The captain of a ship is telling you an interesting story and then poses a question. He says, “I have travelled the oceans far and wide. One time, two of my sailors were standing on opposite sides of the ship. One was looking west and the other one east. And at the same time, they could see each other clearly. Can you tell me how that was possible?â€
A man is walking down a road with a basket of eggs. As he
is walking he meets someone who buys one-half of his eggs
plus one-half of an egg.
He walks a little further and meets another person who buys
one-half of his eggs plus one-half of an egg.
After proceeding further he meets another person who buys
one-half of his eggs plus one half an egg. At this point, he
has sold all of his eggs, and he never broke an egg.
How many eggs did the man have to start with?
In 2011, people playing Foldit, an online puzzle game about protein folding, resolved the structure of an enzyme that causes an Aids-like disease in monkeys. Researchers had been working on the problem for 13 years. The gamers solved it in three weeks.