Author Archive | Kevan Choset

How many times do the words “Abortion” and “Court” appear in the top headline on the front page of the NY Times the day after Roe v. Wade was decided? (Answer below.) (show) None. The top headline that day was “Lyndon Johnson, 36th President, is Dead; Was Architect of ‘Great Society’ Program.” Roe v. Wade […]

I enjoyed giving out these problems when I taught computer science. Read the answer to each one before solving the next one. How many posts do you need if you want to build a 10-yard long fence, with a post every yard? (show) 11. One at the beginning of each of the 10 yards, and […]

Some variation on this was sent to me by a few different readers. Here’s my own take: The U.S. Open Men’s Singles draw contained 128 people. Each round was single-elimination, meaning that two people played each other, and the loser was immediately disqualified and the winner moved on to the next round. How many TOTAL […]

These three people are part of a well-known set of seven people. Who are the other four? I’ve put them in some order to help you. (Googling will make this trivial. So don’t.) _________ Jonas Grumby __________ Eunice Howell __________ Roy Hinkley __________

in 2005 who goes by two names. If you add the letters “er” to the end of his first name, you get a common household/office item. His last name is one of the materials this item is made of. Who is it? (show) (W.) Mark Felt, aka Deep Throat. (hide)

I’m very interested in the types of math problems (like Eugene’s locker problem and the ones I’ve posted in the past several days (here, here, and here)) that seem deceptively difficult, but are, in fact, quite simple once you reach a key insight. If you have any other such problems that you like, please email […]

This is probably my favorite math problem. The solution requires no complex mathematics, but rather several separate, elegant insights. If you can’t solve it, but think you have some insights to add, post them. There is an irregularly shaped castle wall with 12 irregularly spaced guard towers around the perimeter. The towers may be evenly […]

As mentioned here before, John Roberts clerked for William Rehnquist. While Roberts would have been the first person to serve on the Supreme Court alongside a judge he clerked for, he will now be the first person to take the seat of a judge he clerked for. Rehnquist himself clerked for Justice Robert Jackson. Interestingly, […]

What do the following books have in common? (No googling.) Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace The Dogs of War, Frederick Forsyth Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury Brave New World, Aldous Huxley Pale Fire, Vladimir Nabokov

There is an airplane with 100 seats, and there are 100 passengers each of whom has an assigned seat on the plane. The passengers line up in a random order to get on the plane. The first woman on line is a confused old lady who doesn’t know how to find her proper seat. She […]

There are a hundred people lined up on the steps of a stadium, each on a different step, all looking down toward the field so that they can see everyone in front of them, but can’t see anyone behind them. Each person will be given either a red or black hat. We know nothing about […]

Who has won Oscars in the most categories? Who is the only person to win Emmys for acting, writing, and directing? (Hint: It was all for the same show.) Who has won Tonys in the most categories? Who is the only man to win a Tony for playing a woman? Who is the only woman […]

in this sequence? (No googling.) Checkers Liberty Grits Lucky ????