A nice little function/word puzzle here. Had me infuriated for some time.
You can find a list of all 110 words that were submitted on Twitter, along with their A and B values at M Shah’s blog, here (you need to scroll down to Activity #3). Be careful of spoilers though, because the solution is given just after the list of words.
Here’s a bonus puzzle inspired by a recent Christmas purchase.
I bought this jolly fellow in Covent Garden:
We named him Philbert, for some reason.
As you can see, Philbert has two cubes in his stomach (dice, basically), each of which has a digit on each face. By rearranging the dice, you can count the days until Christmas.
Puzzle 1 (EASY)
Some extra clues are now available for our Christmas maths puzzle:
The solution will be posted on Wednesday…
It’s the first of December, and the @elizabot_xmas Twitter account is up and running again, tweeting random phrases generated from the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts using a two-step Markov chain.
Follow her here.
OK, so I’ve come out of my long period of digital aestivation and returned to my blog and to various social media platforms.
Rather excitingly, a new version of Hannah and my Christmas maths book is out today! There’s a new chapter about cake, so that’s nice.
There’s also a US version this year, in which we spell things differently and provide extra info on bizarre British festive traditions (though how they get through the day without detonating a small explosive in a cardboard tube and fighting over a pack of mini-screwdrivers, I have no idea).
The UK Edition on Amazon.co.uk
Here are the two new covers, side by side:
UK Version
US Version
Throughout the month, to accompany the release of our book on the Mathematics of Christmas, Hannah Fry & I were tweeting out Christmathsy bits and pieces, one a day, advent calendar style.
A final post, to provide the solution to Friday’s puzzle.
Throughout the month, to accompany the release of our book on the Mathematics of Christmas, Hannah Fry & I were tweeting out Christmathsy bits and pieces, one a day, advent calendar style.
Thanks for following the Indisputable Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar. Just a few loose ends to wrap up, with a solution to our Christmas Eve puzzle today, with the solution to Friday’s puzzle (Santa’s Dressing Room Disasters) to come tomorrow…
Happy 24th of December!
Throughout the month, to accompany the release of our book on the Mathematics of Christmas, Hannah Fry & I are tweeting out Christmathsy bits and pieces, one a day, advent calendar style. Assuming we don’t run out of ideas, that is…
And so, the final day of the Impossible Santa Mathematical Advent Calendar has arrived. Santa is about to set off, but there’s still time to take a quick register of the reindeer:
“Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer, and Vixen!
“On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donner and Blitzen!”*
But, wait a minute… Which one is which?
Answers via the comments or on Twitter. All correct answers will be rewarded with deep respect and warm Christmas wishes. Enjoy!
The solution to this puzzle will be posted tomorrow (Christmas!) with the solution to yesterday’s Dressing Room Disaster puzzles to follow on Boxing Day (mainly because the explanation of the solution is taking a while to write up!).
Merry Christmas everyone!
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE COMPLETE CALENDAR
* I was interested to learn that “Donner and Blitzen” were actually named “Dunder and Blixen” (or other variations thereof) in early versions of the text. I suppose the versions in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer must have ultimately overwhelmed these alternatives.
