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Topic: Wise son (Read 1242 times) |
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maryl
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QUESTION: An old man wanted to leave all of his money to one of his three sons, but he didn't know which one he should give it to. He gave each of them a few coins and told them to buy something that would be able to fill their living room. The first man bought straw, but there was not enough to fill the room. The second bought some sticks, but they still did not fill the room. The third man bought two things that filled the room, so he obtained his father's fortune. What were the two things that the man bought?
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harpanet
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Re: Wise son
« Reply #1 on: Jun 11th, 2003, 1:38pm » |
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A Torch and battery? Filled the room with light.
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MattyDK23
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Re: Wise son
« Reply #2 on: Jun 11th, 2003, 1:38pm » |
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1> A drum and a drumstick...he banged them together and the sound filled the room
2> Two bowls of beans...he ate them, waited, and after a while the...flatulence...filled the room
3> <Insert 'real' answer here>
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James Fingas
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Re: Wise son
« Reply #3 on: Jun 11th, 2003, 1:41pm » |
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Here are some more that I can only assume are wrong:
A nearby plot of land and a backhoe?
A garden hose and some duct tape? (kids, don't try this at home)
A very small house and a large jar of peanut butter?
A bicycle pump and a very big balloon?
A disco ball and a smoke machine? (one of the two is unnecessary)
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Doc, I'm addicted to advice! What should I do?
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Zeke the Geke
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Re: Wise son
« Reply #4 on: Jun 11th, 2003, 1:58pm » |
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To get the "right" answer, I suppose we have to assume that the old man had something in particular in mind for them to buy for the living room -- otherwise it wouldn't be much of an "aha" kind of riddle, would it? Is it safe to say we're talking about something material here, or do we venture into the realm of "love", "hope", "peace" etc. (as a dying man's wishes)?
One more thing -- in many riddles of this type, it would be a "wise" old man. We're not told this guy has brains, so maybe its true that he never had a very good idea of what his sons would think of and would simply accept the first "full room" that they came up with. In that case, any of the above ideas seem reasonable.
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| « Last Edit: Jun 11th, 2003, 1:58pm by Zeke the Geke » |
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maryl
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The old guy wanted to see which of his sons came up with the most ingenious plan, before he gave him all of his money.
One answer above is similiar to mine, but several of them fit the bill as well; and some of them are hilarious.
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Zeke the Geke
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Re: Wise son
« Reply #6 on: Jun 11th, 2003, 2:22pm » |
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So the ingeneous son should argue that the living room is already full, and that any further spending to fill it further would be superfluous (oooh -- my big word for the day). His interest in being thrifty should surely cause the father to give the inheritance to him.
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towr
wu::riddles Moderator
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Re: Wise son
« Reply #7 on: Jun 11th, 2003, 2:26pm » |
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you could buy gas, and fill the room with that, that's only one thing though..
So you could also buy matches, and fill the room with fire 
Or (a bottle of) water and a waterheater, boil the water till the watervapour fills the room.
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| « Last Edit: Jun 11th, 2003, 2:27pm by towr » |
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Wikipedia, Google, Mathworld, Integer sequence DB
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maryl
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I think it was a double-plotted plan-to see who could actually fill the whole room, and with the cheapest materials.
And if the room was dark than nothing fills a room better than a little light.-it's a candle and matches.
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Zeke the Geke
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Re: Wise son
« Reply #9 on: Jun 11th, 2003, 2:44pm » |
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So do you accept filling the room with air? This would involve no expense at all. It doesn't seem to make sense to require them to spend their few coins, but to use the cheapest materials. Surely free is cheapest.
Just one more thing -- I don't know how sparse your living room is, but in mine, a lit candle is hardly going to light up under the sofa, behind the TV stand, or the inside-back of the stereo cabinet. So how full is full?
I don't mean to be picky, though. I'll drop it if you like. 
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| « Last Edit: Jun 11th, 2003, 2:47pm by Zeke the Geke » |
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maryl
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on Jun 11th, 2003, 2:44pm, Zeke the Geke wrote:| So do you accept filling the room with air? This would involve no expense at all. It doesn't seem to make sense to require them to spend their few coins, but to use the cheapest materials. Surely free is cheapest. But that's okay. I'll drop it if you like. |
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Feeling a little overly-analytical today?
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Zeke the Geke
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Re: Wise son
« Reply #11 on: Jun 11th, 2003, 2:49pm » |
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Sorry.  I thought that was part of the point -- from following other threads, it seems like the thing to do is to look for any alternate explanation possible. Just trying to fit in! 
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maryl
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on Jun 11th, 2003, 2:49pm, Zeke the Geke wrote:| Sorry. I thought that was part of the point -- from following other threads, it seems like the thing to do is to look for any alternate explanation possible. Just trying to fit in! |
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S'alright. Air's a good thought too, but the room is already full of air isn't it?
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| « Last Edit: Jun 11th, 2003, 3:06pm by maryl » |
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MattyDK23
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Re: Wise son
« Reply #13 on: Jun 11th, 2003, 4:44pm » |
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Heh heh...as long as we're overanalyzing, what about sound? Just yell...nothing fills a silent room better than a good, free SCREAM!
P.S. Then go and buy two beers, one for you and one for your best friend. You just inherited your father's fortune!
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| « Last Edit: Jun 11th, 2003, 4:46pm by MattyDK23 » |
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Lightboxes
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Re: Wise son
« Reply #14 on: Jun 11th, 2003, 8:46pm » |
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I know something better than free...hmmmm
but a phone, then call up a newpaper and then buy an ad that says:
"For only "n" dollars, come to my living room to help me figure out what can fill my room with just a few coins...and if your idea works...you get 10% of my fortune."
Then all those people that show up will fill the room!
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TenaliRaman
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Re: Wise son
« Reply #15 on: Jun 12th, 2003, 7:14am » |
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guesses,
1>With the few coins he had he bought a book of jokes and a clown mask.Then he started telling jokes to his father and filled the room with laughter.
2>He could have bought some paint and a paintbrush to fill the room with colours.
3>It is an old saying that "a house without its mistress is empty".So the third person probably bought a engagement ring and a bride suit indicating he is going to marry.(ofcourse the solution is meaningless if the three sons are already married)
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Self discovery comes when a man measures himself against an obstacle - Antoine de Saint Exupery
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deeznutz
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the answer is a candle and match. he filled the room with light.
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Grimbal
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Re: Wise son
« Reply #17 on: Feb 14th, 2005, 12:52am » |
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1. One son was a compulsive gambler. He bought a pack of cards and went play poker. He came back with a full house. Unfortunately, he lost his father's heritage in the process.
2. One son bought a rose for his wife and filled the room with love.  (Hey, it is Valentine day!)
3. One son bought a bucket of manure and filled the room with flies. His wife left him. Obviously one of the sons has a better sense for romance than the other.
4. One son, (yes, that's four, he is from a previous mariage  ) was so nervous about what to do that he smoked cigarette after cigarette. He filled the room with smoke. This was fatal to his father who got asthma.
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alien
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The third man bought two guns and shot his two brothers and put one gun in the hand of one brother and the other in the hand of the other brother to make it look like they shoot each other. Since his two sons were dead the old man had no choice but to leave all of his money to his only son. Damn I'm good at these kinds of riddles!
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