#157 Weather or not
At Shady Hills retirement home, Ike and Eileen are arguing over weather predictions.
鈥淚鈥檓 telling you, Eileen, it鈥檚 going to rain tomorrow and the next day, and then it won鈥檛 rain on the third day.鈥�
鈥淏alderdash, Ike. The way my knee is acting up, I鈥檓 sure that it won鈥檛 rain tomorrow, but it will rain for the following two days. I鈥檒l bet my Monday night cheesecake on it.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檒l take that bet. But what if we鈥檙e both wrong?鈥�
鈥淭hen we鈥檒l just keep waiting until there are three consecutive days that match one of our predictions.鈥�
Two of the staff overhear the conversation. 鈥淭his time of year, there鈥檚 a 50-50 chance that it will rain on any given day,鈥� says one, 鈥渟o I guess their chances are even.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檙e right about the rain,鈥� says the other. 鈥淏ut even so, I think one of them has a much better chance of winning.鈥�
Which one, and why?
#156 L of a puzzle
Solution
Here are the two symmetrical ways of putting the three L-shaped tetronimoes together. The first is shaped a little like a fish; the second resembles a heart.
Quick quiz #141
1 What name is given to the study of recurrent natural events linked to climate, such as plants flowering or bird migrations?
2 How many mathematical problems did David Hilbert designate as challenges to be solved in the 20th century?
3 Which genus of bacterium was named for the grape-like clusters it forms?
4 How many stable, naturally occurring isotopes of cobalt are there?
5 In which US state is the Very Large Array, a radio-astronomy observatory?
Answers on page 55
Answers
1 Phenology
2 23
3 Staphylococcus, from the Greek word staphyle, meaning 鈥渂unch of grapes鈥�
4 One: cobalt-59
5 New Mexico