THE ABBOT'S PUZZLE.
(
Money Puzzles)
The first English puzzlist whose name has come down to us was a
Yorkshireman--no other than Alcuin, Abbot of Canterbury (A.D. 735-804).
Here is a little puzzle from his works, which is at least interesting on
account of its antiquity. "If 100 bushels of corn were distributed among
100 people in such a manner that each man received three bushels, each
woman two, and each child half a bushel, how many men, women, and
children were there?"
Now, there are six different correct answers, if we exclude a case where
there would be no women. But let us say that there were just five times
as many women as men, then what is the correct solution?
Answer:
The only answer is that there were 5 men, 25 women, and 70 children.
There were thus 100 persons in all, 5 times as many women as men, and as
the men would together receive 15 bushels, the women 50 bushels, and the
children 35 bushels, exactly 100 bushels would be distributed.
Informational
