Brain Teasers
Rotteneggers Return
After Sam Rottenegger's failed attempt in the teaser "Eggsactly what Happened" to egg his least favorite band, he came up with another plan. This time he would use rotten eggs, and get in and out of the concert quickly. He took 6 eggs from his fridge and put them in a box in his closet for the two months before the concert to ensure they would be really rotten. The night of the concert finally arrived, and Sam placed his eggs on the kitchen counter while he looked for a suitable container for transporting them. However, as he was digging through the cupboards, he didn't notice his mother putting the 6 rotten eggs into the fridge with 6 good eggs. When Sam discovered what had happened, he just stared at the carton of eggs in dismay. He had no idea how to tell them apart, as there were no smells or visible signs to indicate which eggs were which. Sam might have stood there all night if his sister hadn't come along and told him if he gave her $5.00 and a glass of water, she'd tell him which were rotten and which were fresh. Sam was skeptical, but paid up. She separated the eggs and Sam, still wondering if she was right, placed the eggs on the passenger seat of his car as he drove off to the concert. Unfortunately for Sam, she had correctly separated the eggs, as he found out the hard way when he came to an abrupt stop, causing the eggs to pull a humpty dumpty on Sam's floor. So how did she separate the eggs if there were no odors or visible signs?
Hint
What happens when eggs rot?Answer
Sam's sister knew that fresh eggs sink when put in water, but as an egg rots it produces hydrogen sulfide gas, which gets trapped inside the egg. This makes them float in water thus making them easy to separate by placing them in a glass of water.Hide Hint Show Hint Hide Answer Show Answer
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Comments
Good one. I knew rotten eggs are denser therefore they float but no the gas. interesting
who ate all the pies???
Umm sure
Too many words sry
Actually the density has little to do with it. It's more about bounacy
Uhh, yes, sure, Niiiiice
Wow... that's too technical for me. I prefer funny.......... but still a good one.. if you know that kind of stuff......
I got it right away. I cook a lot so it wasn't very fun.
i only new that one because i boil eggs for my mom a lot
Nice teaser but it could have been betterif it was 2 lines instead of 8
WHat wow im confused
I agree with youngest1000
Apr 30, 2005
I have a question.
If the volume of the egg doesn't change
then some mass has to vanish. But how?
If the volume of the egg doesn't change
then some mass has to vanish. But how?
Apr 30, 2005
Clever! I like that one. I didn't know about the hydrogen sulfide gas... pretty cool.
A little obvious when Sam's sister asked for water.
Cjara, you bring up a very good point. The answer to the teaser is not technically correct. Rotten eggs do float, but its not because the yolk turned into gas; because like you said, if the mass is constant and the volume is constant, than its density should remain constant. The reason the rotten egg floats is that it loses mass due to diffusion. The molecules (hydrogen sulfide for example) that the yolk decomposes into are a lot smaller than the molecules that make up the yolk, and thus they have the ability to pass through microscopic holes in the shell. This is why rotten eggs smell, even though they haven't been broken open.
ok, first, "youngest1000" there were 16 lines BUT WAY BESIDE THE POINT, this was a good teaser, very easy (if u kno that krap) i kept telling myself the answer when i was reading it, but i thought mabe i was wrong. I was right (CUZ I AM NEVER RONG, NEVER!) After reading the answer, i thought "wow, i just wasted my time". It was a good teaser though, just try to cut it in half next time. The whole "humpty dumpty" spill could have been omitted.
ok, first, "youngest1000" there were 16 lines BUT WAY BESIDE THE POINT, this was a good teaser, very easy (if u kno that krap) i kept telling myself the answer when i was reading it, but i thought mabe i was wrong. I was right (CUZ I AM NEVER RONG, NEVER!) After reading the answer, i thought "wow, i just wasted my time". It was a good teaser though, just try to cut it in half next time. The whole "humpty dumpty" spill could have been omitted.
When I first saw all those words I thought OH NO! but after I read it I realised "oh that's obvious"
Thanks for the lesson, didn't know that.
Nice fact for the day.
curtisss curtisssss curtisss
trying to sound so smart eh?
the density changes as the material changes states (ie solid to gas) it's the same thing that makes a helium balloon float in normal air....quite simple actually
trying to sound so smart eh?
the density changes as the material changes states (ie solid to gas) it's the same thing that makes a helium balloon float in normal air....quite simple actually
The density can't change if the volume can't increase.
The great debate rages on- Good Teaser and I like the long ones!!!
NOt a bad teaser, I just read it somewhere before...
Eggs start to float before they become rotten due to evaporation over time of water from within the egg through the shell, which is porous. The air sac that builds up is at the blunt end of the egg, so if it floats with the the point angled down, it may just be stale rather than rotten, and so could still be edible.
Who'd have thought a few rotten eggs could cause such a stink?
Who'd have thought a few rotten eggs could cause such a stink?
I said that the rotten eggs were warmer than the good ones. If the good ones were already in the fridge (a reasonable assumption based on the wording of the question) then they are already cold.
Even if the good eggs were just purchased or borrowed from a neighbor they would have recently come out of another fridge and would still be colder than the rotten eggs.
Even if the good eggs were just purchased or borrowed from a neighbor they would have recently come out of another fridge and would still be colder than the rotten eggs.
Interesting!
You can use this effect to tell how fresh even good eggs are - do they lie flat on the bottom, or does one end of the egg stand up somewhat?
Also - throwing rotten eggs may be a cliche, but many younger people have never actually encountered the smell of a genuinely rotten egg. It is overpoweringly disgusting: anyone close to it has a good chance of vomiting. Frequently people who have cracked a rotten egg can't bear to eat or even smell (good) eggs for a month or more. The point is, "do not try this at home."
Also - throwing rotten eggs may be a cliche, but many younger people have never actually encountered the smell of a genuinely rotten egg. It is overpoweringly disgusting: anyone close to it has a good chance of vomiting. Frequently people who have cracked a rotten egg can't bear to eat or even smell (good) eggs for a month or more. The point is, "do not try this at home."
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