Two fifty foot ropes are suspended from a forty foot ceiling, about twenty feet apart.

Armed with only a knife, how much of the rope can you steal?

Tie the end of one of the ropes around your waist and climb the other one. When you're at the top, untie the rope from around your waist and pull it until it is tight. Be like Tarzan and swing, you'll still be 20 feet above the floor, so let yourself down. You now have one 50 foot rope on the ground and one still attatched to the ceiling.
Next, tie the ends of the two ropes together and tie the other end of the free rope to your waist. Climb to the top of the fixed rope and untie the rope from your waist. Pass the free end over the rafter (or whatever else the other rope is tied onto) until the knot between the ropes hits the rafter.
hold onto both sides of the rope that you just passed over the rafter and cut the end of the fixed rope. Lower yourself and pull down both ropes that are now tied together!

Posted by Kyle on 2003-02-07 13:06:55