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John's attempt

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  1. Take the largest prime number that is less than 20 whos digits add up to 8.
    Answer: 17
  2. Then multiply by that number (the result in 1) by 100.
    Answer: 1700
  3. Find a dead poet/playwright and take the year that person was born and subtract it by the previous number (result in 2).
    Poet/playright: William Shakespeare
    Year born: 1564
    Answer: -136
  4. Take that number (result in 3) and find the end of the Saros number of the solar eclipse series and multiply it by the result in 3.
    Find the end? Huh? I presume that means the final number. If 1/3 is taken, the answer is a non-integer, which is apparently not going to be the answer as #5 requires an integer. So multiplying -136 by 5 results in 680.
    An alternative would be multipling -136 by 3 (as it is the final digit, if decimals are included...), which would result in -408. I don't think decimals are counted for the purposes of this question, so I'll ignore this result.
  5. Add all the digits from the resulting number.
    Presumably this means -6 + 8 + 0 = 2
  6. What is the atomic element cooresponding to the final number?
    Final answer: Helium Johnleemk | Talk 18:34, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

You're close, but you're incorrect. Also I have a minor correction / clarification: All numbers in this should be positive. -- AllyUnion (talk) 18:42, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

  • One other thing, number four should read: end year of the Saros number -- AllyUnion (talk) 18:48, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Second attempt

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Then...

  1. Answer: 17
  2. Answer: 1700
  3. Poet/playright: T. S. Eliot
    Year born: 1888
    Answer: 188
  4. Answer: 188 * 8 = 1504 (I'm presuming end year means last digit in the number of years in a Saros cycle)
  5. Answer: 1 + 5 + 0 + 4 = 10
  6. Final answer: Neon Johnleemk | Talk 18:53, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Sorry, try again. I'm not clarifying this one any further. -- AllyUnion (talk) 18:56, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Marnen's attempt

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This is so vaguely stated that I don't think there's a unique answer. --Marnen Laibow-Koser (talk) 21:11, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

There is a unique answer. Remember, it is fun with numbers. -- AllyUnion (talk) 22:42, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

However...

  1. 17
  2. 1700
  3. Poet: T. S. Eliot (born 1888 - 1700 = 188)
  4. A saros cycle is 18 years 10 days long, so it would end in year 19 * 188 = 3572.
  5. 3 + 5 + 7 + 2 = 17. Element 17 is chlorine. --Marnen Laibow-Koser (talk) 21:21, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Nope. -- AllyUnion (talk) 22:42, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Circeus' attempt

[edit]
  1. 17
  2. 1700
  3. Goethe for me, so 1749-1700 =49
  4. Saros cycle #49 ended in year 32, so 49×32=2592
  5. sum is 9 (and it applies for the lunar series too, which ends in year 81, leading to 3969!), element should be fluorine

Circeus 21:38, Mar 14, 2005 (UTC)

Try again. -- AllyUnion (talk) 22:42, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Gkhan's attempt

[edit]

Ok, I'll give it a try.....

  1. 17
  2. 1700
  3. The greatest of the Swedish bards, August Strindberg, was born in 1849. 1849 - 1700 = 149.
  4. End year of the last current Saros cycle = 3237. 3237 * 149 = 482313
  5. 4 + 8 + 2 + 3 + 1 + 3 = 21
  6. Scandium, named after the great Scandinavian lands from which both me and Strindberg originate. Coincidence? I think not!! Gkhan 22:16, Mar 14, 2005 (UTC)

I think this might be one of the last questions to be answered. -- AllyUnion (talk) 22:42, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Part of this question has been intentionally left vague. But that's all I'll say. -- AllyUnion (talk) 00:45, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Nunh-huh's attempt

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take (any dead poet's birthdate minus 1700), multiply by 9, and sum the resulting digits What is the atomic element cooresponding to the final number? answer: Fluorine why? because the sum of the digits of any number multiplied by 9 is always 9. No dead poets were injured in the calculation of this number. - Nunh-huh 00:57, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Thank you. Try again. -- AllyUnion (talk) 03:21, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Grue's attempt

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1. 17 obviously 2. 1700

3. This seems quite random so I'll take Aleksandr Pushkin and get 99.

4. Now I don't know what's the end of Saros series of solar eclipse (Saros suggests 155), but I assume that it should be number that being multiplied by a random positive number would result in the same sum of the digits, and I have a strong suspicion it's 99 (works for 1-100, 101 doesn't work, but the following numbers also work).

