| Author | Message | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
New member Username: Haenlomal Post Number: 895 Registered: 9-2003 |
Just something to round out my quota of 3 puzzles. This one should go fairly quickly... Title: A Business Proposition I Difficulty: Easy Type: True Story Story: The following conversation took place recently between a friend (let's call him Frank) and me: Frank: "I think I'm almost done here. I can feel it." Me: "Cool." Frank: "Done! The damage is fifty-six eleven." Me: "Fifty-six eleven? Could you do me a small favor and make it fifty-seven?" Frank: "Sorry, I meant fifty-five, not fifty-six." Me: "Oh. In that case, just leave it alone." To Solve: What's going on here? Specialized Knowledge Needed: None Good luck! | ||
| Dlcygnet (Dlcygnet)
New member Username: Dlcygnet Post Number: 1429 Registered: 6-2005 |
The fifty-some numbers being discussed are a unit of... Some sort of measurement? House Numbers? Money? Watts used? Water used? Coordinates? Chords of wood? Animal? Vegetable? Mineral? Balls? Insects? Temperature? Carpet measurements? Square footage? You needed an odd number because... You wanted a particular amount of change (money)? Your own superstition? Your house is on a certain side of the street? | ||
| Bodo (Bodo)
New member Username: Bodo Post Number: 2462 Registered: 2-2001 |
What, you were out of loonies? | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
New member Username: Haenlomal Post Number: 897 Registered: 9-2003 |
Dlcygnet The fifty-some numbers being discussed are a unit of... Some sort of measurement? House Numbers? Money? This one. Watts used? Water used? Coordinates? Chords of wood? Animal? Vegetable? Mineral? Balls? Insects? Temperature? Carpet measurements? Square footage? You needed an odd number because... There's a bit of a FA here... You wanted a particular amount of change (money)? Your own superstition? Your house is on a certain side of the street? None of these. Bodo What, you were out of loonies? LOL...good thinking, but no. =) | ||
| Biograd (Biograd)
New member Username: Biograd Post Number: 221 Registered: 6-2008 |
So the relevant property of the numbers is not that they are odd? Does it have anything to do with the number of bills and/or coins required for exact change? | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
New member Username: Haenlomal Post Number: 899 Registered: 9-2003 |
Biograd So the relevant property of the numbers is not that they are odd? Yes Does it have anything to do with the number of bills and/or coins required for exact change? No | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1438 Registered: 1-2007 |
Is it relevant that 56.11 could relate to 5+6=11 . Any other mathmatical relationship relevant? Relevant what service you were paying for? Was Frank repairing something that belonged to you? Your PC? A car? some sort of technical device? | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
New member Username: Haenlomal Post Number: 900 Registered: 9-2003 |
Peter365 Is it relevant that 56.11 could relate to 5+6=11? No Any other mathematical relationship relevant? Yes, but be careful of potential mislead! Relevant what service you were paying for? Yes Was Frank repairing something that belonged to you? Your PC? A car? some sort of technical device? No to all...and there's a hint of a FA lurking behind this set of questions. | ||
| Bodo (Bodo)
New member Username: Bodo Post Number: 2463 Registered: 2-2001 |
Was he filling a vehicle with fuel? | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
New member Username: Haenlomal Post Number: 904 Registered: 9-2003 |
Bodo Was he filling a vehicle with fuel? Yes -- and since this is the most prosaic part of the puzzle, I'll give this little bit away: Frank and I drove to a gas station to fill up my car. However, thanks to my questionable decision to consume large amounts of liquid before leaving for the gas station, I presently found myself forced to, um, take care of other business =P. Therefore, I asked Frank if he would please fill up my car while I attended to said other business, and he graciously decided to help me out. Now then... | ||
| Howardwoman (Howardwoman)
New member Username: Howardwoman Post Number: 73 Registered: 1-2008 |
Does it have to do anything with the "Keep the Change" program at Bank of America, or anything similar to that? | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
New member Username: Lynne Post Number: 3695 Registered: 12-2000 |
By saying that he meant fifty five, did he mean a round fifty five, or 55.11? Do you like to get a round number on the pump? (I usually end up with an .01 at the end of whatever figure I aim for) Anything to do with points or prizes for how much you spend? Do you get so much per five dollars? And spending another two dollars doesn't gain anything towards prizes/points? | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
New member Username: Haenlomal Post Number: 909 Registered: 9-2003 |
Howardwoman Does it have to do anything with the "Keep the Change" program at Bank of America, or anything similar to that? What is "Keep the Change" program? It does not have anything to do with Bank of America's program, but since I don't know what it is, I can't comment whether or not it's similar to something in the puzzle. Lynne Hi Lynne...long time no see! =) By saying that he meant fifty five, did he mean a round fifty five, or 55.11? The latter Do you like to get a round number on the pump? No (I usually end up with an .01 at the end of whatever figure I aim for) That's basically why I've given up on doing this myself. =) Anything to do with points or prizes for how much you spend? YES -- good question! Do you get so much per five dollars? No, but... And spending another two dollars doesn't gain anything towards prizes/points? But this is very much in the right track, so much so that it is enough for me to justify a... ************* SPOILER ******************** In Toronto, there is a program call "Aeroplan". Basically, with purchases of selected items at selected stores, you can use this card to earn points towards a free flight. In the gas bar I went to, I would earn 1 point for every 3 dollars I spent -- and there was no rounding. So this means, for example, if I spent $17.99 on gas, I would earn 5 points. But if I had spent an extra cent more, I would get 6 points. At $56.11, I felt it was relatively worth it to round up to $57 to squeeze out an extra point. But once I was informed that the actual price was $55.11, I decided to forget about the extra point. Thanks to all who participated, and a bonus aeroplan point to Lynne, who provided the knockout punch. =) | ||
| Howardwoman (Howardwoman)
New member Username: Howardwoman Post Number: 78 Registered: 1-2008 |
The "Keep the Change" program at Bank of America is a program that, when you use your checkcard, rounds up each purchase to the next dollar amount. The difference is then transferred to your savings account. | ||
| Haenlomal (Haenlomal)
New member Username: Haenlomal Post Number: 911 Registered: 9-2003 |
Interesting. I don't believe there's any equivalent program offered by the banks in Toronto, Canada, where I live. Too bad. I could really use some small change. =) Oh well. |
