Answers
Four Quarters
Don’t feel bad if you gave up on this one… I did too.
Most people can at least get three of the coins in a row, but get utterly defeated on the fourth… and it makes sense, too, right? I mean, how on earth can you add a fourth coin to a row of four, yet have it touch two other coins when you let go?
Watch Demonstration (External)
The answer is in pre-preparing the line of coins. By “walking” out quarters as you see in the illustration, you’ll be able to prepare a quarter sized hole in the center of the line… everything will fit into place, and you’ll secure yourself a tasty frosty beverage.
2 Pints for a $20
For challenge #1, remember that the primary rule is that you can’t spill anything (give or take). There’s no comment made on what you can use to fish out the bill… so take a look in your wallet. Find the most waterproof, thinnest card you can find, and use it like a razor blade, to slice right in-between the two glasses. You shouldn’t get more than a few drops of leakage, and you’ll be able to snag the bill on you way out!
Challenge #2 is a perfect followup, not only because of the obvious pre-set of the two glasses, but because a natural side effect of finishing the first challenge will be that the two glasses will be slightly off-center from each other (see picture). As a result, the solution will be to grab a straw, point it right at the biggest gap between the two rims, and then blow as hard as you can. This turbulence will disrupt the water’s cohesion and allow all the water from the top glass to pour right out the sides.
Watch Demonstration (External)
Tip: Grab a towel. Or at least think to put the glasses on a large tray to collect all the water!
The 11¢ Slide
The Answer: For the 5-move solution, just memorize the phrase “Over, over, half-over, swap, obvious.” If you can remember that, you’ll know to execute the following moves:
Watch Demonstration (External)
move 1: “over”
move 2: “over” again
move 3: “half-over” means take these two out of the middle
move 4: “swap” means to complete the switch here
move 5: …and finally, the last move should be obvious as it completes the puzzle.
Practice a few times so you can execute the move quickly enough that your sucker will have a hard time following along.
…if they insist on seeing the answer again, oblige them by solving the puzzle a slightly different way this time, with the 4-move answer. For this version, just remember “Big over, big over, swap, obvious.” The moves go:
Watch Demonstration (External)
move 1: “big over” means moving them over, with extra room for 11 cents in the middle.
move 2: “big over” again means a big jump to the right.
move 3: “swap” means to complete the switch here (just like before)
move 4: “obvious” and again, the last move should be obvious.
You should be able to pick up double the drinks with this scam… set up the original puzzle and let them go nuts trying to solve it. Right when it looks like they’re going to give up, offer them a deal: if they’re willing to go double-or-nothing, you will full-on show them the answer… they only need to be able to replicate your results.
…Amazingly, they won’t have a prayer.
The Equation
The Answer: Take one of the matches from the “1″ section, turn it 90 degrees and place it perpendicularly over the middle match in the “1″ section.
Properly spaced, the equation then appears as 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 1111!
Watch Demonstration (External)
Out of any puzzle we’ve covered, this one generates the most emails of alternate solutions. I’m talking about hundreds of proposals about everything from laying one match directly on top of another to count them as just one mark to making half-assed, leaning roman numeral “V’s”… and none of them as elegant as this solution.
If someone comes up with one of those half-assed solutions and insists it’s a good one, just gather some disinterested third parties to act as judges. Once they see the two solutions side-by-side, it’s obvious which is the more elegant.
Final Note: When you set this up, make sure you space out the matches in the “1″ section. Your rules clearly state that you can only move one match, and you don’t want to be accused of violating your own rules in the reveal.
6 Matches, 4 Triangles
Our volunteer in this episode of Scam School solved the puzzle on his own, but it’ll throw most people into a fit of frustration.
Unlike other match puzzles covered on the show, the solution to this one adds a third dimension, forcing your mark to think a bit outside the box before coming up with anything close to the right answer.
Create the 3D solution by laying the bottom triangle down flat and holding the 3 remaining matches above to create a tetrahedron. This works best by pinching the matches’ ends together and allowing the opposite ends to spread out individually toward each of the bottom triangle’s corners. In the diagram shown, you can see how the 4 triangles are represented in the 3D shape. The answer won’t be able to stand up on its own, but that won’t stop you from earning your free drink.
Go Back to “6 Matches, 4 Triangles”
Petals Around the Rose
Remember the first clue… “The name of the game is ‘Petals Around the Rose,’ and the name is important.”
Now look at the dice, and think of them not as numbers, but a simple visual representation of a rose.
The dot in the center is the rose. The dots surrounding it are the petals. In this case, the 5 has a rose and 4 petals around it, and the 3 has a rose with 2 petals. A 1 would have a rose but no petals, and all the even numbered dice would have petals, but no rose.
To know the answer, for each throw you simply count up the number of petals around the roses.
Now go forth and frustrate all your friends!