5. So that would be 18.

6. Periodic table tells the answer is Argon. Grue 08:46, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I will remind everyone that this is all about article searching and fun with numbers. Try again please. -- AllyUnion (talk) 11:49, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Points for the question

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I am bumping the points for this question to 4 points. -- AllyUnion (talk) 11:51, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Jag123's attempt

[edit]
  1. 17, Prime number
  2. 1700
  3. 1759 - 1700 = 59 Friedrich Schiller, taken from List of poets (only entry with "poet and playwright", if that matters)
  4. ~1370 years for Saros + 2003 = 3706 * 59 = 218654
  5. 2+1+8+6+5+4 = 26
  6. Iron

--jag123 12:24, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Close, but nope. -- AllyUnion (talk) 07:12, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC)

FreplySpang's attempt

[edit]
  • Result 1 is clearly 17. Thus Result 2 is 1700.
  • Result 3: Uhhhhh, pass.
  • Result 4: what Saros numbers do we know about? Search.... How about 119?
  • Result 3, again: We need a poet/playwright born in either 1819 or 1581 (because “subtract it by” is unclear which number is subtracted from which). Dig dig dig. Dig. Here’s one! Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, Dutch poet, playwright and historian, born in 1581. Died in 1647. Great. Now we have a dead poet/playwright such that result 3 is 119, because 1700 - 1581 = 119.
  • Result 4, again. Saros cycle 119 will end in the year 2112. 2112 * 119 = 251328.
  • Result 5: 2+5+1+3+2+8 = 21.
  • Result 6: The Periodic Table says... Scandium.

I can't believe I spent my afternoon solving for a playwright. FreplySpang 22:20, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Well, I am sorry you spent that afternoon solving for a playwright but I'll have to ask you to keep solving. "Find a dead poet/playwright..." -- AllyUnion (talk) 07:15, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC)
?? are you saying that Hooft is not a dead poet/playwright? 65.96.188.174 14:00, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC) (sorry, forgot to log in before commenting. This was me. FreplySpang 14:51, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC))

Eric Burnett's Attempt

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Having lots of trouble understand step 4, but answering anyways ;)

1. Prime is 17
2. 1700
3. Shakespeare was born in 1564, so 1700 - 1564 = 136
4. Which solar eclipse series??? I went with the next one we will have (April 8th), which is S129. So 129*136=17544 5. 1+7+5+4+4=21 6. 21 is Sc, or Scandium

Eric Burnett 03:30, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC)

  1. Shakespeare has been tried already. Think more logically. -- AllyUnion (talk) 07:17, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Eric Burnett's Attempt, version 2

[edit]

Alright, since it seems to be the person that is the problem, I will go with someone else. searching "dead poet" (third choice) led me to August 9th, which lead to Philip Larkin, who was born in 1922. That leaves me with

  1. Prime is 17
  2. 1700
  3. Philip Larkin was born in 1922, so 1922- 1700= 222
  4. The next one we will have (April 8th) is S129. So 129*222=28638
  5. 2+8+6+3+8=27
  6. 27 is Co, or Cobalt

Whether thats correct or not, at least it's wikified this time ;) Eric Burnett 07:36, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC)

AllyUnion's Hint

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  • Okay, I think I am forced to give a hint on this one. The resulting number should be no greater than a person's lifespan. -- AllyUnion (talk) 08:00, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Argh, *which* number? All the results I've seen for the final answer are numbers smaller than a person's lifespan! Btw, it's interesting how three or four people have got scandium independently, yet through different ways. Johnleemk | Talk 08:53, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)
The resulting number in 3. -- AllyUnion (talk) 13:14, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)

FreplySpang's attempt #2

[edit]
  • Result 1: 17
  • Result 2: 1700
  • Result 3: 1700 says that John Dryden, poet/playwright, died in the year 1700, and was born in 1631. 1700 - 1631 = 69
  • Result 4: 69 (number) says that the Saros series whose number is 69 ended in the year 665. 665 * 69 = 45885.
  • Result 5: 4+5+8+8+5 = 30.
  • Result 6: 30 (number) says... zinc.

65.96.188.174 16:15, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)FreplySpang 16:17, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC) Aargh, forgot again to login before answering. It's really me. FreplySpang 16:17, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Congratulations! You are correct sir! 4 points awarded to FreplySpang for answering this question correctly. -- AllyUnion (talk) 23:02, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Gkhan's second attempt

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Ok, I'll try again!

  1. 17
  2. 1700
  3. There are two poet/playwrights I've been able to find that was born in the 18th century (from List of poets), Gotthold Lessing and Friedrich Schiller. They would yield the numbers 29 and 59. However, the good Mr. Lessings number would yeild a negative end year (-583, as noted on 29). So I use Herr Schiller! 59 it is.
  4. As noted on 59, end year is 249. 59*249 = 14691.
  5. 1+4+6+9+1 = 21
  6. Scandium!!!!! Again!!!!! This is scary!!!

Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, AllyUnion let this be the right answer. Thats great, I just lost that last little ounce of dignity i had left. Gkhan 22:30, Mar 17, 2005 (UTC)

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