“A Crime Story”

From the American journal Scripta Mathematica:

An elementary school teacher in New York state had her purse stolen. The thief had to be Lilian, Judy, David, Theo, or Margaret. When questioned, each child made three statements:

Lilian:
(1) I didn’t take the purse.
(2) I have never in my life stolen anything.
(3) Theo did it.

Judy:
(4) I didn’t take the purse.
(5) My daddy is rich enough, and I have a purse of my own.
(6) Margaret knows who did it.

David:
(7) I didn’t take the purse.
(8) I didn’t know Margaret before I enrolled in this school.
(9) Theo did it.

Theo:
(10) I am not guilty.
(11) Margaret did it.
(12) Lillian is lying when she says I stole the purse.

Margaret:
(13) I didn’t take the teacher’s purse.
(14) Judy is guilty.
(15) David can vouch for me because he has known me since I was born.

Later, each child admitted that two of his statements were true and one was false. Assuming this is true, who stole the purse?

Click for Answer

A Riding Tour

a riding tour

Is it possible to move the knight from a1 to h8, visiting every square of the chessboard once?

Click for Answer

Misc

  1. Which is worth more, a pound of $10 gold pieces or half a pound of $20 gold pieces?
  2. A kazoo costs $1 plus half its price. How much does it cost?
  3. On its March 1961 cover, MAD Magazine pointed out that 1961 was the first “upside-up” year — the first year that reads the same upside down — since 1881. What will be the next such year?
Click for Answer

The Stopped Clock

Andrea’s only timepiece is a clock that’s fixed to the wall. One day she forgets to wind it and it stops.

She travels across town to have dinner with a friend whose own clock is always correct. When she returns home, she makes a simple calculation and sets her own clock accurately.

How does she manage this without knowing the travel time between her house and her friend’s?

Click for Answer

Hell’s Bells

hell's bells

A Christmas puzzle by J.C.J. Wainwright, from the American Chess Bulletin, December 1917.

White to mate in one move.

Click for Answer

Retail Trouble

A woman visits a jewelry store and buys a ring for $100.

The next day she returns and asks to exchange it for another. She picks out one worth $200, thanks the jeweler and turns to go.

“Wait, miss,” he says. “That’s a $200 ring.”

“Yes,” she says. “I paid you $100 yesterday, and I’ve just given you a ring worth $100.”

And she trips lightly out of the store.