The $63 Bathroom Escape

Puzzler time.

After finishing a show, the whole Car Talk crew heads out to a local place for drinks and buffalo wings.

Everyone’s having a good time.

Just before the bill comes… my brother and I sneak off to the bathroom—

…and climb out the window.

(Yes, third floor. Don’t try this at home.)

So now the rest of the group is left with the bill.

The total comes to $63.

One of the guys says, “Hey, those two stiffed us—but if everyone else throws in an extra $2, we can cover it.”

And they do. No problem.

So the puzzler question is:

How many people were in the original group?

And—this is the hard part—prove that your answer is the only possible one.

Good luck.

Answer the Puzzler »

Remember last week's puzzler?

Less Load, More Trouble

Puzzler time.

This one is from long time ago.

Here it is.

Years ago, when railroads still ran steam locomotives, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had a busy freight line running south from Rochester.

On that line, they used a 2-8-2 steam locomotive — two wheels in front, eight driving wheels, and two trailing wheels.

A locomotive like this could normally pull a train of 80 fully loaded cars. No problem.

But on this particular run, something strange happened.

If the train had 80 cars, it could make the trip just fine.

But if it had only 60 cars, it couldn’t make it at all.

It needed more cars to succeed.

Not fewer. More.

And the hint is: there was something unusual about the route south of Rochester.

So the puzzler question is:

Why did the locomotive need 80 cars to make the trip, but fail with only 60?