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Topic: Omen (Read 1329 times) |
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alien2
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John lost all of his money in his home by playing dice with Dave. He then proposes the following, as he wants to win his money back: 'I will take four dice and release just them, one by one, and I will do that on this table. Every die will go about 16 centimeters straight down, w/o brushing against anything, all four showing sixes when they stop moving on flat hard surface. And after I release each of the above dice, I myself mustn't interfere with them in any way. Also, I got just a minute, since no heavy preparations are involved, nor am I allowed to use a contraption of any sort, or anything sticky. So, if I win, I get my money back, plus yours. And if you win, you can have my Mercedes.' Dave agrees to this, and soon after he lost the money, but not due to luck. How then? 
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| « Last Edit: Dec 13th, 2006, 2:19pm by alien2 » |
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Ulkesh
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Re: Omen
« Reply #1 on: Dec 13th, 2006, 12:58pm » |
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The dice were loaded/had a six on all faces?
The dice were big and very heavy, so when he dropped them straight down (sixes face-up), they thudded against the table and didn't roll?
The Mercedes was stolen and he had to pay a fine equal to the amount he'd initially won after winning the dice game?
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alien2
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Re: Omen
« Reply #2 on: Dec 13th, 2006, 1:10pm » |
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on Dec 13th, 2006, 12:58pm, Ulkesh wrote:The dice were loaded/had a six on all faces?
The dice were big and very heavy, so when he dropped them straight down (sixes face-up), they thudded against the table and didn't roll?
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No. Standard dice. 
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denis
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Re: Omen
« Reply #3 on: Dec 13th, 2006, 1:35pm » |
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The mecedes could be legit but have a lien slapped on it for non-payments on the car loan. Soon as ownership of the Mercedes changes to Dave, Dave is stuck with the lien (not sure if onwership can change while a lien in in force though). The amount of the lien would be equivalent to the amount of money Dave won in addition to the Mercedes.
Or even simpler, no lien but the amount of the loan outstanding is owed by Dave upon change of Onwership.
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| « Last Edit: Dec 13th, 2006, 2:06pm by denis » |
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alien2
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Re: Omen
« Reply #4 on: Dec 13th, 2006, 1:49pm » |
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Forget about the Mercedes. Just focus on the above minute..
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| « Last Edit: Dec 13th, 2006, 1:50pm by alien2 » |
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alien2
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Re: Omen
« Reply #5 on: Dec 13th, 2006, 2:04pm » |
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It is not a 100% certain thing, but very close to it, really. So the question is, what can he do to improve his chances for four sixes, since it takes a little practice, really..  
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| « Last Edit: Dec 13th, 2006, 2:20pm by alien2 » |
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denis
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Re: Omen
« Reply #6 on: Dec 13th, 2006, 2:09pm » |
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If he has a minute, he could do many trials, altough to me it does not seem enough time to give a good chance a three sixes.
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| « Last Edit: Dec 13th, 2006, 2:09pm by denis » |
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alien2
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Re: Omen
« Reply #7 on: Dec 13th, 2006, 2:22pm » |
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Sorry riddlers, because I have modified the riddle a little bit.  It looks good now, and I stand by it, so fire away with ideas if you got them.
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denis
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Re: Omen
« Reply #8 on: Dec 13th, 2006, 2:30pm » |
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Ok, now he can hit one die with the next in order to increase his chances. Still, there must be something more to it unless the guy can get really good at it.
Suposing he's allowed as many retrials within the minute then it doable.
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| « Last Edit: Dec 13th, 2006, 2:33pm by denis » |
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alien2
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Re: Omen
« Reply #9 on: Dec 13th, 2006, 3:03pm » |
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on Dec 13th, 2006, 2:30pm, denis wrote:| Ok, now he can hit one die with the next in order to increase his chances. |
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Not sure what you are driving at.. 
on Dec 13th, 2006, 2:30pm, denis wrote:| . Still, there must be something more to it unless the guy can get really good at it. |
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Yes, I think so. I mean, I know so.. What was I thinking!? 
on Dec 13th, 2006, 2:30pm, denis wrote:
Suposing he's allowed as many retrials within the minute then it doable. |
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Nope. Once he releases the die, he cannot give it another try. And even if he could, he only has one minute, so what is the difference.
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denis
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Re: Omen
« Reply #10 on: Dec 13th, 2006, 3:36pm » |
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While he says that "I musn't interfere in any way" does he use another person or trained animal to interfere?
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TheNumberScott
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Re: Omen
« Reply #11 on: Dec 13th, 2006, 4:58pm » |
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do they touch anything between the 16 cm freefall and the flat surface?
or perhaps he drops them into a tube, which will not allow it to spin?
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There once was a man who hurt his shins. So he went to the doctor to get some help, and they gave him shins of rebar!
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ChunkTug
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Re: Omen
« Reply #12 on: Dec 13th, 2006, 6:25pm » |
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He doesn't say they need to have the six face up. So as long as he doesn't roll any sixes face down he's okay.
