field. 11 goats on the field will eat all the grass in seven days and then starve. 10 goats would finish all the grass in 8 days and then starve. How long could three goats survive on the field?

[Stitchawl]

For their natural life span. Certainly someone would notice the goats after a week and call the animal protection people. They'd see to it that the goats were healthy.


Stitchawl

[pdurrant]

If there was any possibility of extra food or being moved somewhere else, it would have been mentioned in the question.

Grassy field. Three goats. How long?

[Bookpossum]

Oh all right, I'll bite: 25 and two-thirds days. I'm sure there's a trick to this, but like Stitchawl, I'm mathematically challenged.

[pdurrant]

No, that's not the right answer. While there is a way to get to the answer mathematically, there's also an intuitive answer, which can then be backed up by arithmetic.

[orlok]

Well the intuitive answer would be 15 days - 11 goats in 7 days, 10 in 8, 9 in 9, 8 in 10, 7 in 11, 6 in 12, 5 in 13, 4 in 14, 3 in 15. But I very much doubt that's mathematically correct.

[pdurrant]

Nope, that's not right, and not quite what I meant.

While I forbid the intrusion of other actors into the problem, I suspect that people have overlooked one aspect of the situation: A grassy field and goats.

[orlok]

Is the answer forever, then, as the grass will keep regrowing, and with only 3 sheep they won't eat it fast enough to run out before more has grown?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by orlok

Is the answer forever, then, as the grass will keep regrowing, and with only 3 sheep they won't eat it fast enough to run out before more has grown?

Yes! Exactly so.

Let G represent the amount of Grass in the field at the start.
Let g represent the amount of grass that grows each day.
Let d represent the amount of grass one goat eats in one day.

The we know that after 7 days, 11 goats will have eaten all the grass.

The amount of grass 7 goats eat in 11 days = 7 * 11 * d
The amount of grass (if uneaten) after 7 days = G + 7 * g

77*d = G+7g

Similarly,

80*d = G+8g

From which we can work out that

3*d = g

That is, the amount of grass that grows each day (g) is exactly equaly to the amount of grass eaten by 3 goats (3*d).

So with three goats in the field, the grass renews itself every day, and the goats can graze indefinitely.

Over to you!


[I should credit Richard Wiseman's blog for the puzzle.]