| Date |
Title |
First Line of Text ... |
| 11/22/2009 |
No Wonder Girls Were Turned Off By Mathematics |
Pretty girl with tremulous eyes, if thou know the correct... |
| 11/15/2009 |
Noli turbare circulos meos! |
How many changes may be made of the words in the followin... |
| 11/8/2009 |
Ah...the Days Before PACs and Under-the-table PERQs |
The Vice President's salary is $5000 a year: if his daily... |
| 11/1/2009 |
After Uncle Sam Takes a Third of That Income? |
How many dollars a day must a man spend, to use an income... |
| 10/25/2009 |
What Recipe Requires 32/43 Of A Pound? |
If 11/13 of a pound of sugar cost 7/15 of a shilling, wha... |
| 10/18/2009 |
Math Questions Can Be So Practical Sometimes.... |
A cucumber grew to the length 1/3960 of a mile; what part... |
| 10/11/2009 |
Taboo-Hoo |
A company at a tavern had 8 pounds 15 shillings to pay fo... |
| 10/4/2009 |
Racing by Leaps and Hounds, Winning By A Hare |
A hare is 50 leaps before a grey hound, and takes 4 leaps... |
| 9/27/2009 |
A Fishy Story |
There is a fish, whose tail weighs 9 lb, his head weighs ... |
| 9/20/2009 |
The Will Will Rule! |
A man dying left his wife in expectation, that a child wo... |
| 9/13/2009 |
Which Is The Best Nag? |
A gentleman has two horses of considerable value, and a s... |
| 8/30/2009 |
And the Son's Frustration Continues... |
To begin the school year, I am reprinting a "classic&quo... |
| 5/31/2009 |
A Lot....If He Still Owns The Land Today |
A man purchased a house for 2375 dollars, and expended 34... |
| 5/24/2009 |
At Leat It Wasn't a Noble, Which Equals 20 Groats! |
By selling 240 oranges at 5 for 2 d. half of which cost 3... |
| 5/17/2009 |
Must Have Trained Hens.... |
The length of my garden is 94 feet; now if eggs be laid a... |
| 5/10/2009 |
Another Way to Count Sheep At Night in Bed |
A wayfarer asks a shepherd how many sheep he has. He repl... |
| 5/3/2009 |
Tomorrow's Headlines: Wolf Eats Boatman! |
A boatman has to ferry across a stream a wolf, a goat, an... |
| 4/26/2009 |
Odd...You Don't Even Have to Know What A Ducat Is |
Two persons wish to barter. One has wax worth 8 1/2 ducat... |
| 4/19/2009 |
The Difference Between Fish and Wine |
Two men purchased an 8-gallon cask of wine, and desired t... |
| 4/12/2009 |
2 Bee or Not 2 Bee |
Out of a swarm of bees one-fifth part settled on a blosso... |
| 3/29/2009 |
Dog Wins Race By a Hare! |
A dog chasing a hare which has a start of one hundred an... |
| 3/22/2009 |
202 In The Fifth Fold And 0 In The Other Folds? |
A sheperd had a flock two hundred and two sheep in differ... |
| 3/15/2009 |
The Original Odd Couple |
An ape and an eagle lived at the top of a cliff one hundr... |
| 3/8/2009 |
Now This Is a Real-World Problem.... |
If there are seven thousand eight hundred and ninety coun... |
| 3/1/2009 |
Do Ewe Know? |
The number of sheep in a flock was such that if there had... |
| 2/22/2009 |
Why Lawyers Exist....But Can They Do The Math? |
A dying man wills that if a son is born to him he shall rec... |
| 2/15/2009 |
What About the Number 1, Theon? |
Why is it that cubical numbers are always equal to the su... |
| 2/8/2009 |
Well, Before I Get the Answer.... |
A cistern can be filled by 4 pipes. One fills it in a day... |
| 2/1/2009 |
This Situation is Debata"Bull"! |
The son had a herd of bulls and cows, all of which were w... |
| 1/25/2009 |
Another Corny Mule Yarn |
A mule and a donkey were going to market laden with corn.... |
