1. Paris
    Joined
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    15 Feb '10 16:05
    A postman rings at a door. A man opens the dorr and tells the postman :

    "Hi, I have 3 daughters. Multiplying their ages gives 36, and adding their ages is the number of the white house behind you."

    The postman looks at the house and says : "I don't see !"

    The man replies : "Oh, I forgot telling you : the eldest one is blond !"
    and the postman gives the three ages (in full years, idest 7, 13, ..).

    What are the three ages ?
  2. Standard memberwolfgang59
    Quiz Master
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    15 Feb '10 18:49
    Originally posted by japy104
    A postman rings at a door. A man opens the dorr and tells the postman :

    "Hi, I have 3 daughters. Multiplying their ages gives 36, and adding their ages is the number of the white house behind you."

    The postman looks at the house and says : "I don't see !"

    The man replies : "Oh, I forgot telling you : the eldest one is blond !"
    and the postman gives the three ages (in full years, idest 7, 13, ..).

    What are the three ages ?
    I think I've got it!
  3. R
    Standard memberRemoved
    Joined
    10 Dec '06
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    8528
    16 Feb '10 05:261 edit
    Originally posted by japy104
    A postman rings at a door. A man opens the dorr and tells the postman :

    "Hi, I have 3 daughters. Multiplying their ages gives 36, and adding their ages is the number of the white house behind you."

    The postman looks at the house and says : "I don't see !"

    The man replies : "Oh, I forgot telling you : the eldest one is blond !"
    and the postman gives the three ages (in full years, idest 7, 13, ..).

    What are the three ages ?
    Im going to take a shot and say 9,2,2.....

    I started by listing all factors of 36

    36,18,12,9,6,4,3,2,1

    since 36 is not a perfect cube rule out triplets

    I come up with 7 possibilties in no particular order for 3 factors of 36 multiplied to give 36

    9*4*1, 6*6*1 ,36*1*1 ,18*2*1 ,6*3*2 ,9*2*2 ,3*3*4

    which have coresponding sums

    14, 13,38,37,11,13,10

    Since the postman doesnt see the numbers on the white house the sum is irrelivant

    narrowing it down to possibilities with equal sums

    6*6*1 and 9*2*2

    only one of which has an eldest

    9,2,2
  4. Paris
    Joined
    01 Dec '09
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    2360
    16 Feb '10 08:08
    You are right. With any other number on the house, the postman could have said the ages. Good. In fact, I saw the same puzzle posted months before in this list.
  5. Standard memberwolfgang59
    Quiz Master
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    48793
    16 Feb '10 08:45
    Originally posted by joe shmo
    Im going to take a shot and say 9,2,2.....

    I started by listing all factors of 36

    36,18,12,9,6,4,3,2,1

    since 36 is not a perfect cube rule out triplets

    I come up with 7 possibilties in no particular order for 3 factors of 36 multiplied to give 36

    9*4*1, 6*6*1 ,36*1*1 ,18*2*1 ,6*3*2 ,9*2*2 ,3*3*4

    which have coresponding sums

    14, 13,38,37 ...[text shortened]... to possibilities with equal sums

    6*6*1 and 9*2*2

    only one of which has an eldest

    9,2,2
    I figured if the children were 9,2,2 it would be obvious who was the eldest and that the man said his eldest was blonde to distinguish her from her brunette twin; hence 6, 6, 1

    Didnt twig that 13 was the only duplicate sum ... reasoned that the owner of the White House was superstitious therefore no number implied 13!
  6. Joined
    10 Aug '04
    Moves
    501
    23 Mar '10 16:28
    Originally posted by joe shmo
    narrowing it down to possibilities with equal sums
    6*6*1 and 9*2*2
    only one of which has an eldest
    9,2,2


    Actually 6,6,1 is also correct.
    One of the twins have to be the oldest, you know 😀
    And the oldest can be blond, just as the other twin.
  7. Joined
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    26771
    23 Mar '10 19:35
    Originally posted by tolder
    Presumably they are non-identical twins otherwise the statement would be unhelpful.
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