Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-03-01
SOME PARADOX ES.
Propositions or Queries OF q Puz-
zling Character.

There exists, floating about the
world in verbal form, and OCCASION
ally even appearing in print a certain
class of Propositions OF Queries, of
which the object is to puzzle the wits
of the unwary listener, or to beguile
him into giving an absurd reply.
Many of these are very old, and
some are excellent Instances will
readily occur. Who, for example, has
not, at some period of his existence,
been ask ell tho following question:
''lfa goose weighs ten pounds and
half its own weight what is the weight
of the goosep" And who has not
been tempted to reply on the instant,
fifteen poundsP-tho correct answer
being, of course, twenty pounds In
deed, it is astonishing what very
simple query will sometimes catch
wise man mapping. Even the follow
ing have been known to succeed:
"How many days would it take to
cut up a piece of cloth fifty yards long,
one yard being cut off every dayp"
Or again:
IA snail climbing up post twenty
feet high, ascends five feet every day
and slips down four feet every night.
How long will the snail take to reach
the top of the postp"
Or again:
"a wise man having a window one
yard high and one yard wide, aud re-
quiring more light, enlarged his win
dow to twice its former size; yet the
widow was still only one yard high
and one yard wide. How was this
donep"
This is catch question in geometry,
as the preceding were catch questions
in arithmetic-the window being dia-
mond-shaped at first, and afterwards
made square. As to the two former,
perhaps it is scarcely necessary scri-
ously to point out that the answer to
the first is not fifty days, but forty
nine; and to the second not twenty
days. but sixteen-since the snail who
gains one foot each day for fifteen
Z days. climbs on the sixteenth day to
the top of the pole, and there remains.
Such examples are plentiful and oc-
casionally both curious and amusing.
But the purpose of the following paper
is to illustrate class of problems oi
rather different kind. There are
certain problems which are in no way
catch questions (any problem involv'
ing u mere verbal bubble is of course
out of court by its own innate vile
ness), and which, though at first sigh
extremely simple. often require con.
siderable ingenuity to arrive at cor.
rect result Take for example the fol-
lowing:
"a man walks round a pole. on the
top Of which is monkey. As the man
moves, the-monkey turns round ON the
top of the pole.so as still to keep face
to face with the man. Query: When
the man has gone round the pole. has
he, or has he not, gone round the
monkeyP"
The answer which will occur at first
sight to most persons is that the man
has not gone round the monkey since
he has never been behind 1t The cor.
rect answer. however, as decided by
Knowledge, in the pages of which thi,
momentous question has been argued,
is that the man has gone round the
monkey in going round the pole.
The following has not so far as the
writer is aware, hit herto appeared in
print: "a train standing on an in.
cline is Just kept stationary by an en-.
gine which is not sufficiently powerful
to draw it up the incline. A second
engine, Of the same power as the first
Is then brought up to assist by push
ing the train from behind, and the two
engines together take the train up the
incline. Suppose the carriages to b.
linked together by loose chains Sc
that when the engine In front is acting
the chains are stretched and the buf
fers between the carriages are sepa.
rated. then. when the train is moving
under the action of two engines
the ] buffers must be either
together or apart Which are they
If they are apart. the engine behint
the train is evidently doing no work
II they are together, then the engin,
In front is doing none. But neithe'
engine alone can move the train
WHY. then, does the train move?n
The following was once asked at {
university wine-party by now well
known senior wrangler: "Suppos
three snakes each Of which 10 swsl