Brain Teasers
Clowning Around
Situation
Situation puzzles (sometimes called lateral thinking puzzles) are ones where you need to ask lots of yes or no questions to figure out what happened in the situation. These are good puzzles for groups where one person knows the puzzle and answers the questions.Situation
A clown is out hiking in the woods. He comes to a large ravine with a rickety old bridge spanning the width. He needs to cross this bridge. There is a sign posted saying that the bridge's weight capacity is only 160 pounds. Fortunately, the clown only weighs 158 pounds, clothes and all. Unfortunately, he is carrying a 1 pound apple (his lunch), a 2 pound red nose (an old clown gag) and a 2 pound rubber ball (something to amuse himself as he travels.) Knowing that he cannot risk exceeding the weight limit of the bridge and that he cannot throw away any of his items, how does the clown cross the bridge in only one trip?
Answer
He simply juggles the three items as he crosses the bridge.Hide Answer Show Answer
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Comments
The answer about juggling with the THREE items does not seem plausible. Because at any time he will have two of the items in his hands for a total weight of either 3 pounds or 4 pounds .. which would exceed 160 pounds. According to me, the clown should FIRST eat his apple and then juggle his way through the bridge with the other two items weighing 2 pounds each.
Juggling the objects is as clever as Wil E. Coyote stepping out of the falling phone booth just before it smashes to the ground. But it defies the laws of physics. The very act of juggling imposes an opposing force, however small, to tossing the ball upwards thus the clown "weighs" more in direct proportion to the weight of the objects he is tossing upwards. A fun solution but don't try it at home.
I agree with starman, even though it sounds nice, the feat is quite impossible, and is not actually a solution to the clown's problem.
and by the way vikass, when you juggle with 3 things, there is only 1 object in your hand at a given time, and for a split second, all three are in the air. I know, I can juggle quite well.
First of all you can't throw any item, as per the statement, and when juggling you would be throwing them in the air. Secondly you also can't eat the apple, because you would be just adding the weight of the apple to your stomach
The question is: How DOES the CLOWN cross the bridge in only one trip? He is a clown so having juggled the items was an appropriate choice for him. The fact that he made it across might be due to the fact that exceeding the weight limit did put stress on the bridge but did not actually break it. The clown may have proudly made it across never actually realizing that he was in danger.
Why doesn't he take off all of his clothes. That would leave enough weight for the extra materials, and he's a clown, so no one will care if he's in his underwear. And what kind of rubber nose weighs 2 pounds anyway? That's a BIG rubber nose! And a ONE POUND APPLE! Holy crap, give me that apple! An apple that weighs a friggin' pound! Anyway, stop sweatin' it, it was a good puzzle.
Very simple. His big nose and rubber ball are both round objects. You can't throw them, but who says he can't ROLL them across?
or he just throws his rubber ball and nose across the bridge then simply walks across it
I knew this one. Still, if there's one bad juggling teaser, I haven't heard it!
That was very creative and cute.
What if the clown throws the nose and ball to the other side of the bridge and walk across with the apple?
very boring...seen this one and similar ones at least 6 times since a few months ago.
very, very boring...seen this one and similar ones at least 6 times since a few months ago.
they are all over the place...
they are all over the place...
very, very boring...seen this one and similar ones at least 6 times since a few months ago.
they are all over the place...
they are all over the place...
duh! but cute
very creative
Thought he rolled the apple and ball across the bridge and then carry the bag, who knew...Good one though
I thought it was quite good, although some other commenters didn't. Keep up the good work
If he ate the apple the 1 pound apple would break the brige.
this was from MindTrap also, but only the concept. i'll forgive you though.
Starman is right... A 2 lb ball held in the hand is actually being "accelerated" by gravity downward so that it exerts a 2 lb force. If you hold it, you are exerting a 2 lb force to keep it from falling. If you toss it at all into the air, you are matching and then exceeding the acceleration of gravity, there will be a downward reaction force of a little over 2 lbs force. If you throw high enough to juggle, the force will be noticeably more than 2 lbs.
I know, I know, it's just a simple teaser.. Geesh, don't need to get so technical!
I know, I know, it's just a simple teaser.. Geesh, don't need to get so technical!
I say the clcown takes off all of the clothes and come back for them later
My answer is, the clown balances all 3 items on his head. It won't work, but neither will juggling, so in my opinion my solution is just as good.
Wouldn't the nose, apple, and ball be part of the clothes and ALL?
why would he have a two pound rubber nose !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
everything else is taken so literally and analyzed so thoroughly but no one has questioned the probability of the rubber nose being that heavy !
I SAY BOLOGNA
everything else is taken so literally and analyzed so thoroughly but no one has questioned the probability of the rubber nose being that heavy !
I SAY BOLOGNA
Oh yeah? Well how heavy is your nose?
That's a good one, impossible, but good
How about he just cycled across.The pounds are how much he payed for them.
HA HA HAlarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thats some pretty heavy stuff though
thats some pretty heavy stuff though
i was thinking he'd just throw the ball and eat the apple. that way he'd only have 160 lbs.
That's one pretty cool teaser!
he could just throw all 3 items over
I agree with Starman and I thought the answer would be to roll the round objects. I don't do well with a lot of situation teasers but I enjoy them anyway. So much was improbable with this, a bridge with such a tiny weight limit, a two pound nose, but that funny stuff gave it entertainment value.
Thanks!
Thanks!
I say the clown should just jump in the ravine. He doesn't deserve to live
HA! HA! HA!
I love this one!
Clowns scare me...
what kind of a nose weighs 2 pounds
Why is this clown in the woods anyway? And why does he have a two pound nose? And...
Vikass, it depends on how you juggle. In a cascade pattern, you're right, as some point there will be two objects in each hand. But if it's a shower pattern, there is only one object or less in your hands at any given time. But actually the force of catching the objects would send the clown tumbling down...
All that I'm going to say is look at teaser #44177.
Just roll the nose and the ball across. duhhhhhh...
well, you could just throw the nose across!
He could take off his clothes and throw THEM across.
That wouldn't work, even if at the most you have one thing in your hand. When the clown catches either the nose or the rubber ball, the pressure from it falling into his hand would exceed the limit of 160 lbs.
This is a famous puzzle, which has appeared in various forms. E.g. a plane with a load of birds - to lighten the load the pilot bangs the cages so they all take off. And so on. Generations of physics students have then looked at it see what the problem is. Intuitively it looks like it should work, but it doesn't.
There are possibilities that don't violate the laws of physics but may not fit the puzzle. E.g., the clown could throw all the objects across, with a high throw, while still on solid ground, cross quickly, and catch them all on the far side. Does this count as crossing the bridge "with" the objects, though?
There are possibilities that don't violate the laws of physics but may not fit the puzzle. E.g., the clown could throw all the objects across, with a high throw, while still on solid ground, cross quickly, and catch them all on the far side. Does this count as crossing the bridge "with" the objects, though?
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