RAY: This puzzler is from my horticultural and mathematical series. It was sent in by Daniel Reiss. And, of course, I couldn't resist the temptation to mess with it a little bit.
Here it is.
An eccentric billionaire decided to interview landscapers for his newly constructed estate. Part of the interview was a simple test. He said:
"Four is my lucky number. I made my fortune working four hours a week, just like those two knuckleheads on Car Talk!
"So, I want every tree and bush and shrub you plant to be in groups of four. Got it? But in addition, I want each of these four things that you plant, to be the same distance from one another.
"For example, if you plant four rhododendron, I want them all to be equidistant, i.e., each one is the same distance from each of the other three."
The question is, can it be done?Cartalk Puzzler of the week
flimflam2 posted Re:Cartalk Puzzler of the week on 5 mnths ago
for each group of four trees/plants, build a mound; plant three trees on the ground at the corners of an equilateral traingle (e.t.), and one on top of the mound, so that the four trees are at the vertices of a tetrahedron (which, by definition, has four faces which are identical e.t.s).
flimflam
p.s. i avoided looking at anyone's post except yours.
for each group of four trees/plants, build a mound; plant three trees on the ground at the corners of an equilateral traingle (e.t.), and one on top of the mound, so that the four trees are at the vertices of a tetrahedron (which, by definition, has four faces which are identical e.t.s).
flimflam
p.s. i avoided looking at anyone's post except yours.
ff