Unutterably Silly Quiz

[issybird]

One point to Daithi for Joe D; half a point apiece for Stitchy and Hamlet for combining on Teddy Ballgame, who was indeed the last player to hit over .400, in 1941. Williams played for the Red Sox, by the way, and why did Daithi get the Yankee half of the question?

DiMaggio was immortalized by Simon and Garfunkel in "Mrs. Robinson" and Williams intends to achieve immortality in a different fashion. His body has been cryogenically preserved.

"Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you...."

Over to Daithi.

[Daithi]

Ten-year-old Timmy went on a trip to the coast with his parents. Timmy hated the coast. It stank; sand got in places; fleas liked to bite him; seagulls stole his food. Tim would much rather do math.

On the trip up to the coast his mother drove. She was a very safe driver. The coast was exactly 120 miles away from his home, and his mom drove at 40 mph the whole way there. Timmy was miserable.

His dad drove on the way back, but he wasn't nearly as safe as Tim's mom, so they went 60 mph the whole way back. They both took the same 120 mile route.

Now Timmy started doing some math. He figures it was 120 miles up and back so that's 240 miles total. Since they went 40 mph up, and 60 mph back, their average speed was 50 mph. So, their total travel time should have been 4.8 hours, but Timmy had kept track of the time and they drove for 5 hours. He was positive that it was 5 hours. It took Timmy 30 minutes to figure out why the times didn't match.

How long will it take you?

[red_phoenix]

Originally Posted by Daithi

Ten-year-old Timmy went on a trip to the coast with his parents. Timmy hated the coast. It stank; sand got in places; fleas liked to bite him; seagulls stole his food. Tim would much rather do math.

On the trip up to the coast his mother drove. She was a very safe driver. The coast was exactly 120 miles away from his home, and his mom drove at 40 mph the whole way there. Timmy was miserable.

His dad drove on the way back, but he wasn't nearly as safe as Tim's mom, so they went 60 mph the whole way back. They both took the same 120 mile route.

Now Timmy started doing some math. He figures it was 120 miles up and back so that's 240 miles total. Since they went 40 mph up, and 60 mph back, their average speed was 50 mph. So, their total travel time should have been 4.8 hours, but Timmy had kept track of the time and they drove for 5 hours. He was positive that it was 5 hours. It took Timmy 30 minutes to figure out why the times didn't match.

How long will it take you?

Forever...I am not very good at math problems.

[red_phoenix]

If we divide 120mph by the speed of 40mph it takes 3 hours to travel the distance.

If we divide 120mph by the speed of 60mph it takes 2 hours to travel the distance.

Total time is 5 hours.

[Bilbo1967]

I can see why it took 5 hours - 3 hours there, 2 hours back. But I can see why the average should be 50mph. What I can't see is why there's that discrepancy

I hate these maths questions. They always make me feel so inadequate

[wodin]

Originally Posted by red_pheonix

Forever...I am not very good at math problems.

Until some smart person figures it out, posts the answer, and I read it.

I'm a fan of delegation!

[wodin]

Originally Posted by red_pheonix

If we divide 120mph by the speed of 40mph it takes 3 hours to travel the distance.

If we divide 120mph by the speed of 60mph it takes 2 hours to travel the distance.

Total time is 5 hours.

Yes, that's what happens, but the question is why doesn't dividing 240 (total distance) by 50 (average speed) give you the same answer.

[red_phoenix]

Originally Posted by wodin

Yes, that's what happens, but the question is why doesn't dividing 240 (total distance) by 50 (average speed) give you the same answer.

I told you I wasn't very good a math questions.

But now I'm going to have to try and figure it out.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Daithi

Ten-year-old Timmy went on a trip to the coast with his parents. Timmy hated the coast. It stank; sand got in places; fleas liked to bite him; seagulls stole his food. Tim would much rather do math.

On the trip up to the coast his mother drove. She was a very safe driver. The coast was exactly 120 miles away from his home, and his mom drove at 40 mph the whole way there. Timmy was miserable.

His dad drove on the way back, but he wasn't nearly as safe as Tim's mom, so they went 60 mph the whole way back. They both took the same 120 mile route.

Now Timmy started doing some math. He figures it was 120 miles up and back so that's 240 miles total. Since they went 40 mph up, and 60 mph back, their average speed was 50 mph. So, their total travel time should have been 4.8 hours, but Timmy had kept track of the time and they drove for 5 hours. He was positive that it was 5 hours. It took Timmy 30 minutes to figure out why the times didn't match.

How long will it take you?

The average speed would be 50mph if they had driven for three hours at 40mph and then 3 hours at 60mph (perhaps a longer route home). But they didn't. They only drove for 2 hours at 60mph.

So their average speed was ((3*40)+(2*60))/5 = 48 miles per hour.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The average speed would be 50mph if they had driven for three hours at 40mph and then 3 hours at 60mph (perhaps a longer route home). But they didn't. They only drove for 2 hours at 60mph.

So their average speed was ((3*40)+(2*60))/5 = 48 miles per hour.

Well yes, of course, it's blindingly obvious (as is everything when somebody more able tells you the answer).

Seriously, I like to think that I'm not stupid, but I just couldn't see that until I was told

[pdurrant]

A word puzzle.

one, two, three, four, ...
first, second, third, fourth, ...
once, twice, thrice, ???, ...

Can you supply the missing word indicated by question marks?

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

A word puzzle.

one, two, three, four, ...
first, second, third, fourth, ...
once, twice, thrice, ???, ...

Can you supply the missing word indicated by question marks?

There isn't one?

[pdurrant]

Quite right. Once, twice, thrice is all there is. There's never been an English word for four times.

I may have jumped the gun a bit, but I'm sure my answer to Dathi's question was right, so over to you now.

[Bilbo1967]

OK, clues to a famous person's identity;

Was born in India.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

OK, clues to a famous person's identity;

Was born in India.

Rudyard Kipling?