Combine that with hitting any sixes face down with the next die to impove your chances.
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loptop7
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Re: Omen
« Reply #13 on: Dec 13th, 2006, 8:38pm » |
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i read this once in a manga (yu-gi-oh) where yugi drops a dice then spins the second dice and bumps the table according to whether the sesecond spinning dicce should hit the already landed dice to change its number.
i also thought of dropping it down a cylinder just wide enough so the dice can't turn on its descent but it would touch the paper
if its possible to alter the dice then sticking a magnet on the underside of the six and using a metal table may help
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Grimbal
wu::riddles Moderator
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Re: Omen
« Reply #14 on: Dec 14th, 2006, 2:24am » |
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on Dec 13th, 2006, 12:15pm, Iceman wrote:| Dave agrees to this, and soon after he lost the money, but not due to luck. |
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It was not due to luck, but due to a lack of it.
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alien2
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Re: Omen
« Reply #15 on: Dec 14th, 2006, 7:52am » |
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on Dec 13th, 2006, 3:36pm, denis wrote:| While he says that "I musn't interfere in any way" does he use another person or trained animal to interfere? |
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No.
on Dec 13th, 2006, 4:58pm, TheNumberScott wrote:| do they touch anything between the 16 cm freefall and the flat surface? |
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Yes..
on Dec 13th, 2006, 4:58pm, TheNumberScott wrote:
or perhaps he drops them into a tube, which will not allow it to spin? |
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on Dec 13th, 2006, 8:38pm, loptop7 wrote:
i also thought of dropping it down a cylinder just wide enough so the dice can't turn on its descent but it would touch the paper
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The die will the brush against it, which is not allowed.
on Dec 13th, 2006, 6:25pm, ChunkTug wrote:| He doesn't say they need to have the six face up |
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No. It has to be six.
on Dec 13th, 2006, 8:38pm, loptop7 wrote:
i also thought of dropping it down a cylinder just wide enough so the dice can't turn on its descent but it would touch the paper
if its possible to alter the dice then sticking a magnet on the underside of the six and using a metal table may help |
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No magnet either.
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raven
Senior Riddler
"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" ~M. Hatter
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Re: Omen
« Reply #16 on: Dec 14th, 2006, 8:47am » |
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16cm ~= 6"
| hidden: | | I suspect (without actually trying this) that if you dropped normal sized dice from that height, onto a hard surface, you would have little control of the outcome. However, if you dropped enormous dice from that height, there would be little chance of them rolling over! |
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alien2
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Re: Omen
« Reply #17 on: Dec 14th, 2006, 10:07am » |
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Well, in the absence of a solid riddle, I have posted this little riddle. But don't worry, because from now on, I will post only great riddles! Now, it does mean something, even though I don't know what, but I think that a physicist can explain it to us.. So here is the answer: he uses a jug, or something like that, pretty even one, and pretty wide too, filled with water. For some reason, when I dropped the die, most of the times, and I dropped the die about 100 times, the die ended showing six! So I guess that if you have a steady hand, and the above jug, or something like that, you can enhance a lot your chances to win. But then I used a narrower jug, and not once did I get six. So it looks to me, that shape of a jug or something else that can hold water, can assist you to keep your Mercedes. I just cannot explain it, that's all. But maybe someone here can.
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denis
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Re: Omen
« Reply #18 on: Dec 14th, 2006, 10:36am » |
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Ahhh... I see.
Where I blocked was:
"nor am I allowed to use a contraption of any sort"
So I was trying to figure it out without any additional equipment. But I doubt I would have come up with this even if the restriction was not there.
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| « Last Edit: Dec 14th, 2006, 10:37am by denis » |
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Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
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Re: Omen
« Reply #19 on: Dec 14th, 2006, 10:40am » |
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Does that mean the jug was already on the table then? You do like the riddles where an important fact is left out. I don't quite see how this would ensure they all show six, though.
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"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." - Galileo Galilei
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alien2
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Re: Omen
« Reply #20 on: Dec 14th, 2006, 11:36am » |
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It does not ensure anything, but your chances are a lot better like that, especially if you have steady hand. After your comment, I have released, once more, 6 dice like that, and all of them end up showing six. Can you beat that? I did not think so!
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Grimbal
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Re: Omen
« Reply #21 on: Dec 14th, 2006, 3:16pm » |
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You mean you drop them carefully with 6 on top or you drop then in any direction and the 6 ends up?
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flamingdragon
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Re: Omen
« Reply #22 on: Dec 14th, 2006, 3:50pm » |
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Most likely drop them carefully with six up as he said it requires a steady hand.
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alien2
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Re: Omen
« Reply #23 on: Dec 15th, 2006, 5:43am » |
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on Dec 14th, 2006, 3:16pm, Grimbal wrote:| You mean you drop them carefully with 6 on top or you drop then in any direction and the 6 ends up? |
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The former.
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Grimbal
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Re: Omen
« Reply #24 on: Dec 15th, 2006, 7:06am » |
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I have to try that.
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