A hardware shop owner is setting up his store before opening and hangs a sign advertising: 1 for 10 cents, 15 for 20 cents and 110 for 30 cents. What is he selling?

(In reply to A Penny-wise solution by Penny)

My pet goat Doris and I were sat in the jacuzzi sipping Tizer and thoroughly enjoying your intriguing lateral thinking solution to the old house number problem, unfortunately we were interrupted by a nun enquiring as to the whereabouts of the soap. However, that is a subject for another problem and I should digress no further.

From reading your many insightful posts I notice that you enjoy deliberately including errata within your comments to test whether us mentally challenged flooblers will notice them. Therefore I hereby include the correct explanations for the economic theories that you cited incorrectly.

The law of diminishing returns is a principle used to explain the fact that in most situations the relative benefit received diminishes with increasing investment.

Buying in bulk is term used to mean purchasing power, whereby discounts are demanded (and often given) on the basis of increased quantities.

The unit-cost reductions you describe for the photocopying business are a simple outcome of high-volume batch-process manufacturing. Basically, the greater the batch-quantity, then the lower the set-up cost per unit. When combined with stock considerations (ie the cost of workinging capital) then this leads to a calculation of economic batch quantity.

Do I win the speedboat for spotting the deliberate flaw?

Please pass on my regards to Sylvester. I do hope that the ointment is working.

Posted by fwaff on 2003-12-01 04:22:36