As we were travelling along Regents Street one evening, Holmes paused to engage a painter who, with his mate, was just finishing up the work of renewing the lamp posts along the street.
Holmes quickly ascertained that the men had been apportioned the east and west sides of the street. One had arrived early, and made a start, but had picked the wrong side. His companion arrived after three posts had been completed, and the chap moved back to the correct side. We caught them as they were finishing, and to help to speed the process up, the tardier man had switched to his mate's side at the end, and painted six posts for him.
Thus completed, the men were idly curious as to which had painted the most posts, the earlier fellow or the tardy one, and by how many. They confirmed that there were the same number of posts on both sides.
Holmes declared the matter elementary, and indicated that I should explain. What would your answer have been?
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Elementary Puzzles
Non-Fiction"You know my methods, now apply them." Inspired by the renowned detective Sherlock Holmes, these puzzles will have your brain in a twist. With logic, science and maths questions, read your way through some of the hardest brain tests out there to see...
