Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-03-05
Sweetbrier Solves a Problem.
lPeck's SUM-

Peck's Sun.
Like the swarthy sons of Italy who
go about vending plaster-of-paris
images, Sweetbrier has great head
for figures. When not otherwise &C.
cupied, he had rather study over and
endcavor to work out some intricate
problem in mathematics than to see
match game of polo, which plainly
shows that this popular amusement
has not yet got him in its clutches.
He is also fairly clever at trauslating
REFUSES, deciphering enigmas, find
ing out "hidden words" etc, and
says positively that he once solved
the celebrated 1914 puzzle, but
could never do it second time
Chess, checkers and cribbage are al
so favorite games with him, as well
as billiards.
Sometimes he assists the children
in their lessons, but not as often as
he might-a failing very general
among parents, owing to their being
rusty" in the various branches Of
learning that were once so familiar,
and the time required TO refresh the
memory. The cares of life step in
and crowd out many other things
that should not be forgotten. One
evening last week his boy called at
tention to a problem in mathematics,
which, Notwithstanding the truth,
may be called an eggstraordinary
one. 1t was as follows:
"An old woman carrying eggs 10
market, was met by an unruly fellow
who broke them. When asked by
magistrate to prove her loss, she
could only remember, that by count
ing her eggs into the basket by twos,
threes, tours, tives, or skies, there al
ways remained one over, but by
counting them by sevens none were
left. How many did she have?"
The boy was stuck, and asked ask
ed his pa about it. Sweetbrier read
it over carefully, and then said: ooh,
that can't be very difficult, don't
know now exactly what rule to work
it out by, but it is evident to begin
with that the number required must
be multiple of seven."
81 know that" said the boy, "and l
have tried every multiple of seven
up to forty-two, and it don't come
right"
"Well, let's see," said Sweetbrier,
shows forty-nine? Two's into for
ty-mine twenty-four times and one
over; three and four both go o. X. !;
five's into forty-nine nine times and
four over. Forty-nine is n. g."
Then he went on, taking in their or
der all multiples of seven above for
ty-nine which ended with an odd
figure, Gas of course those ending
with even figures were divisible by
two, and many Of them by four,
without any remainder) until he got
as high as one hundred and eighty
nine.
Here he paused and scratched his
head, saying: "Well, the darned
thing isn't as simple as it looks, and
l don't believe l want to sit up all
night studying on it. Guess there
must be a catch somehow"
"Supposing you take the least COM
mon multiple of all the numbers,
from two TO seven," said the boy |;
and then he hastily added: "But OF
course that wouldn't do, for there
would be no remainder to any of
them"
"That gives me an idea," said
Sweetbrier, and he again went to
figuring. "Three times two are six /;
four skies twenty-four; five twenty
tours one hundred and twenty six
times one hundred and twenty are
seven hundred and twenty. Now
then, add one, and all the numbers
up to six are provided for as to the
odd egg, and il seven goes into seven
hundred and twenty-one without
remainder we are all right. Seven's
into seven once, into two no times, in
to twenty-one three times. Eureka
Domino! I'll is the magic number.
Well, I've stumbled on to ii, but it
seems as though there ought TO be a
smaller number. Here; le'me read
that again. There was something
about basket in it. Yes, the old
lady counted her eggs into basket
Well now, if seven hundred and
twenty-one is right, 1 wonder iii
occurred TO the man who got up tina
connndrum that sixty dozen egg
would make pretty heavy load fol
an old woman to carry around, ant
would take laundering big basket
"Maybe she carried the basket in
wagon" suggested the boy.
"Wagon nothing! That isn't sup
possible at all there's nothing sale
about a wagon-simply an old wo
man carrying eggs to market. Ant
THEN the idea of her having counted
so many eggs over six times at least
and more for all we know. It's pre-
posterous. How came she to accum
ulate SO many eggs anyhow? Blu
that question is just about as sensible
as good many others in text books
Some of these mathematician ough
to soak their heads. Let's hav,
just one game of casino"
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