Three robbers, Babylas, Hilary, and Sosthenes, are stealing a treasure chest from the top of an old tower. Unfortunately, they’ve had to destroy their ladder to avoid pursuit, so they’ll have to descend using a crude tackle — a single pulley and a long rope with a basket at each end.
Babylas weighs 170 pounds, Hilary 100 pounds, Sosthenes 80 pounds, and the treasure 60 pounds. If the difference in weight between the two baskets is greater than 20 pounds then the heavier basket will descend too quickly and injure its occupant (though the treasure chest can withstand this). How can the three of them safely escape the tower with the treasure?
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They send the chest down in an empty basket. Then Sosthenes climbs into the other basket and rides it down, bringing the chest up. They replace the chest with Hilary, who rides down, bringing Sosthenes up. Both get out, and the box descends on its own. Hilary re-enters the basket with the chest and rides up as Babylas descends. Both men get out, and the chest descends on its own again. Sosthenes goes down, bringing up the chest again, and the chest is sent down a fourth time. Hilary descends, bringing up Sosthenes; Sosthenes descends, bringing up the chest; and when Sosthenes has joined his friends the chest descends on its own.
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