Puzzler of the week

[Scott MacLean]

This week's puzzler:

This puzzler comes from the wonderful world of the cinema. The story opens with our three protagonists escaping from a chain gang. In the opening scene, they're chained together and running to catch a slow moving freight train.

The leader of the gang, Everett, is the first one to jump into what he thinks is an empty boxcar. The others, meanwhile, are still running along side.

The moment he is inside, Everett's confronted not with an empty boxcar but by three hobos. Considering that the protagonists' most urgent need is to get their shackles removed, Everett asks the following question: "Any of you boys happen to be a smithy or otherwise versed in the metallurgical arts?"

But before he can get an answer, one of his comrades slips and falls and Everett is yanked out of the car and the train takes off.

Now here's the question. When Everett asked the question the hobos all looked at him blankly, because it didn't make sense.

Why not?

Last 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 answer:

Well, the principal simply tore the sheet into three exactly the same size pieces, but he gave the middle piece to Ted of course. And it had two factory edges and two rough edges. And the other pieces which came from not the middle but the top and the bottom had three factory edges and one torn edge. So when he reached in and felt the piece the two long sides that were rough, he knew that that was the one that had Ted's name on it, and Ted won the election.

_______________________
Scott MacLean
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ICQ: 9184011
http://www.nerosoft.com