Brain Teasers
Two Pound Stick
Jack found a stick that weighed exactly two pounds. If Jack cut the stick into eight equal pieces, how much would each piece weigh?
Answer
Each piece would weigh just less than a quarter of a pound. (The sawdust created from the cut would cause the loss)This is similar to the situation that appeared in Shakespeare's play "The Merchant of Venice". When Shylock won a pound of Antonio's flesh, he was allotted only the pound of flesh. This meant he could take a pound of flesh, but he could only do it on condition that he takes no blood or even a fraction more than one pound of flesh.
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