Web Puzzles

A farmer from a small community is out of money. After a mysterious desease spread among and killed his lifestock, he now needs to quickly make up for the lost animals. He needs a whole grand.
Knowing that the bank won't lend him any money, he pays a visit to the local loan shark. The outlaw, who's known to have a bit of an obsession with puzzles, proposes a deal.

With the $1,000 he gets, the farmer has to be able to buy a combination of cows, pigs, and sheep, to total exactly 100 heads of lifestock. The combination has to include at least one cow ($100 each), one pig ($30 each), and one sheep ($5 each). The total amount of money spent for the 100 animals has to equal exactly $1,000.


If the farmer manages to accomplish the task, he'll have to return the money with a "friendly" interest rate. Otherwise, he'll get the normal rate, and the threat of a broken pinkie...

How many of each kind of livestock did the farmer buy?

Solution

 94 sheep =  $470
  1 pig   =   $30
  5 cows  =  $500
-----------------
100 heads = $1000

Farmer John had a problem. There were a group of brigands that had taken all he had... except for three things: his prized wolf, his goat, and a box of cabbages. They were coming after him, to get the rest. These brigands did not like water, so John went to the Blue River, a deep, fast river that no one could swim, and it had no bridges. He always kept a boat there, because he liked to fish, but it was small. So small, in fact, that he and only one of his precious things could be in the boat at the same time.

It sounds simple, right? Ferry one item across at a time, and come back for the others? Well, if John leaves the goat with the cabbages alone on one side of the river the goat will eat the cabbages. If he leaves the wolf and the goat on one side the wolf will eat the goat. If john is there, only he can seperate the wolf from the goat and the goat from the cabbage.



How can farmer John keep his possessions safe from the brigands, without losing a single one?

Solution