Returning Explorer Puzzle/Variant 1
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Puzzle
A "sportsman" who shoots things for fun decided to go out and shoot a bear.
Suddenly he saw a huge bear a hundred metres due east.
In a panic, in confusion, he ran due north for a hundred metres.
Then he caught hold of himself and stopped, and turned.
He saw the bear, which had not moved, a hundred metres due south.
Of course, he shot and killed the poor bear.
What colour is that bear?
Solution
White.
Proof
The explorer starts a hundred metres from the North Pole.
The bear, being due east of the man, is also a hundred metres from the North Pole.
Running due north for a hundred metres places him exactly at the North Pole.
Every direction from the North Pole is due south.
The bear, as a consequence, must be a polar bear.
$\blacksquare$
Sources
- 1944: Eugene P. Northrop: Riddles in Mathematics ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter Two: Paradoxes for Everyone