Down for the count

Cerebral distractions of every kind, mostly but not exclusively Countdown-related.

Moderator: Michael Wallace

Post Reply
Gavin Chipper
Post-apocalypse
Posts: 13215
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:37 pm

Down for the count

Post by Gavin Chipper »

This is another New Scientist puzzle, following on from Squarebot. I don't think I need to explain why it might be relevant on a Countdown forum.
In the TV number quiz show Down for the Count, four contestants are challenged to combine each of five number cards exactly once to achieve a target number. They are allowed to use standard arithmetical operations +, –, × and ÷ (as well as brackets, if required).

“I’ll take five cards from the top row”, requested one of the contestants, and the presenter Anne-Marie obligingly revealed these five numbers:

10
100
1,000
10,000
100,000.

The studio computer then generated today’s challenge:

“Produce a whole number without any zeroes.”

No zeroes? Wow. Each of the four contestants thought hard, and after the timer ran out, each announced that they had used the five cards to produce a positive number smaller than 10. All four were different.

Which numbers did they get, and how?
I've managed to get 3 of the 4 so far and I'll post the details in a bit. See how you get on.
Thomas Cappleman
Series 72 Champion
Posts: 330
Joined: Fri Nov 07, 2008 9:42 pm

Re: Down for the count

Post by Thomas Cappleman »

Got them all (last one took much longer than the first three)
User avatar
Callum Todd
Series 69 Champion
Posts: 1123
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2013 3:38 pm
Location: Leeds

Re: Down for the count

Post by Callum Todd »

Same as T-Cap.
Mark Deeks wrote:Callum Todd looks like a young Ted Bundy.
User avatar
Adam Gillard
Kiloposter
Posts: 1761
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:42 pm
Location: About 45 minutes south-east of Thibodaux, Louisiana

Re: Down for the count

Post by Adam Gillard »

Got them all in about an even amount of time, maybe 90 seconds per answer. Good puzzle, thanks for sharing.
Mike Brown: "Round 12: T N R S A E I G U

C1: SIGNATURE (18) ["9; not written down"]
C2: SEATING (7)
Score: 108–16 (max 113)

Another niner for Adam and yet another century. Well done, that man."
JackHurst
Series 63 Champion
Posts: 1987
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2009 8:40 pm

Re: Down for the count

Post by JackHurst »

Nice puzzle
User avatar
Johnny Canuck
Kiloposter
Posts: 1647
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2010 10:44 pm
Location: Montréal 😃, Québec 😕, Canada 😃

Re: Down for the count

Post by Johnny Canuck »

Happy to have cracked all four eggs in that Omelette!
I'm not dead yet. In a rut right now because of stress from work. I'll be back later in S89. I also plan to bring back the Mastergram - if I can find a way to run a timer or clock through pure MediaWiki without having to upload to Vimeo every time.
Gavin Chipper
Post-apocalypse
Posts: 13215
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:37 pm

Re: Down for the count

Post by Gavin Chipper »

I'm too thick to get the fourth one.
User avatar
Callum Todd
Series 69 Champion
Posts: 1123
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2013 3:38 pm
Location: Leeds

Re: Down for the count

Post by Callum Todd »

Gavin Chipper wrote: Mon May 09, 2022 9:34 am I'm too thick to get the fourth one.
The numbers you can make are:

1, 2, 5, and 9.

Now try.
Mark Deeks wrote:Callum Todd looks like a young Ted Bundy.
Fred Mumford
Enthusiast
Posts: 425
Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2013 2:32 pm

Re: Down for the count

Post by Fred Mumford »

I was in the "got three of them quickly, but took ages on the final one" club, but would be interested to know if we all struggled on the same number. The one that took me longest was the third in Callum's list, possibly because with the others I sort of knew those numbers must be gettable, whilst I wasn't overly confident on what the final one would be (although it did turn out to be the one I would have guessed as most likely).
Dave Robjohns
Rookie
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2020 9:06 pm

Re: Down for the count

Post by Dave Robjohns »

Also in that club, but for me it was the first number. Was the most obvious one to start off searching for but eluded me until long after I'd found the others!
Post Reply