Brainteasers...

[Boatbuilder]

I came a cross this before and thought it might start off an interesting topic. if anybody comes across any other brainteasers then post them by all means. Maybe just one at a time though.

Can you make up a limerick poem from this equation? If nobody succeeds I will give the answer in 48 hours.

[Courtenay]

Blimey O'Reilly, I used to have to do equations like that at school, but they never told us to turn them into poetry on top of it!! (Actually, I would have enjoyed the poetry more than the maths.)

How about something like...

Take twelve plus one-forty-four,
Plus three times root four, plus one score;*
Divide this by seven,
Add five times eleven —
The answer is nine squared, no more!

(* I was going to say "Plus twenty, plus three times root four", but rhyming a word with itself is bad poetry. )

PS. The whole equation is a very roundabout way of saying 26 + 55 = 81.

[Anita Bensoussane]

A great limerick, Courtenay!

[Boatbuilder]

That's not the 'official' one, Courtenay, but it's very much in the same vein and makes a Limerick. Well done.

This is what was actually written:



It was devised by the British wordplay and recreational mathematics expert Leigh Mercer (1893–1977).

See this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerick_(poetry)

[Courtenay]

Oh, of course, I should have twigged that 12 and 144 have traditional names as well as 20! Leigh Mercer's original version certainly scans a lot better than mine because of that.

I can't help thinking that only in Britain would you find someone simultaneously ingenious and bonkers enough to turn maths into poetry, but there we are... (I do love this country.)

By the way, the link isn't working when clicked on — for some reason, on this forum, if you paste a Wikipedia link that ends with a bracket (or parenthesis, to be technical), the forum software doesn't include the bracket as part of the link. It does work if you embed the link in the text, like this.

[Daisy]

I got as far as the dozen and gross, then got bogged down with square roots etc.! It's very clever.

[Boatbuilder]

I've edited the link in the original post, Courtenay. Thanks for pointing it out.

[IceMaiden]

Blimey O'Reilly, I used to have to do equations like that at school

Gosh Courtenay how hard are the maths they teach in Australia?! If I'd had that equation to work out in school I'd still be there

No numbers for this one, you just need to use your eyes to find the squirrel hidden in the image!

https://i2.wp.com/sharecaster.com/wp-co ... =634&ssl=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Courtenay]

Gosh Courtenay how hard are the maths they teach in Australia?! If I'd had that equation to work out in school I'd still be there

I did maths to almost the equivalent of A levels, then switched to geography (easier and more interesting)!!

Will play hunt-the-squirrel when I'm more awake — I have an early shift tomorrow and need to get to bed. Looks like a good puzzle, thanks!