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 This Week's Puzzle

You can E-mail your answer to Mr. Roberts (kroberts@madisonprep.org) or give it to him in person (in writing).

The Spy

 During World War II, David Thorndike operated as a spy behind the German lines. As the son of an English father and a German mother, he was perfectly suited for the job. With his knowledge of the language, German culture, music and history he could easily pass as a German.

And yet he was not above suspicion. He was watched carefully, but he never made a false move. As the war wore on and invasion plans materialized, he became encouraged that soon the war would end and he would return to England.

Then one day he was in Berlin, lost in his thoughts, thinking about his return to England. He was standing there on a busy street corner, ready to cross the street. He felt a tug on his sleeve and a pistol in his ribs. He had been discovered.

How did they know?

 

 

 

 

 Last Week's Puzzle

The Steel Band

 

Imagine that you are on a perfectly smooth sphere as large as the sun.  A steel band is stretched tightly around the equator.

One yard of steel is added to this band so that it is raised off the surface of the sphere by the same distance all the way around.  Will this lift the band enough so that you can:

  1. Slip a playing card under it?
  2. Slip your hand under it?
  3. Slip a baseball under it?

 Why? 

 

Answer 

If the circumference increases by 1 yard, the diameter will increase by (1/π) yards, or about 11.4 inches.  Therefore the radius increases by about 5.7 inches, more than enough for a baseball.