| 1/18/2009 |
How to Frustrate Your Son! |
A parent called to his son across a field, and bade him c... |
| 1/11/2009 |
Are You "Series"ious? |
Seven old women go to Memphis; each woman has seven mules... |
| 1/4/2009 |
How Many Spans in a Cubit? |
In a certain lake the tip of the bud of a lotus was seen ... |
| 12/14/2008 |
Go Past Three Boats, Turn Left at The Gas Station.... |
A sloop is bound from the main land of Africa to an islan... |
| 12/7/2008 |
(Un)Fair(er) Share |
Divide $40 among 5 men, 6 women, and 7 boys; giving each wo... |
| 11/30/2008 |
Union or Non-Union Workers? |
If 248 men, in 5 days of 11 hours each, dig a trench 230 ... |
| 11/23/2008 |
John Wayne Would Get this One Right.... |
A drover bought cattle at $46.56 per head, and sold them ... |
| 11/16/2008 |
Can I Use a Ruler? |
Without the use of a protractor, construct a parallelogra... |
| 11/9/2008 |
You Have 10 Seconds.... |
|
| 11/2/2008 |
What If It Was Digital? |
A time bomb is set to explode when the hands of the contr... |
| 10/26/2008 |
Measuring Change: Lesson IX |
1. In 2 cords how many cord feet?
2. In 4 cords how man... |
| 10/19/2008 |
Tale of the Tail |
A fisherman sells a sturgeon weighing sixty pounds to three... |
| 10/12/2008 |
No Water? |
Eighteen poor men, women and children ate eighteen loaves... |
| 10/5/2008 |
Was His Name Rosie? |
A riveter in a West Coast yard reported that in one week'... |
| 9/28/2008 |
Was It Worth It? |
The cost of Christopher Columbus' voyage to America was $... |
| 9/21/2008 |
Equivalent to a SAT Score of ? |
ANNUAL CATALOGUE OF THE GEORGIA SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY
Organ... |
| 9/14/2008 |
You Have 10 Seconds... |
|
| 9/7/2008 |
Did George Washington Study this Book? |
In Paris in 1770, Etienne Bézout wrote a 474-page book on A... |
| 8/31/2008 |
Did You Get the Yoke? |
But suppose I have a piece of meadow that is three times... |
| 6/15/2008 |
A Neat but "Frail" Problem! |
If 24 lb. of raisins cost 6s. 6d. what will 18 frails cos... |
| 6/8/2008 |
A Division Problem For Calvin... |
Divide 558001172606176724 by 2708630425. |
| 6/1/2008 |
No Rum? |
Shipped for Barbadoes 500 pair of stockings at 3s. 6d. pe... |
| 5/11/2008 |
Look Under the Sofa? |
Show how to find sides, integral, fractional, and irrationa... |
| 5/4/2008 |
No Slowing Down for a Stop at the Station? |
A train runs at a uniform rate between two points 280 mil... |
| 4/27/2008 |
No Wonder They Were Called Vulgar Fractions |
The denominator of a certain fraction is 5 more than the ... |
| 4/20/2008 |
No Money Left for Insurance |
A man estimated that the engine of his car burns one gall... |
| 4/13/2008 |
Danger: Requires High Levels of Thought! |
|
| 4/6/2008 |
Notice...."The Art of...." |
In London in 1721, William Hawney
wrote this 346-page text... |
| 3/30/2008 |
Watering Spirits Down...Legal in Canada? |
How much water must be added to a cask containing 60 gallon... |
| 3/23/2008 |
And Send 8 Bushels to the IRS, Please! |
A man worked 8 days and received in payment 24 bushels of p... |
| 3/16/2008 |
Logs Are a Bear! |
If the logarithm of 3 is 0.477121, what is the logarithm of... |
| 3/9/2008 |
Little Chicken Little |
A rooster costs five pieces of money, a hen three pieces, a... |
| 3/2/2008 |
Is the Answer "One Pile"? |
Into the bright and refreshing outskirts of a forest, wh... |
| 2/24/2008 |
Shake on It |
Recognize this current classic in old clothes?
