Imagine a box with two cogwheels, one big with 24 teeth and one small with 8 teeth. The big one is firmly attached to the center of the box which means it does not turn or move while the small one rotates around the big one.
How many times do you think that the smaller wheel will turn compared to the box when it turns once around the big one?
Four people need to cross a rickety bridge at night. Unfortunately, they have only one torch and the bridge is too dangerous to cross without one. The bridge is only strong enough to support two people at a time. Not all people take the same time to cross the bridge. Times for each person: 1 min, 2 mins, 7 mins and 10 mins. What is the shortest time needed for all four of them to cross the bridge?
If a shopkeeper can only place the weights on one side of the common balance. For example, if he has weights 1 and 3 then he can measure 1, 3 and 4 only. Now the question is how many minimum weights and names of the weights you will need to measure all weights from 1 to 1000? This is a fairly simple problem and very easy to prove also.