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Show CHINA 8ENDS DRAIN TWISTEn. Absorbing Puzzle of Ping-Pong and the Saucers. China, as ovorybody knows, wits the birthplace- vr ono or the birthplaces, ror It had many paronts of the puzzle. puz-zle. Many or our best brain twisters were known to Chinamen thousands or j ears ago. Tho following is u fascinating fas-cinating little poser that we picked up in our wanderings In China. It was a favorite recroatlon of u certain Pong-Ping. Pong-Ping. The puzzle that he U shown In the illustration to be engnged In solving solv-ing Is simply this. lie has placed six saucers or bnsins of graduated sizes In r a pile on ono of tile Tour mats, and ho wants to transfer tho pile to one of tho other mats by moving ono saucer nt a tlmo from mat to mat without ocr placing a isnucer on ono thnt Is smaller than Itsolf. This can bo done In seventeen moves ir you go about It In tho right wny. Can ou perform tho feat? If jou cnn. then try to find tho fewest possible moves for removing remov-ing a pile of ten saucers, and also n pllo of thi.tyslx. A practical way of trying this puzzle Is to uso a pllo of counters numbered 1, 2, 3, J, etc., tloiMiwnrds, and never placo n counter on another that has a smaller number. When you hnvo found tho easy jolutlon ror six you will not bo satisfied until you hnvo mastered tho caso ot ten. Tho case of thirty-six Is ghen ror the benefit or thoso readers who llko a hard nut to crack. Solution. With six saucers, first mnko a pllo or the thrco smallest (fUo moves), a pllo or the next two (three moves), remove re-move tho bottom saucer (ono movo), roplaco tho two (thrco moves) and replace re-place tho pllo or threo (flvo moves) altogether soventecu moves. With ton saucers you timet first muke a pllo ot bIx (seventeen moves), n pllo ot threo (sevon moves) nnd proceed as bofore. This will take forty-nine moves. Thlr-ty-slx saucers may bo removed In 1.79S moves, by making plies or twen-ty-olght (7C9 moves) and sevon (127 moves). London Tlt-Dlts. |