In a lodge... |
| 2/17/2008 |
What...No Pigs? |
A problem supposedly posed by the great Leonhard Euler:
Fo... |
| 2/10/2008 |
Krispy Kreme Lolipop or....? |
Jane is inclined to be lazy and takes little exercise. She ... |
| 2/3/2008 |
Hide and Seek at Sea |
A destroyer division in attempting to intercept an enemy ... |
| 1/27/2008 |
Greener Pastures |
A problem supposedly posed by the great Isaac Newton:
Thre... |
| 1/20/2008 |
Who's Answering It? "Smart" Student? "Slow" Student? |
Should the smartest boys and girls in your class be encoura... |
| 1/13/2008 |
Call Me Mr. Predictable |
A cryptographer in deciphering an enemy message composed ... |
| 12/30/2007 |
A Car Climb the Side of a House? |
The engine in a car weighing 2750 pounds develops 80 horsep... |
| 12/16/2007 |
Ah, "Square" the Circle and Draw the Two Diagonals... |
If a carpenter has a circular piece of wood, how can he det... |
| 12/9/2007 |
Jeeper by the Dozen |
An army jeep covers a certain patrol in 78% of the time r... |
| 12/2/2007 |
Round and Round It Goes.... |
The automobile tire of a combat car is 34 in. in diameter... |
| 11/25/2007 |
A Dilemma From the Good Old Days..... |
In a city, a desirable building lot for a house costs $2200... |
| 11/18/2007 |
Before or After Little Johnny in Row 2 Exhaled? |
In a schoolroom 27 feet wide, 34 feet long, and 10 feet h... |
| 11/11/2007 |
A Test: Is a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words? |
In Paris in 1764, Abbé De la Caille wrote this 277-page tex... |
| 11/4/2007 |
No Lunch Break? |
A contractor's dredge can travel 7 miles per hour. It att... |
| 10/28/2007 |
Religion and Mathematics |
If an archbishop can pray a soul out of purgatory in an ... |
| 10/21/2007 |
What Happened...Something's Wrong! |
(9.) On a certain day in the American League baseball sea... |
| 10/14/2007 |
An Old Surpriser... |
A bottle and a stopper cost $1.10, and the bottle cost $1... |
| 10/7/2007 |
A 50-pound Sailor? |
A submarine compensates its overall weight by adding and ... |
| 9/30/2007 |
Tanks... Alot! |
An Army medium-tank design specified that its tonnage was... |
| 9/23/2007 |
Broken Numbers....Digested....In Ireland? |
Daniel Voster wrote this 280-page text Arithmetick in Whole... |
| 9/16/2007 |
2 Cents Worth.....Please! |
Items on the first printed menu in America, for the restu... |
| 9/9/2007 |
Draw a Diagram, Set up a Table... |
Since you are now studying geometry and trigonometry, I ... |
| 9/2/2007 |
2 1/2 months....For a Teaching Job? |
In case you cannot read it:
Three boys A, B, and C went... |
| 8/26/2007 |
Hammurabi Puzzler |
Two bur is the area; the length exceeded the width by 126... |
| 6/17/2007 |
Measuring Change: Lesson VII |
1. In 2 yards how many inches?
2. In 4 rods how many ya... |
| 6/10/2007 |
One for You, Two for Me.... |
Divide 100 loaves among 10 men including a boatman, a fo... |
| 6/3/2007 |
The Old-Time Exercise Machine! |
How many men are required upon a tread-mill, 20 feet in ... |
| 5/27/2007 |
Let Me Check My PDA (Patriotic Date Assistant)? |
The Declaration of Independence was signed July 4th, 177... |
| 5/20/2007 |
Why Would You Put a Hogshead in a Well? |
The diameter of a cistern is 8 feet; what must be its he... |
| 5/13/2007 |
brickwall |
What is the cost of a brick wall 60 feet long, 20... |
| 5/6/2007 |
Need a Log Table? |
If a piece of round timber be 18 feet long, and the quart... |
| 4/29/2007 |
Who is Trying to Escape? |
The top of a castle is 45 yards high and the castle is su... |
| 4/22/2007 |
C is for Competitive, A is for Arrogant, B is for Between.... |
A has 20% more money than B, who has 25% more than C. A h... |
| 4/15/2007 |
Ah...So You Want to Go Back to the Basics |
Find one edge of a cube whose volume is 2515.456 cubic in... |
| 4/8/2007 |
You Need a Lot of Latitude on This Stumper |
When it is 6 P.M. at St. Paul 98o4'55" west, it is 3... |
| 4/1/2007 |
De-Cart's Horse Problem |
A horse cost one-fourth more than a carriage; the horse w... |
| 3/25/2007 |
Watch the Watch.... |
At what time between 8 and 9 o'clock are the hands of a w... |
| 3/18/2007 |
Equal Shares....Means No Beef! |
A man wished to divide 75 cwt. 2 qrs. 10 lbs. of beef equ... |
| 3/11/2007 |
Corn Husking? |
A and B can husk a field of corn in 10 days. A can do it ... |
| 3/4/2007 |
Pose a Problem Circa 1920 |
This boy and girl have measured the room. They find it to... |
| 2/25/2007 |
Do You Mean Money or Liquor? |
A man earned 7/8 of one dollar for his work.
