Seven Gates of Mango Math

Puzzler time.

This one is a little tropical, a little mathematical, and just annoying enough to be worthy of us.

A man comes to a gate with a pile of mangoes. A guard says:

“Leave me half your mangoes, and I’ll give you one back.”

So if the man has 10 mangoes, he gives away 5, gets 1 back, and walks on with 6.

Then he meets another guard, who makes the same deal. And then another. And another. Seven gates in all.

The question is: how many mangoes did he need at the start to get through all seven gates?

Remember: he cannot cut a mango in half.

Good luck.

Answer the Puzzler »

Remember last week's puzzler?

The Bus I Didn’t Mind Following

Now, nobody likes following a city bus. They’re big, loud, smelly—and they stop wherever they feel like it.

But here’s the weird part: about half the mornings on my drive to work, I actually enjoy following the bus.

In fact, I kind of hope I get stuck behind one.

The other half? I can’t stand it.

Why would anyone ever prefer to be behind a city bus on the way to work… but not when it’s snowing?