Problem: The Laborer's Puzzle

Professor Rackbrane, during one of his rambles, chanced to come upon a man digging a deep hole.

"Good morning," he said. "How deep is that hole?"

"Guess," replied the laborer. "My height is exactly five feet ten inches."

"How much deeper are you going?" said the professor.

"I am going twice as deep," was the answer, "and then my head will be twice as far below ground as it is now above ground."

Rackbrane now asks if you could tell how deep that hole would be when finished.

Solutions: 1


Thank you to the contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0!

Github:
bookofproofs
non-Github:
@H-Dudeney


References

Project Gutenberg

  1. Dudeney, H. E.: "Amusements in Mathematics", The Authors' Club, 1917

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this edition or online at http://www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.