He spent 3/... |
| 2/18/2007 |
Would You Please Repeat that Slowly.... |
To gauge a cask, that is, to find how much it holds, Find... |
| 2/11/2007 |
Three Collinear Points Forming Rectangles? |
Proposition 1: If from A, the vertex of any triangle ABC,... |
| 2/4/2007 |
How Many Rods in a Rood? |
A man has 3 farms; the first containing 150 acres, 2 rood... |
| 1/28/2007 |
Watch That Ladder |
A ladder is placed perpendicular to the plane of the hor... |
| 1/21/2007 |
The Job Prob |
A can do a job in 9 days. B can do the job in 6 days and C ... |
| 1/14/2007 |
Poetic Problems: I Do! |
When first the Marriage Knot was tied
Between my Wife an... |
| 1/7/2007 |
Fishy Mathematics |
The head of a fish is 9 inches in length, its tail is as ... |
| 12/31/2006 |
A Ducat for Your Thoughts |
Reduce 246 Venetian ducats de Banco into sterling money.... |
| 12/17/2006 |
Always Wanted to be a Cheesemonger |
Pay a baker's bill of two pounds, a grocer's of three pou... |
| 12/10/2006 |
And Which War Would This Be? |
A certain captain being asked how many soldiers he had in... |
| 12/3/2006 |
Teacher with Brains? |
Is there a danger that one may know too much mathematics ... |
| 11/26/2006 |
Feeding Uncle Sam |
What uses are made of taxes?
|
| 11/19/2006 |
You Bet Your Life! |
A man has two life insurance policies, one for $1500 an... |
| 11/12/2006 |
25 1/2% Off? |
A certain stove listed at $64 is sold with discounts of... |
| 11/5/2006 |
Doesn't "Remaining" Mean to Subtract? |
Add the greatest and the least of the three fractions 1... |
| 10/29/2006 |
Where's My Slide Rule? |
Divide thirty-two hundred millionths by sixty-four ten-th... |
| 10/22/2006 |
Horse For Sale |
A horse was sold so that 4/5 of the gain was 2/15 of the ... |
| 10/15/2006 |
Perch? |
What will be the cost of building a stone wall 40 rods long... |
| 10/8/2006 |
Servant's Suit |
A servant is engaged for a year for $280 and a suit of cl... |
| 10/1/2006 |
Play a Game of Young Maid |
A maid being asked her age, replied
If it by three be mu... |
| 9/24/2006 |
Goose is Cooked! |
If a goose can be roasted in an hour and a half when susp... |
| 9/17/2006 |
Pipe Schemes |
A fountain has 4 receiving pipes, A, B, C, and D; A, B, a... |
| 9/10/2006 |
A Traveling? C B? |
Two men in Boston hire a carriage for $25 to go to Concor... |
| 9/3/2006 |
Cigars for Food |
There were 1032467 cigars made in Westfield in 1 month. I... |
| 8/27/2006 |
Rushing Russians |
Two old women started at sunrise and each walked at a con... |
| 6/25/2006 |
Me and My Shadow |
The longest noonday winter shadow of an upright object is... |
| 6/18/2006 |
The Gold Room |
How many $20 gold pieces can be put in a room 20 feet lon... |
| 6/11/2006 |
Whether Weather... |
It has been clear for 15 consecutive days, what is the ch... |
| 6/4/2006 |
At Precisely 11:11 pm on..... |
A owes me $100 due in two years,
and I owe him $200 due ... |
| 5/28/2006 |
Can I Use My Fingers? |
Divide 558001172606176724 by 2708630425.
