Tom and Alex were two men working at a construction site. One day, Alex made a challenge to his stronger and faster counterpart: "I'll make you a bet: one after the other, we run with the wheelbarrow to the end of the building and back. Whoever's quickest wins. But there has to be one thing in the wheelbarrow all the time, and I choose what it is. I bet you £50" (for the Americans on the site, that's about $100).

"You're on," replied Tom.

Alex then chose what to put in the wheelbarrow. They had the race, and Alex won. Tom handed over the £50 in disgust.

What did Alex put in the wheelbarrow?

I initially thought that as they were at a construction site, Alex put some cement mix in the wheelbarrow and had Tom go first. Then with the water evaporated, the wheelbarrow might have been lighter for Alex to push faster. But I realised the amount of water lost during setting of cement is very insignificant and the weight wouldnt change much.

The only way Alex was going to win this was by slowing his brother.

I think Alex put a block of ice in the wheelbarrow and went first and quickly.

When he was done the ice has melted into water. Now Tom had to run slower with the wheelbarrow to keep the same amount of water inside the wheelbarrow without spilling as per their initial agreement.

Posted by Geetha on 2005-04-07 22:01:46