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        riddles >> what happened >> Bridge
        
(Message started by: Iceman on Apr 19th, 2007, 2:12am)
Title: Bridge
Post by Iceman on Apr 19th, 2007, 2:12am
An engineer asks his boss for a promotion or at least a raise, who says: 'Tell you what. I will pose two questions. Understand? Two questions. If you answer one question right, I will give you the raise. If you answer both correct, I will promote you.'


1) How would you make a really wide bridge, which can be improvised in any way you think of, on a pretty shallow dried up riverbed, by using least building material? So quality of the bridge is not important here, just something so one can walk across it, but it has to be smooth and w/o holes.

2) A man, who isn't carrying anything, wants to get to the other side of a lift bridge in motion, but its two parts are too slant, and still going up, to jump over. In any possible scenario, what is the quickest way to get to the other side of the bridge?
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Grimbal on Apr 19th, 2007, 4:07am
1) [hide] It's dried up.  Just cross. [/hide]
2) [hide] Cross the bridge as you would cross a road [/hide]
Where is my raise?  Where is my promotion?  8)
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Iceman on Apr 19th, 2007, 4:31am

on 04/19/07 at 04:07:50, Grimbal wrote:
1) [hide] It's dried up.  Just cross. [/hide]

Good try, but you still have to make a really wide bridge, crossing like a man, not like a kangaroo. It is clearly sated in the riddle, and so you cannot go around it.  ;)




on 04/19/07 at 04:07:50, Grimbal wrote:
2) [hide] Cross the bridge as you would cross a road [/hide] 8)

I dunno what this means. ??? But note that I meant that two parts of the bridge are slant and still going all the way up.. ;)
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Grimbal on Apr 19th, 2007, 5:53am
When you cross a road you go from one side of the road to the other.  With the bridge you could do the same, i.e. cross from one parapet to the other without crossing the river.

I guess standing on the border where the bridge splits would look like the thing to do, except that if you can still climb there now that the gap is too wide to jump, you could also climb there when the bridge is in the same position on the way down.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by towr on Apr 19th, 2007, 6:05am

on 04/19/07 at 02:12:51, Iceman wrote:
An engineer asks his boss for a promotion or at least a raise, who says: 'Tell you what. I will pose two questions. Understand? Two questions. If you answer one question right, I will give you the raise. If you answer both correct, I will promote you.'
The first question asked is "Understand?", so I'd say "yes" (which is undoubtably correct) and settle for the raise.


Quote:
1) How would you make a really wide bridge, which can be improvised in any way you think of, on a pretty shallow dried up riverbed, by using least building material? So quality of the bridge is not important here, just something so one can walk across it.
Do you really mean wide (so many people can cross next to each other), or just long (to span across the dry river)?
And in what way do you mean "least building material", the least volume or the least mass?


Quote:
2) A man, who isn't carrying anything, wants to get to the other side of a lift bridge in motion, but its two parts are too slant, and still going up, to jump over. In any possible scenario, what is the quickest way to get to the other side of the bridge?  
Quantum teleportation.
But practically, I'd just wait for the bridge to go down.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Iceman on Apr 19th, 2007, 6:43am

on 04/19/07 at 05:53:13, Grimbal wrote:
When you cross a road you go from one side of the road to the other.  With the bridge you could do the same, i.e. cross from one parapet to the other without crossing the river.

Clever. Not what I had in mind though.




on 04/19/07 at 05:53:13, Grimbal wrote:
I guess standing on the border where the bridge splits would look like the thing to do, except that if you can still climb there now that the gap is too wide to jump, you could also climb there when the bridge is in the same position on the way down.

Not quick enough.




on 04/19/07 at 06:05:14, towr wrote:
The first question asked is "Understand?", so I'd say "yes" (which is undoubtably correct) and settle for the raise.

Pretty thin.




on 04/19/07 at 06:05:14, towr wrote:
Do you really mean wide (so many people can cross next to each other), or just long (to span across the dry river)?

