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        riddles >> microsoft >> Tooth fairy contract
        
(Message started by: pqlier on Aug 7^th, 2002, 9:21am)

Title: Tooth fairy contract
Post by pqlier on Aug 7^th, 2002, 9:21am

"Your company is bidding for the tooth fairy management contract. Ignoring administration, transportation, wages, etc., how much will it cost to pay out the money every year at $0.25 per tooth?"

Less than all that stuff we're ignoring.

:D

Title: Re: Tooth fairy contract
Post by eatyourgreens on Sep 21^st, 2002, 10:57am

We are bidding for the contract to be the tooth fairy MANAGER, not the tooth fairy herself (are fairies female?). Therefore, the tooth fairy supplies the $0,25 for each tooth, not us. The only costs we have to cover are the costs of distribution etc, but the question tells us to ignore these.

The question is "how much will it cost to pay out the money every year at $0.25 per tooth?", to which the correct answer is $0.00

Title: Re: Tooth fairy contract
Post by thelonious on Oct 22^nd, 2002, 6:46pm

Actually, the question is not how much it will cost us, the company bidding, but just how much will it cost. The kind of cost analysis you should do before bidding on the contract. Including, investigating the liquid assets of the "Fairy" in question, and any criminal background checks. The cost of paying out $0.25 per tooth is still the cost, regardless of who incurs it.

Title: Re: Tooth fairy contract
Post by Cyrus on Dec 20^th, 2002, 2:32pm

So really you should calculate an estimate of the number of teeth lost in a year, i guess.

I would think that if you calculated how many potential teeth losses are born INTO the world each year, that would equal the number of teeth lost each year. (not considering population growth over time)

So if you know the number of babies born multiplied by the number of baby teeth a normal person loses (i have no idea, I'd hafta look it up 12, 16?? ...oh well, that's not the point)

THAT should give you a good estimate of the number of teeth lost each year multiplied by $0.25 gives you the cost to the tooth fairie's poor little pockets.

I'll think about this one some more.

Title: Re: Tooth fairy contract
Post by Phil on Jan 28^th, 2003, 2:35pm

Don't fall for this one. It doesn't cost anything; she's making money on the deal. Buy teeth for 2 bits, sell'em for a buck. So the real question is, where's the market for baby teeth?
Is Martha Stewart using her stock market profits to make adorable centerpieces for any formal occasion?
Is Bill Gates designing a version of windows that will bite you in the a** literally?
I just shudder to think what bin Laden or Saddam would do if they got hold of these weapons of masticating destruction.

Title: Re: Tooth fairy contract
Post by Icarus on Jan 28^th, 2003, 4:47pm

Actually, you have 3 choices:

1) Pay out 25 cents a tooth. You will get your pants sued off for breach of implied contract by all those rich kids who are used to getting much more. These guys have talented legal teams with lots of time and money to pursue the suit. Not a good idea.

2) Pay out like the current tooth fairy. The rich get a ton of money per tooth, and only the poor have to make due with a quarter. The class-action attorneys are salivating just at the thought. They live for suits like this. The current tooth fairy gets away with it because she has stayed hidden. They don't know who to go after. You have no such protection. Not a good idea.

3) Pay everyone beaucoup bucks per tooth. One kid I know got $20, and his parents aren't even truly rich - just "well-to-do". I doubt $20 per would be enough to keep the rich kids off your back. Maybe $100 would do it - maybe. Even so, you're sunk - there's no way you can pay that much to every kid - the tooth market just will not support it. Not a good idea.

The conclusion is - your company is doomed if you get the contract. Better to brush up your resume and flee this company before the moron who decided to put in a bid manages to bring the whole thing down.

Title: Re: Tooth fairy contract
Post by Alex Wright on Mar 3^rd, 2003, 9:01pm

Phil,
Don't you realise that you just said "chewing destruction"?

But Anyway, It would cost $7,999,876,786.75 Assuming that the tooth fairy serves the entire world. Or if we assume universe, the answer is infinite.

Title: Re: Tooth fairy contract
Post by Icarus on Mar 4^th, 2003, 4:45pm

Alex: Phil said exactly what he meant - think about it.

Also, one of the few things that physicists can say about the universe with almost complete certainty is that it IS finite, not infinite.

Title: Re: Tooth fairy contract
Post by Alex Wright on Mar 4^th, 2003, 8:16pm

Yes I do Understand where he was coming from, but when you think about it, if she/he serves the entire universe for eternity, then the cost would approach infinite, ofcourse it would never get there, I could always pull out another tooth because of my riddle habits.

Title: Re: Tooth fairy contract
Post by Rob on Aug 4^th, 2003, 11:01pm

The person approaching you for this offer seemed a bit
off in the beginning of their presentation. Although you spent
the time to sit and listen to the proposition, especially pleased
with the idea of a merger, we all know the tooth fairy doesn't
exist.

Title: Re: Tooth fairy contract
Post by wowbagger on Aug 5^th, 2003, 3:59am

on 08/04/03 at 23:01:30, Rob wrote:

we all know the tooth fairy doesn't exist.

What does this piece of real-world trivia have to do with the microsoft-forum? ::)

Title: Re: Tooth fairy contract
Post by James Fingas on Aug 5^th, 2003, 12:07pm

on 03/04/03 at 20:16:11, Alex Wright wrote:

if she/he serves the entire universe for eternity, then the cost would approach infinite

Actually, you could invest the start-up capital and use the interest to pay the $0.25 in perpetuity. In fact, you could even increase the $0.25 over time to cover inflation using this method (make sure there's enough interest to cover the $0.25 and still grow the invested capital).

And who said I learned nothing in Economics class? Oh, wait a minute, that was me...

Title: Re: Tooth fairy contract
Post by Wardub on Apr 26^th, 2008, 1:40pm

I did a little research and kids have 20 teeth and adults have 32. I don't know anything about teeth, I am assuming that we lose all 20 of those teeth. So it will be 5 dollars per person. I'll assume we are only talking about the US to keep numbers lower. There are an average of 300,000,000 people in the US. Average life expectancy is 75 or so? So over 75 years the tooth fairy will pay 300,000,000 * 20 . Divide by 75 and it would be about average amount per year of
$80,000,000.

This severly undercuts the people that are not alive today and lost all their teeth. But it also counts all the people over 75. So hopefully that evens it up.

Title: Re: Tooth fairy contract
Post by skeptic1000 on May 9^th, 2008, 10:59am

on 04/26/08 at 13:40:21, Wardub wrote:

There are an average of 300,000,000 people in the US. Average life expectancy is 75 or so? So over 75 years the tooth fairy will pay 300,000,000 * 20 . Divide by 75 and it would be about average amount per year of
$80,000,000.

I was curious to see how close your logic of using the population divided by the life expectancy came to predicting the number of yearly births. I found a stat that says about 4 million babies are born every year in the US, so I would say that puts you spot on. I guess all those other factors are a wash.