Brain Teasers
The Colored Bear
If a hunter goes out his front door, goes 50 miles south, then goes 50 miles west, shoots a bear, goes 50 miles north and ends up in front of his house, what color was the bear?
Hint
There is only one starting place on earth where the hunter will end up back at his front door.Answer
White.The hunter is at the north pole, and the bear is a white polar bear.
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Since bears do not roam within fifty miles of the pole, the bear is either imaginary or imported, and there is no telling what color it is.
There is another place (actually a whole set) on earth from which one can go fifty miles south, fifty miles west, and fifty miles north and end up where one started. Consider the parallel of latitude close enough to the South Pole that its length is 50/n miles, for some integer n. Take any point on that parallel of latitude and pick the point fifty miles north of it. Situate the hunter`s front porch there. The hunter goes fifty miles south from his porch and is at a point we`ll call A. He travels fifty miles west, circling the South Pole n times, and is at A again, where he shoots the bear. Fifty miles north from A he is back home.
to comment on the above comments There wouldn't be any bears that near to south pole either.
you know, this was the first teaser ever entered into the site.
shouldn't this teaser be in the logic or trick sections instead of MATH???
Not only is there no bear near the North Pole, which is not on land but on a frozen ocean, there is no house. -----
Santa Claus and his elves live at North Pole, Alaska (64º45'N, 147º21'W), and they are not killers.
Santa Claus and his elves live at North Pole, Alaska (64º45'N, 147º21'W), and they are not killers.
?
(looking at Yoda) I don't have a clue.
Darn it. Ain't no commentators realised that from the South Pole, the only direction a critter can head in a straight line would be due NORTH!
PURPLE!
so this is the first teaser ever? on this site
It's only a game, just like the Raiders and the Chiefs! (i.e not meant to be taken seriously)
contrary to pop. belief, this is not the oldest teaser. the oldest teaser is #9327 (as of sunday, nov. 27), called J, 'F, M, A, M, J ....'
sorry, its
'J, F, M, A, M, J ....'
not
J, 'F, M, A, M, J ....'
'J, F, M, A, M, J ....'
not
J, 'F, M, A, M, J ....'
if this is the oldest teaser, why is it #103 instead of just #1??
anyhow, this was from MindTrap.
anyhow, this was from MindTrap.
grrrrrrrrrrrrr, i wanted to put something like this, but was rejected because it too close
This puzzle pwnzrs. Don't make fun of it. lolerskater
this is the 1st teaser on the site
i mean, this IS the 1st teaser on the site
fun. don't let the naysayers and the know-it-alls get you down.
thats so cool!
great teaser!
i had to read the hint before i got it
great teaser!
i had to read the hint before i got it
What if the front of his house was 51 miles long? Front door on the east end and front door on the west end, and then he's back at his front door after shooting the bear.
Of course to find a house that massive we'd have to be looking at a large expanse of land, which would suggest somewhere like Australia. And there are no bears in Australia, however the koala is often misnamed as a bear. And koala's are grey. So the answer is grey.
But of course the important thing to keep in mind is that no matter what colour the bear, both polar bears and koalas are protected species, which means that this hunter is hunting illegally. Of course the way it could have been "legal" is if the bear wasn't a native to the area, and as such was considered a dangerous animal. Which means it could have been any colour.
I could go on here, but in short let me just say that it's only a brain teaser. If you get it right, then yay for you, otherwise it's not the fault of the teaser.
Of course to find a house that massive we'd have to be looking at a large expanse of land, which would suggest somewhere like Australia. And there are no bears in Australia, however the koala is often misnamed as a bear. And koala's are grey. So the answer is grey.
But of course the important thing to keep in mind is that no matter what colour the bear, both polar bears and koalas are protected species, which means that this hunter is hunting illegally. Of course the way it could have been "legal" is if the bear wasn't a native to the area, and as such was considered a dangerous animal. Which means it could have been any colour.