Yes, the bed is pretty narrow, doesn't matter, and the bridge should be quite wide, so all regulars here can walk on it at the same time.




on 04/19/07 at 06:05:14, towr wrote:
And in what way do you mean "least building material", the least volume or the least mass?

Take your pick. The usual material for a bridge, I guess.




on 04/19/07 at 06:05:14, towr wrote:
Quantum teleportation.
But practically, I'd just wait for the bridge to go down.


I said in any possible scenario, not in an impossible one. The latter is to slow.  
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by towr on Apr 19th, 2007, 7:21am

on 04/19/07 at 06:43:04, Iceman wrote:
I said in any possible scenario, not in an impossible one. The latter is to slow.  
It's not impossible, just very, very, ... , very improbable. But can't be beaten for speed.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Grimbal on Apr 19th, 2007, 8:39am

on 04/19/07 at 05:53:13, Grimbal wrote:
When you cross a road you go from one side of the road to the other.  With the bridge you could do the same, i.e. cross from one parapet to the other without crossing the river.

Along the same line, just wait for the bridge to be up and drive the boat under the bridge to the other side.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Iceman on Apr 19th, 2007, 9:57am
How exactly does he get to the boat? He ain't got no parachute, and he isn't much of a swimmer.  ;)
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by denis on Apr 19th, 2007, 10:03am
1. You don't need a bridge, its a shallow and a dry riverbed. Just walk across it. If its too hard to get to the river bed from the edge, then perhaps a short ramp on each side of the dry riverbed would be sufficient to help people get up and down onto the river bed.

2. He walks across the dry riverbed.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Iceman on Apr 19th, 2007, 10:17am
You walk across it like a gentleman, not like a pig. Shallow or not shallow, makes no difference regarding bridges, particularly if you are driving the car. It just so happens, that right now you are walking. The only part that might rightfully bother you is the part about a wide bridge. Regardless, an architect is bound to have a weird idea now and then, but this shouldn't bother you, because you are a civil engineer, right now.  ;) As for being smart, there is a difference between being smart and a smart-ass. Don't let Smarties get to you. :P
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by denis on Apr 19th, 2007, 11:30am
Does the fact that it goes over a dry riverbed signicant? Is the scenario you are thinking about possible if the riverbed is not dry (i.e. a river is flowing though)?
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Iceman on Apr 19th, 2007, 11:41am

on 04/19/07 at 11:30:54, denis wrote:
Is the scenario you are thinking about possible if the riverbed is not dry (i.e. a river is flowing though)?

It is most probably not possible then. ;) Or at least, it is different.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by denis on Apr 19th, 2007, 12:19pm
So maybe we need to put something directly on the riverbed to minimize the material. In this case the strength of the material is not important.

What may help minimize the material is to pick something that grows or reproduces to cover the entire river bed. I was thinking perhaps sprinkle some grass seeds or something like that.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by denis on Apr 19th, 2007, 2:38pm
another possibility.... Block one end of the dry river bed to prevent water from escaping when it rains.

As the summer rains feed the blocked river bed, the water level rises. As the winter freezes the water that has accumulated, you get an ice bridge. Cost:  a barrier at one extremity of the river bed. (unfortunately, the bridge is only functional in the winter)
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Death on Apr 19th, 2007, 2:51pm
For question 2, I recommend that he just [hide]stays sat down.[/hide]

[hide]He is clearly in a plane about to fly over this particular bridge and this is by far the fastest way across. He also has no luggage.[/hide] ::)
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Grimbal on Apr 19th, 2007, 3:13pm

on 04/19/07 at 02:12:51, Iceman wrote:
2) A man, who isn't carrying anything, wants to get to the other side of a lift bridge in motion, but its two parts are too slant, and still going up, to jump over.


on 04/19/07 at 08:39:37, Grimbal wrote:
Along the same line, just wait for the bridge to be up and drive the boat under the bridge to the other side.


on 04/19/07 at 09:57:09, Iceman wrote:
How exactly does he get to the boat? He ain't got no parachute, and he isn't much of a swimmer.  ;)

