J.G and Benny the Brain
Trick brain teasers appear difficult at first, but they have a trick that makes them really easy.
Jimmy Foster, better known as "J.G." (Jimmy the Gambler), has decided to give up gambling for good. However, Jimmy decides to make one last wager, a huge one. Jimmy wages $147,000 on a race horse named "End of the line." Unfortunately, Jimmy loses his money on "End of the line." (It really is looking like the end of the line for Jimmy).
Anyway, the person who owns the horse finds out about Jimmy's wager and his loss. He makes him an offer he can't refuse, just the same way he has done dozens of times before. He approaches Jimmy and invites him into his office. The man takes a book of matches out of the inner pocket of his suit coat, rips off 4 matchsticks, and places them on the table. He says to Jimmy: "What is your name?" Jimmy tells him his name. He continues: "Jimmy, you see these four matchsticks here? Well, if you can make me a triangle, and a square using only these four matchsticks, I'll give you double your money back that you lost this afternoon on my horse."
Jimmy responds: "You gotta be kidding me. That's easy. By the way, what is YOUR name?" The man says: "Well, my friends call me Benny. Benny the Brain, and Jimmy, it is not as easy as it sounds. Of course, there is a catch. You must make BOTH the triangle and the square, at the same time, and they have to be joined together. And the end result must have less than seven corners."
Jimmy says: "Now, you're really kidding me. Listen fella, Brainy Ben, or whatever your name is, I don't have time for you and your little matchstick trick. I'm outta here." Jimmy leaves and never looks back.
Jimmy didn't think it was possible to do what Benny the Brain was asking, but it is. Can you make the square and triangle, joined together, using only four matchsticks (of equal length), the end result having less than seven corners?
Answer
Benny the Brain was looking for Jimmy to use the matchsticks to create the number 4. It would contain a right triangle with the right angle on the right side, using up 3 of the 4 matchsticks. The remaining matchstick would be placed directly under the right angle (perpendicular), creating the number 4, a perfect square. Thus, a square and a triangle, joined together, using only 4 matchsticks, having less than seven corners.
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Comments
willymapo   
Jun 04, 2003
| I would add "a perfect square" in the teaser to have a better indication. |
Codammanus
Jun 04, 2003
| Actually, that would have been a Dead Giveaway. It wasn't cheezy either because we refer to Perfect Sqaures all the time simply as "squares" |
griphook  
Jun 04, 2003
| Another great one- Scramble. and Grip is in full agreement.
I was wondering why you used 4 matchsticks instead of 3, but I now realized 4 is the better fit. |
heather777
Jun 06, 2003
| that's a really good one. I like those trick ones. It's long though and you make a story so it's easy to miss a trick or something. Nice one |
dakini  
Jun 07, 2003
| nice, tricked me. |
sunnyfunny 
Jun 20, 2003
| tough, but i don't get it |
(user deleted)
Jun 25, 2003
| Shoo! I never would have gotten four. Good job!! |
jimbo   
Jul 24, 2003
| Good puzzle. I got onto the perfect square bit but I thought of 3 matches to make a triangle and that leaves 1 ( a perfect square) which can be attached to the top vertex. This has less than 7 corners. |
matty2kool
Aug 27, 2003
| i thought it was a trapazoid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, u really folled me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
Ace_Revolver
Oct 19, 2003
| Two words - NOT FUN |
(user deleted)
Nov 04, 2003
| Good thinking with the perfect square. |
IVIatrixSamurai
Jul 10, 2004
| i don't get it. do u mean an open or closed "4"? Like this one or like one with the top lines pointing straight up? |
cnmne   
Aug 02, 2004
| Thoroughly stumped. Clever. |
Chelu1971
Aug 26, 2004
| Good puzzle! The solution I had was to place three of the match sticks in a simple triangle, then place the fourth match stick on top of one of the other matches, placing the striking tip ends together thus creating a square when viewed from the side. |
MJfan23  
Oct 11, 2004
| i thought you had to break the sticks in half or something |
koolkat57  
Mar 30, 2005
| It got me, there!  |
krabcat   
Apr 01, 2005
| i thought ud have to brake them too |
sweetime  
May 25, 2005
| IVIatrixSamurai - i assume they mean a 4 as it is viewed there - the open four (which is the four i learned to write) wouldn't work
had me stumped, well done |
Question_Mark   
Jun 04, 2005
| I thought it had something to do with perfect sq.s. Good teaser.  |
Nytwynd   
Aug 08, 2005
| Got Me!!!  |
Steve1973   
Sep 19, 2005
| And I was going to break two of the matches in half to make the Square, and then place the third match from upper corner to lower, opposite corner to make a triangle inside the square.
The last match I'd get to use as a nice toothpick while he counted over my money.  |
DummyisDumb   
Dec 23, 2005
| the teaser is wrong! you can't make a right triangle using 3 sticks of the same legnth! |
DummyisDumb   
Dec 23, 2005
| the teaser is wrong! you can't make a right triangle using 3 sticks of the same legnth! |
DummyisDumb   
Dec 23, 2005
| the teaser is wrong! you can't make a right triangle using 3 sticks of the same legnth! |
DummyisDumb   
Dec 23, 2005
| oops. |
mitzimesser   
Feb 05, 2006
| Yes you can, if the vertical line is placed half way between the two ends.
Great teaser, I did not figure it out.  |
ShaelaEsther
Jun 08, 2006
| Great teaser (definitely tricked me). On a literary level, I'd tweak the story.
I really wanted to help Jimmy win instead of seeing him give up without trying. His character seemed to be a risk-taker, and I was so disappointed that he didn't even give it a shot (ESPECIALLY since he had nothing to lose.) Made me lose interest in the outcome of the teaser since I wasn't emotionally engaged with the character anymore.
Sorry...English minor.
Nice one, though! |
paul726   
Jul 02, 2006
| Nice one!  |
Lady_Lani   
Apr 03, 2007
| ooh, I like it! Good one  |
grobert_14  
Feb 25, 2008
| Nice, after I figured it out  |
thebrain789   
Jun 16, 2010
| Closed 4, I think. |
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