Dudeney, Amusements in Mathematics Problem 2 A boy who was demolishing a choice banana was approached by a young friend, who, regarding him with envious eyes, asked, "How much did you pay for that banana, Fred?" The prompt answer was quite remarkable in its way: "The man what I bought it of receives just half as many sixpences for sixteen dozen dozen bananas as he gives bananas for a fiver." Now, how long will it take the reader to say correctly just how much Fred paid for his rare and refreshing fruit?
Let a banana cost x pence. Then 16.12.12 x/6 = 1/2 5.20.12 x. So x 2 = 25/16. Hence x = 5/4 or 1 penny farthing. Dudeney 1-25 (C) John Scholes jscholes@kalva.demon.co.uk 25 Oct 2002