Where on Earth is Rockford???

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johnomg
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Where on Earth is Rockford???

Post by johnomg »

G'day All :D

An oldie but a goodie...

Situation:
Rockford takes 2 steps South, 4 steps East, 2 steps North and is back exactly where he began.

Question:
Where on Earth is Rockford???
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RTADash
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Post by RTADash »

Directly above the center of the earth? :wink:
Boulders are round.
Fireflies are square.
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johnomg
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Post by johnomg »

RTADash wrote:Directly above the center of the earth? :wink:
:? Man....A trick answer because everywhere on Earth is directly above the centre....so your technically correct.

I'll give it a "Nope" as it's too broad an answer but 10 points for effort :wink:
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Arno
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Re: Where on Earth is Rockford???

Post by Arno »

johnomg wrote:Where on Earth is Rockford???
I would say, the north pole, even if you replace "4 steps East" by "x steps East"... ;)
But suppose that Rockford is at the north or south pole, and someone says "walk 4 steps East", what should he do??
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RTADash
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Re: Where on Earth is Rockford???

Post by RTADash »

Arno wrote:what should he do??
Get crushed by a boulder to end the confusion?
Boulders are round.
Fireflies are square.
I need to find
a'way out of here.
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johnomg
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Re: Where on Earth is Rockford???

Post by johnomg »

Arno wrote:I would say, the north pole
:D Correct :D

For those who wonder why:
Rockford is standing "on" the North Pole, 2 steps in any direction is South, going East (or West) takes him in a circle around the North Pole, then 2 steps North puts him back on the North Pole (where he started).

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johnomg
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Re: Where on Earth is Rockford???

Post by johnomg »

Arno wrote:But suppose that Rockford is at the north or south pole, and someone says "walk 4 steps East", what should he do??
Man....That's a tough one.

Walk sideways like a Crab on the spot???
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Sendy
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Re: Where on Earth is Rockford???

Post by Sendy »

johnomg wrote:
Arno wrote:But suppose that Rockford is at the north or south pole, and someone says "walk 4 steps East", what should he do??
Man....That's a tough one.

Walk sideways like a Crab on the spot???
Spin around!
Watcher Kitty is always watching...
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johnomg
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Re: Where on Earth is Rockford???

Post by johnomg »

Sendy wrote:Spin around!
That was going to be my first answer but I figured Arno wouldn't class Spinning as a type of Walk :(

---- Morphs into a doggie and chases his tail on the spot :lol: ----
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Arno
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Re: Where on Earth is Rockford???

Post by Arno »

By the way - if you consider this situation, starting at north pole:
Rockford walks South until the equator, walks East over 1/4 of the equator, and walks back North.
we know that:
1. Rockford makes a triangle (3 adjacent lines, ending up where he started);
2. the adjacent lines make right angles (90 degrees).

Now we have constructed a triangle for which the sum of the angles is not 180 degrees (indeed, the sum is 3*90=270 degrees). :)
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johnomg
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Re: Where on Earth is Rockford???

Post by johnomg »

Arno wrote:By the way - if you consider this situation, starting at north pole:
Rockford walks South until the equator, walks East over 1/4 of the equator, and walks back North.
we know that:
1. Rockford makes a triangle (3 adjacent lines, ending up where he started);
2. the adjacent lines make right angles (90 degrees).

Now we have constructed a triangle for which the sum of the angles is not 180 degrees (indeed, the sum is 3*90=270 degrees). :)
A Square Triangle??? :?

No wonder I'm stuck on CrDr02 Cave 19 :oops:
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Dustin
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Post by Dustin »

Fun! I gave this puzzle to a forum of a math page (janko.at, german) and there another solution was found! (More exactly, infinite solutions!)
Rockford may also be on the southern hemisphere, close to the south pole. More exactly, he may stand 2 steps over the degree of latitude which has a circumference of exactly four steps (or even a whole-number part of four steps). Then he walks two steps south, onto said latitude, four steps east on a precise circle, and two steps north to his starting point again! Funny, innit?
Boulder Dash X Rock, Paper, Scissors:
ROCKFORD collects DIAMOND, digs DIRT
DIAMOND outvalues DIRT & BOULDER
DIRT carries BOULDER, blocks FIREFLY
BOULDER kills FIREFLY & ROCKFORD
FIREFLY kills ROCKFORD, guards DIAMOND
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johnomg
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Post by johnomg »

Dustin wrote:Funny, innit?
I think that's 10 points for "thinking outside the square" :thumbsup:

Refer to the instructions in Post 6 to collect your Prize.
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Arno
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Post by Arno »

Dustin wrote:Funny, innit?
Indeed, there exists a complete circle of solutions! :D
@John: For these infinite number of solutions, I'd suggest you provide Dustin infinitely many prizes; one prize on your desk at each point in time, both in the past and in the future! ;)
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johnomg
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Post by johnomg »

Arno wrote:I'd suggest you provide Dustin infinitely many prizes
:shock: Really???

OK :thumbsup:

But you do realise I only hand them out, Site Admin supplies them :wink:
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