Piny the Elder was often asked what his favorite number was. He would often settle the disputes by saying this:
PINY
+ THE
ELDER
"My favorite number is PINY in the above equation."
(Every letter is consistent throughout, and no number is represented by more than one letter.)
One day when he said this, a listener said, "My favorite number is 1537, a number such that its first two digits add up to an even number, and also such that each of the two middle numbers is between the first and last numbers. How many of these two conditions does your number meet?"
Upon hearing the answer to this, the follower knew what Piny the Elder's favorite number was. What was it?
(In reply to
solution by SilverKnight)
The only interpretation I can see that might make sense is if Gamer's mistake was that he meant to write, "both of the middle numbers are between both of the outside numbers" as opposed to what he did write, indicating the digits to either side of the respective digit.
If THAT is the case.... then 9785 could be interpreted to fulfill both
conditions... 9+7 = 16 (even), and 7 and 8 are both between 9 and 5.
None of the others fullfills both conditions, so Piny must have answered "TWO" and 9785 is the answer sought.
Edited on April 24, 2004, 10:55 am
re: solution
