#157 Weather or not
At Shady Hills retirement home, Ike and Eileen are arguing over weather predictions.
“I’m telling you, Eileen, it’s going to rain tomorrow and the next day, and then it won’t rain on the third day.”
“Balderdash, Ike. The way my knee is acting up, I’m sure that it won’t rain tomorrow, but it will rain for the following two days. I’ll bet my Monday night cheesecake on it.”
“I’ll take that bet. But what if we’re both wrong?”
“Then we’ll just keep waiting until there are three consecutive days that match one of our predictions.”
Two of the staff overhear the conversation. “This time of year, there’s a 50-50 chance that it will rain on any given day,” says one, “so I guess their chances are even.”
“You’re right about the rain,” says the other. “But even so, I think one of them has a much better chance of winning.”
Which one, and why?
#156 L of a puzzle
Solution
Here are the two symmetrical ways of putting the three L-shaped tetronimoes together. The first is shaped a little like a fish; the second resembles a heart.
Quick quiz #141
1 What name is given to the study of recurrent natural events linked to climate, such as plants flowering or bird migrations?
2 How many mathematical problems did David Hilbert designate as challenges to be solved in the 20th century?
3 Which genus of bacterium was named for the grape-like clusters it forms?
4 How many stable, naturally occurring isotopes of cobalt are there?
5 In which US state is the Very Large Array, a radio-astronomy observatory?
Answers on page 55
Answers
1 Phenology
2 23
3 Staphylococcus, from the Greek word staphyle, meaning “bunch of grapes”
4 One: cobalt-59
5 New Mexico