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?

(In reply to re(2): A matter of math by Frank Riddle)

I believe Wendy has the answer. On the 12th of March (Day 28), Herb made it to the top of the well (the 30 ft mark), but NOT OUT. Poor guy was just too tuckered out to get that extra couple of inches. It took another day to actually get over the precipice.

Funny thing is, I was all confused! I had the number of days wrong (I, too originally figured 28), but since I forgot to count Feb 14 as a climbing day, I still got the date right (I think). THEN, after reading your answer, I thought you forgot that it was leap year, but couldn't get our dates to jibe. That's when I figured out my error and came back to what should be the correct answer--Mar 13 (Which should give ole Herb plenty of time to climb off of the well and find a nice St Patty's day party at which to celebrate and get ...............'well').

Posted by Jim C on 2004-02-20 13:30:03