I could go on here, but in short let me just say that it's only a brain teaser. If you get it right, then yay for you, otherwise it's not the fault of the teaser.
i liked this one
ber was ranebuw
Maybe this hunter had a fifty mile porch?? Then the bear would be Green!!! Why? Do not ask...
for some dumb reason I was thinking of a brown bear...
bears white....thats a great one i like it much.
How does one determine the westerly direction of travel when near the pole? I understand that when leaving the north pole, convention dictates that all directions are equally south. After the first leg, in order to "turn and go west" one should make a 90 degree turn to the right by pointing ones right arm back to the pole along ones own tracks.
This has always been my problem with this classic teaser -- it seems to introduce a 90 degree angle into an equilateral-triangle path which should have only 60 degree turns.
After all, if the path is the same 50 miles on all three sides???
Help. What am I missing here?
Aside from a sense of humour.
This has always been my problem with this classic teaser -- it seems to introduce a 90 degree angle into an equilateral-triangle path which should have only 60 degree turns.
After all, if the path is the same 50 miles on all three sides???
Help. What am I missing here?
Aside from a sense of humour.
This is the first one on the site i've got even though i looked at the hint!!!!!!!!! :LOL: ;)
Nov 04, 2006
This is the first one on the site i've got even though i looked at the hint!!!!!!!!!
This is the first one on the site i've got even though i looked at the hint!!!!!!!!!
first one on the site ya rite
hybgpruyyobbbbzsy;ilub
I don't know about you but I said red. If it was shot then it's usually red isn't it? Also I don't believe there would be a hunter that hunts polar bears.
At least not one that lives that far north.
I WAS RIGHT!! yess i like never get these things right! good one =)
i love it...i got it right!!
Awesome teaser Jake!
Wonderful Teaser! Keep up the good work!
i cant beleive this is the first teaser on braingle!! GO JAKE!!!! im your biggest fan!!!!! GO BRAINGLE!!!!!!!!
Acually polar bears have clear fur and black skin.
People never seem to be consistent when they post...
BTW the skin is black but the fur IS white, and reflects light.
BTW the skin is black but the fur IS white, and reflects light.
You people are crazy! Of course, I'd say the same thing about myself.
I knew it was a white bear.
#1 answer to scavenger hunt heheh
actually nidhog, the skin is black and the fur is clear. it just creates the illusion of white by refracting light. Real-life example: look at a roll of saran wrap.
I have no clue if this is suppose to make sense????
The bear would be red....since it was now covered in blood after being shot.
Yay I got it right! The hint helped.
Oh and Jake, there aren't any bears in the south pole.
Easy, its a polar bear/ white bear. I heard it before so I know it.
First, this is an OLD teaser, not original to the site.
Second, to answer Earmon's question, what you are missing is that the internal angles of a triangle projected onto a sphere always exceed 180 degrees. There are a separate set of trigonometric identities for spherical triangles.
Second, to answer Earmon's question, what you are missing is that the internal angles of a triangle projected onto a sphere always exceed 180 degrees. There are a separate set of trigonometric identities for spherical triangles.
i put this anwser in the braingle scavenger hunt and it said no
Easy and fun but I had heard this one befire.
EZ PZ. But fun anyway!!!
Actually, I've seen a very similar question before(It was actually in a science test!!!! ) And the answer was white, because the place which this thing can happen AND have bears is the North Pole. Oh, and the other version is that a man was frightend and ran away.(at least that's not cruel or ilegal.)
And I agree with tangled brain. Polar bear fur IS clear.
Oh, but as a teaser, this one's fun!
Oh, but as a teaser, this one's fun!
This was really fun! I am glad that i tried!
For my talk-box game:
Great job! Next Clue:
Send me this message unscrambled in private message:
dlemabsrcnu
Great job! Next Clue:
Send me this message unscrambled in private message:
dlemabsrcnu
With this puzzle, for the average user, it would be a bit difficult to actually pinpoint where you are. I think next time you can give the reader an idea or a hint of where you are. Please do not take this personally but that is just my opinion.............
That was easyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Awesome teaser by an awesome owner
Nice one
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