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        riddles >> easy >> 7 ounces of gold
        
(Message started by: ranger99 on Feb 8^th, 2005, 2:01pm)

Title: 7 ounces of gold
Post by ranger99 on Feb 8^th, 2005, 2:01pm

An emplyer has to pay his sole employee an ounce of golf every day for 7 days. This must come from a solid bar that is 7 ounces in weight and can only be cut twice. How does he accomplish this?

Title: Re: 7 ounces of gold
Post by Padzok on Feb 8^th, 2005, 2:22pm

Highlight to read:

[hide]Just cut it so you have pieces of 1 oz, 2oz, 4oz

That make all the combinations 1 to 7.

Some days you'll need him to give you a bar back from one of the earlier days...so tell him not to sell them until day 7.

[/hide]

Title: Re: 7 ounces of gold
Post by Noke Lieu on Feb 8^th, 2005, 3:01pm

I reckon that's the intended answer, but it clearly doesn't work. Why not just give the employee a small chunk (maybe 3 oz) of the gold at the start of the week to tide them over, then give them the rest at the end of the week. Same thing, and you lose less gold cutting it.

Title: Re: 7 ounces of gold
Post by Padzok on Feb 8^th, 2005, 3:46pm

Probably coz he doesnt trust the employee to show up again.

A rational employee obviously would do so if employment is scarce.

But what if he can easily get a job paying an ounce of gold per day ...

Title: Re: 7 ounces of gold
Post by Noke Lieu on Feb 8^th, 2005, 6:09pm

If some git of a manager was to give me 1 oz of gold, tell me to take it home, bring it back the next day and swap if for 2oz, take them home, and the next day give me 1 oz of gold for me to take home, only to bring that AND the 2 oz back the next day to swap it for the 4 oz bar etc.. I'd quit.
And get a job that wasn't going to make me starve during the week.