Let me explain.  Nothing is said about the man being on the bridge.  So, we could say the man in a boat capitain.  The boat is facing the bridge.  The capitain wants to go under the bridge to "the other side".  The bridge operator pressed the button to lift the bridge.  Obviously, as soon as the bridge is up, the captain will go full gas and drive the boat under the bridge.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Iceman on Apr 20th, 2007, 3:10am
Death and Grimbal: he is, actually, standing on the bridge.




on 04/19/07 at 14:38:33, denis wrote:
another possibility.... Block one end of the dry river bed to prevent water from escaping when it rains.

As the summer rains feed the blocked river bed, the water level rises. As the winter freezes the water that has accumulated, you get an ice bridge. Cost:  a barrier at one extremity of the river bed. (unfortunately, the bridge is only functional in the winter)

You know it.  8) Alternatively, he may use a cistern instead of rain.

Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Grimbal on Apr 20th, 2007, 3:25am

on 04/20/07 at 03:10:56, Iceman wrote:
Death and Grimbal: he is, actually, standing on the bridge.

Yes, the bridge of the boat...  :P
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by denis on Apr 20th, 2007, 7:54am

on 04/19/07 at 02:12:51, Iceman wrote:
2) A man, who isn't carrying anything, ....
In any possible scenario, what is the quickest way to get to the other side of the bridge?


So the man isn't carrying anything but can something else carry the man? In "any possible" scenario this could happen. I was thinking a helicopter. But even faster would be a circus canon.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Iceman on Apr 20th, 2007, 9:16am
Not a bad idea, but I forgot to mention, that there was nothing on the bridge either. But keep thinking like that, because you are close.  :o
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Grimbal on Apr 20th, 2007, 9:33am
Just stand in the middle of the bridge.

When the bridge lifts, there are always crazy people who jump the bridge at the last moment, chased by the police or chasing someone, sometimes in improbable vehicles like a school bus or a fire truck.  I know it, I have seen in in the movies.

So by standing in the middle of the road you are likely to be hit by one of these and kicked over to the other side.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by denis on Apr 20th, 2007, 9:39am
Well assuming nothing touches him and he touches nothing else, I guess he can walk across the ice as soon as the river is frozen.

Edit: But the bridge is liable to come down before then. So just wait for the bridge to come down.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Iceman on Apr 20th, 2007, 9:41am
Not what I am looking for.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by denis on May 7th, 2007, 12:00pm
Maybe he is being carried by a motorcycle and either his name is Evil Knievel or he is a stunt man for Universal Studios.

The bridge segments are too slant for a man to walk up and jump but a motorcycle can do it easily.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Iceman on May 7th, 2007, 12:07pm
There are no vehicles on the bridge. Anyway, the answer is a bit silly, so I might as well tell it to you. Play it anyway you whish.  ;)
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by denis on May 7th, 2007, 12:19pm
Sure, I have no problem if you reveal the answer. This one has bogged down somewhat.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Iceman on May 7th, 2007, 1:23pm
All right, but the answer will not make you ;) happy: my idea was, that [hide]a ship was illegally passing by while the lift bridge was rising up. So he jumped on the ship, ran on its top deck, or whatever. Or a hovercraft happened to be there just in time[/hide].  :-[  :-*
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by denis on May 7th, 2007, 1:29pm
I never would have thought of this solution. Below is why this scenario never crossed my mind. It totaly blocked my mind from this possible solution....


on 04/19/07 at 09:57:09, Iceman wrote:
How exactly does he get to the boat? He ain't got no parachute, and he isn't much of a swimmer.  ;)


But thanks for the riddle.... It was fun in any case.
Title: Re: Bridge
Post by Iceman on May 7th, 2007, 1:40pm

on 05/07/07 at 13:29:35, denis wrote:
I never would have thought of this solution.

Don't worry about it. There are better riddles and you are the riddler who solved several riddles of mine. ;)


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