Multiply 6247486... |
| 5/21/2006 |
Time Flies..... |
How many minutes are there since the birth of Christ
to th... |
| 5/14/2006 |
Left, Right, Across.... |
Three men, C, D, and E, start at the same time, and from th... |
| 5/7/2006 |
Weigh Way |
A merchant had a fradulant balance: He buys in on the short... |
| 4/30/2006 |
Principle = Interest? |
One KUR is borrowed at interest. How many years before the ... |
| 4/23/2006 |
A Barrel of Fun |
The mean diameter of a barrel being equal to the head diame... |
| 4/16/2006 |
More Than a Round Farm? |
What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distan... |
| 4/9/2006 |
Weed Waste |
A man pays $6 yearly for tobacco from the age of 16 until he ... |
| 4/2/2006 |
Zeno in the Wild West |
A stole a horse from B and made off with him. Five days afte... |
| 3/26/2006 |
Mother Goose Dilemma |
There was an old woman tossed up in a basket
Ninety times as... |
| 3/19/2006 |
"Building Log Tables" in the Good Olde Days |
Given the common logarithms of the integers from 1 to 10
cor... |
| 3/12/2006 |
An Ancient Value of Pi |
Add 4 to 100, multiply by 8 and add 62,000. This is the appr... |
| 3/5/2006 |
Baker (1568) |
A mayde carieing egges unto the market, and it happened a mer... |
| 2/26/2006 |
Pacioli (1494) |
A mouse is at the top of a poplar tree 60 braccia high, and a... |
| 2/19/2006 |
Baker (1568) |
A man having his eyesight somewhat altered, began to tell a... |
| 2/12/2006 |
Tartaglia (1556) |
A man who had a certain amount of capitol, fell to gambling a... |
| 2/4/2006 |
Reality Show ala 1924 |
On the 4th of February, Mrs. Lucinda Picheron, while going ... |
| 1/29/2006 |
Some Horseshoe Sum |
Then what you say to this equation? If I sold unto you an hor... |
| 1/22/2006 |
Fibonacci (1202) |
There is a lion in a well whose depth is 50 palms. He climbs... |
| 1/15/2006 |
Mahavira (850 A.D.) |
In the course of 3/7 of a day, a ship goes over 1/5 of a Kros... |
| 1/8/2006 |
Brahmagupta (628 A.D.) |
A cat sitting on a wall 4 cubits high, saw a rat prowling 8 c... |
| 1/1/2006 |
Diophantus or Heron in Greek Anthology (500 A.D.) |
I am a brazen lion; my spouts are my two eyes, my mouth, ... |
| 12/18/2005 |
Ye Olde Piero-Polo-Zuanne Problem |
Three merchants have invested their money in a partnership, w... |
| 12/11/2005 |
Help? |
A contractor contracts to finish a piece of work in 30 days... |
| 12/4/2005 |
Why 792? |
If when a number is divided continuously by 8, 9, and 11 the ... |
| 11/27/2005 |
A and B Are Still At It |
A and B, starting at opposite corners of a square whose side ... |
| 11/20/2005 |
A Thanksgiving Problem (Of Sorts) |
Two monkeys, having stolen a pile of walnuts and filberts fro... |
| 11/13/2005 |
The Race |
A and B run a mile, and A wins by 80 yards.
A and C run over... |
| 11/6/2005 |
Who Cares...Let's Play! |
In a game of skill A can give B 10 points in 100, and B can g... |
| 10/30/2005 |
The Grass is Always Greener in Old Math Texts |
The uniformly growing grass on a certain meadow would be co... |
| 10/23/2005 |
Price Manipulation |
How much per cent must a tradesman add on to the cost price o... |
| 10/16/2005 |
Whats a Plough? |
If 16 horses can plough 1280 acres in 8 days,
how many acre... |
| 10/9/2005 |
Its Not a Digital Clock |
A clock loses 8.5 secs. an hour when the fire is alight,
... |
| 10/2/2005 |
Age-less Problem |
One man is 25 years 33 weeks and 6 days old, and another is 3... |
| 9/25/2005 |
Greece, 250 A.D. |
Question: Where are the apples gone my child?
Answer: In... |
| 9/18/2005 |
Hindu, ca. 1150 |
Arjuna, exasperated in combat, shot a quiver of arrows to... |
| 9/11/2005 |
China, 300 B.C. |
A bamboo shoot ten feet tall has a break near the top. T... |
| 9/4/2005 |
Examination Question for Prospective Teachers in New England, 1897 |
Three boys have some eggs to sell. Boy A had 10, boy B... |
| 8/28/2005 |
Babylon, 1600-1800 B.C. |
A reed stands against a wall. If I go down 9 feet [at the t... |
| 8/21/2005 |
Egypt, 300 B.C. |
A circular field of land can contain an equilateral triangl... |
| 8/14/2005 |
Mahavira, ca. 850 |
A powerful, unvanquished, excellent black snake which is 80... |
| 8/7/2005 |
Italy, 1202 |
A certain lion could eat a sheep in 4 hours and a leopard... |
| 7/31/2005 |
Italy, 1300 A.D. |
There is a 30-foot ladder leaning against a 30-foot tower... |
| 7/24/2005 |
Egypt, 300 B.C. |
An erect pole of 30 feet has its base moved out 18 feet. ... |
