THIS PUZZLE IS BUILT upon common sense, and represents the Binks patent fire escape which the inventor says should he placed in every sleeping room in the world. It was tried at one of our hotels, but delinquent guests had such a way of decamping during the night with their worldly possessions that the scheme no longer finds favor with the landlords.
It is merely a rope with a large bucket at both ends running over a free pulley, so that when one bucket goes down the other comes up. The ingenuity of the scheme consists in putting some object in one bucket to act as a counter balance to a heavier article to be lowered in the other.
Now then, supposing that thirty pounds is the limit of difference which would not cause your feelings to be jarred, the following problem presents itself in a way to be readily understood:
A fire occurred one night at a fashionable summer hotel, and all of the people escaped in safety except the night watchman and his family who could not he aroused until all ways of escape were cut off except by the Binks elevator. Now, the combined weight of Mr. Watchman, Mrs. Watchman, baby and dog amounted to just 390 pounds, so the problem is simply to show the quickest wav of lowering the family, thirty pounds at a time.
[Hint. You may apportion the weights as you wish. Suggest Mrs. Watchman, 210 pounds; Mr. Watchman, 90 pounds; dog, 60 pounds; baby, 30 pounds. — jws]
Answer to the Fire-Escape Puzzle.
Despite its bland and child-like simplicity, as Bret Harte would say, there proved to be many curious little points about the Binks fire escape problem which escaped the attention of some of our keen-eyed puzzlists. It was told that the combined weight of the family and dog amounts to 390 pounds, and that it was only safe to lower thirty pounds at a time, although more could be lowered if the other end was properly counterbalanced.
Many answers were received, giving the greater weight to the husband, which the picture plainly refutes, or other plans which lower the dog or baby and then endow them with phenomenal and precocious intelligence which enable them to climb in and out of the buckets without assistance, all of which, as shown by the following correct answer, is not necessary.
We will first apportion the weight as follows:
Mrs. Watchman, 210 pounds; Mr. Watchman, 90 pounds; dog, 60 pounds; baby, 30 pounds, which we proceed to lower as follows:
First — Lower baby, 30 pounds.
Second — Lower dog, 60 pounds, and bring up baby, 30 pounds.
Third — Lower Mr. Watchman, 90 pounds, and bring up dog, 60 pounds.
Fourth — Lower baby, 30 pounds.
Fifth — Lower dog, 60 pounds, and bring up baby, 30 pounds.
Sixth — Lower baby, 30 pounds.
Seventh — Lower Mrs. Watchman, 210 pounds, and bring up all the others.
Eighth — Lower baby, 30 pounds.
Ninth — Lower dog, 60 pounds, and bring up baby, 30 pounds.
Tenth — Lower baby, 30 pounds.
Eleventh — Lower Mr. Watchman, 90 pounds, bring up dog, 60 pounds.
Twelfth — Lower dog, 60 pounds, and bring up baby, 30 pounds.
Thirteenth — Lower baby, 30 pounds, and they have all reached the ground floor.
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