Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1888-06-22
SOME PARODOXES.
Propositions or Queries OF q Pux-
cling Cha racter.


There exists. floating about the
world in verbal form, and OCCASION
ally even appearing in print, a certain
class of Propositions or 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 ed the following question::
If goose weighs ten pounds and
half ito own weight, what is the weight
of the goosep" And who has not
been tempted to reply on the instant.
fifteen poundsp-the correct answer
being. Of course. twenty pounds. In
deed. 1t Is astonishing what a very
simple query will sometimes catch a
wise man mapping Even the follow
ing have been known TO succeed:
How many days would it take to
cut up = piece of cloth fifty yards long.
one yard being cut off every dayp"
Or again:
"A snail climbing up a 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-
curing more light. enlarged his win.
dow to twice its former size; yet the
window was still only one yard high
and one yard wide. How was this
doneP"
This is a catch question in geometry,
as the preceding were catch questions
in ari thmetic-the window being dia-
mond-shaped at first. and afterw ards
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
days. climbs on the sixteenth day tc
he 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 OF
rather a different kind. There are
certain problems which are in no way
catch questions (any problem involv-
ing mere verbal bubble is Of course
nut Of court by its own innate vile
ness), and which. though at first sight
extremely simple. often require COLI
siderable ingenuity to arrive at cor
rect result. Take for example the fol-
lowing:
"A man walks round a pole. on the
OPP of which is a 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
he man has gone round the pole. has
he. or has he not, gone round the
monkeyT
The answer which will occur at frs
sight to most persons Is that the mar
has not gone round the monkey. sine,
he has never been behind 1t. Tho 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 tn,
monkey in going round the pole,
The following has not SO far as tn,
writer is aware. hitherto appeared il
print: "A train standing on an in
cline is ust kept stationary by an en-
CINE which is not sufficiently powerful
to draw it up the incline. A secont
engine. of the same power as the first
is tn en- 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. 50
that when the engine IN front Is acting
the chains are stretched and the buff
ers between the carriages are sepa.
rated. then. when the train is moving
under. the acton Of two engines
The buffers must be either
together or apart. Which are they
IL they are apart the engine benin,
the train is evidently doing no work
If they are together. then the engin,
in front is doing none. But neithe
engine alone can move the train
Why. then. does the train mover"
The following was once asked at
university wine-party by now well
known senior wrangler: 'Suppos
three snakes. each of which is swal
lowing another by the tail SO that tn
three form q circle.-then. as the swal