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LITTON’S PROBLEMATICAL RECREATIONS

Problem 8
CHAPTER 1 (FOR THE PERCEPTIVE) The game reverse tic-tac-toe (known to some as toe-tac-tic) has the same
rules as the standard game with one exception. The first player with three
PROBLEM 1 markers in a row loses. Can the player with the first move avoid being
beaten?
Rufus T. Flypaper drives two miles to work every morning. Very precise, he
knows he must average 30 mph to arrive on time. One morning a woman Ans: takes the center square and then counters each of his
driver impedes him for the first mile, cutting his average to only 15 mph. He opponents move by taking the diametrically opposite
quickly calculated his proper speed for the rest of his trip to arrive on time. square
Assume that his car could do 120 mph. Could he drive on time?
Ans: No
Problem 9
Using graph paper to simulate a board of 64 squares and starting anywhere,
PROBLEM 2 is it possible to move a Knight to all squares without touching the same
A hunter wished to take his one-piece rifle on a train but the conductor square twice Move can be made from A to either B.
refused to permit it in the coach and the baggage man could not take any XXA
article whose greatest dimension exceeded 1 yard. The length of the rifle BXX
was 1.7 yards. What could the hunter do? XBX
Ans: Put it diagonally in a cubical box 1 yard on a side. Ans: Yes

PROBLEM 3 Problem 10
Stations A and B are 120 miles apart on a single-track railroad. At the same Dr. Fubisher LaRouche, the noted mathematician, was shopping at a
time that a train leaves A for B at 25 mph, a train leaves B for A at 15 mph. hardware store and asked the price of certain articles. The salesman replied.
Just as the first train leaves A, a South American botfly flies from the front of “One would cost 10 cents, eight would cost 10 cents, seventeen would cost
the engine straight toward the other train at 100 mph. On meeting the second 20 cents, one hundred and four would cost 30 cents, seven hundred and fifty
train it immediately turns back and flies straight for the first train. It continues six would also cost 30 cents, and one thousand and seventy two would cost
to fly back and forth with undiminished speed until it is crushed in the 40 cents.” What was Dr. LaRouche buying?
eventual collision. How far the fly flown?
Ans: 10 cent/number
Ans: 300 miles
Problem 11
PROBLEM 4 Find 1000 consecutive nonprime numbers
A man walks one mile south, one mile west, then one mile north ending
where he began. From how many points on the surface of the earth can such Ans: 1001! + 2; 1001! + 3, . . . . . . . . 1001! + 1001.
a journey be made? (There are more than 1) n! + A is divisible by A as long as A > 1 and < (n + 1).
Ans: Infinite
Problem 12
PROBLEM 5 Two squares are removed from opposite corners of a checker board leaving
In the game of “Stogey” two players alternately place cigars on a rectangular 62 squares. Can the checkerboard be filled with 31 dominoes, each domino
table with the restriction that each new cigar must not touch any of the covering two adjacent squares?
previously placed cigars. Can the 1st player assure himself of victory if we Ans: No
define the loser as the first player who finds himself without sufficient room to
place a cigar?
Ans: Yes Problem 13
Assuming the sun rises at 6:00 a.m., sets at 6:00 p.m., and moves at a
uniform rate, how can a lost boy scout determine south by means of a watch
PROBLEM 6 on a cloudless day?
A bricklayer has 8 bricks. Seven of the bricks weigh the same amount and 1 Ans: Align the h-hand with south Azimuth
is a little heavier than the others. If the man has a balance scale how can he
find the heaviest brick in only 2 weighings?
Ans: 3,3,2 Problem 14
What letter follows OTTFFSSE…..?

PROBLEM 7 Ans: N for nine

Maynard’s Grandfather Clock is driven by two weights, one for the striking
mechanism which strikes the hours only, the other for the time mechanism.
When he hears the clock strike his bedtime, he immediately winds the clock
and retires. After winding, the weighs are exactly opposite each other. The
weighs are again opposite every six hours thereafter. What is Maynard’s
bedtime?
Ans: 9 pm or 3 am
Problem 15
The numbers are divided into three groups as follows; 0, 3, 6, 8, 9,…. in the
first group, 1, 4, 7, 11, 14,…. in the third. In which groups would 15, 16 and
17 be placed?
Ans: 15 and 16 in the 3rd group, 17 in the 2nd group