Smarandache Funny Problems!

A trigon is another word for a triangle. See pentagon, hexagon, etc. So trigon (o) metry is triangle measuring.

AND STOP SHOUTING!

Cheers!

See below some of the Smarandache's Funny Problems:

[Each problem may become true if one gets an adequate 'logic' for it!]

1) Prove that 2 = 1.

Solution:

2 pints = 1 quart!

2) A man weighs the following weights on the following dates. How is this possible?

6/1/70 150 lbs. 6/3/70 0 lbs. 6/5/70 25 lbs. 6/7/70 0 lbs. 6/9/70 145 lbs.

Solution: The man is an astronaut who went to the moon and back.

Outerspace weightlessness: 0 lbs. 1/6 of Earth gravity, or gravity of the moon: 25 lbs.

3) If you have a couple of threes and divide them in half, why do you end up with 4 pieces?

Solution:

33 cut in half horizontally will make four pieces.

4) How 70 > 3 = LOVE?

Solution:

Move the characters of 70 > 3 around.

5) 10 - 1 = 0

Solution: If you have a stick (1) and an egg (0) and you give away the stick (1) you still have the egg (0) left.

6) All monkeys east bananas. I eat bananas. Therefore, I am a monkey!

7) Twelve minus one is equal to two.

Solution: 12 - 1 = 2 ( take digit 1 from 12).

8) 7 + 7 = 0.

Solution: Take the sticks from the 7's and rearrange them to form a rectangular zero ƒð.

9) 3 x 2578 = hell

Solution: Read your calculator upside down: 7734 (the product of the numbers) becomes hell (approximately).

10) An earthworm is cut down the middle. How many halves are there?

Solution: One, because the other half can still be one whole earthworm.

11) From two false hypotheses get a true statement.

Examples:

a) Grass is edible. (False) Edible things are green. (False) Therefore, grass is green. (True)

b) All dogs are poodles. (False) Spot is a dog. (False) Thus, spot is a poodle. (True)

12) How can you add 3 with 3 and get 8?

Solution: Turn one of the threes around and put them together to make an 8 (approximately).

13) If 10 trees fall down, and no one is around to hear them falling, how many of the trees fall?

Solution: Ten.

14) When algebraically 1=0?

Solution: In a null ring, which is a set with only one element and one binary operation. If we take for '+' and for '*' the same operation, we get a commutative unitary ring. In this case, the unitary element for '*' (which is normally denoted by '1' and the null element, (which is normally denoted by '0' coincide.

15) When is it possible to have: 1 + 1 = 10?

Solution: In base 2.

16) Another logic: How can we have ten divided by two equal to zero?

Solution: Ten cookies divided by two kids are eaten and nothing remains!

17) You are lost and walking down a road. You want to get to town and know the road leads to town but don't know which direction. You meet two twin boys. You know one boy always tells the truth and one always lies. The boys know the direction to town. You cannot tell the boys apart and can only ask one question to one boy to find the direction to town. What question should you ask?

Solution: Ask either boy what the other boy would say is the direction to town. This would be a lie because if you were asking the dishonest boy he would tell you a lie. If you were asking the honest boy he would tell you the truth about what the dishonest boy would say (which would be a lie) so he would give you the wrong direction. Town would then be in the opposite direction.

18) Why are manhole covers round? You know, the manholes on the streets, is there a reason why they made them round or could they be square or triangular?

Solution: Manhole covers are round because a circle cannot fall inside of itself. If they were square, triangular or some other shape they could be dropped into the hole, which would be dangerous to traffic.

19) You have eleven lines. How can you move five lines and still have nine?

Solution:

<-move

This is wrong for several reasons.

Manhole covers aren't all round. Other shapes are used.

A circle can easily 'fall inside itself'. The reason why manhole covers don't fall down the hole is because the hole is smaller than the cover. The hole isn't a simple cylindrical hole. Instead it has a wider part into which the cover is recessed and a narrower part below so that the cover is supported.

And even if you argue that a rectangular cover would have to much bigger than the hole to avoid falling in if turned to align with the diagonal (which doesn't prevent real covers being rectangualr anyway), there are other shapes which don't have this property. In fact, there's a whole class of shapes which have the same width

)Manhole covers aren't all round. Other shapes are used. ) )A circle can easily 'fall inside itself'. The reason why manhole covers )don't fall down the hole is because the hole is smaller than the cover. )The hole isn't a simple cylindrical hole. Instead it has a wider part )into which the cover is recessed and a narrower part below so that )the cover is supported. ) )And even if you argue that a rectangular cover would have to much )bigger than the hole to avoid falling in if turned to align with the )diagonal (which doesn't prevent real covers being rectangualr )anyway), there are other shapes which don't have this property. In )fact, there's a whole class of shapes which have the same width )everywhere.

I think this is the point he was trying to make. You can run up to a square manhole cover, lift it, turn it a bit so it fits through, and then dump it down the hole. You don't want people to be able to do that. And I should add that you can dump a round cover in any way you want and it will fit.

By the way: I recall a SF-story involving a planet where the circle was so sacred they didn't allow it's use, so the spaceship crew that crashed there couldn't build carts with wheels. The solution was to use one of these other 'same-width' shapes as rolls.

That may well be true, but it doesn't invalidate the solution given. In fact, logically, it is irrelevant, because the problem is about round manhole covers.

Yes that is true, but a minor technicality!

Again true, but it doesn't invalidate the solution given.

Despite all of your objections, I still believe that the solution given is essentially correct.

Derek Holt.

OK, then, how about, 'They're easier to make than other shapes' and/or 'They use less material for a given area of opening.' Or 'because the pipes that they cover up the top end of are round.'

OK, I'm being a pedant. So flame me. ;-}

Cheers!

True, not all manhole covers are round, and the only valid reason why a round manhole cover is round is because it has to cover a round manhole.

Davvero!

Ciao, GianPiero