On Valentine's Day in 1996, there was a snail (his name is Herb) at the bottom of an empty well that is 30 feet tall. The well had run dry, but it had slippery, moss covered walls. So, during the day (he woke up at 6am), Herb was able to climb 3 feet up, but while he slept at night (he went to sleep at 10pm), he slipped back down 2 feet.

On what date did Herb get out of the well?

Most wells would be described as being "deep", not "tall", from this it is impossible to calculate the internal height of the well since we don't know the depth below the surface of the ground.

as a result, herb must be already out of the well, so the final answer must be 14th February 1996, he was at the bottom on the outside.

Posted by Phil on 2004-02-10 19:06:46