Thank you for your e-mails. Let me clear the air a bit: the column will not cease to exist. So, it will cont-inue to storm your brains. It is not important who runs the column, it could be sa-me old me, but there should be space for recreational mathematics. In this country where math monsters continue to drive fear into young minds, a mind-space like this column is essential. Keep writing to me at debkumarm@dobanda.com.

PUZZLE 1: When the television programme The Traveling Antiques Show filmed an episode in Summerset recently, Joan and four other local residents had their antiques appraised on camera by the show’s experts. Each of the antiques, including the item that one of the five found in the attic of a newly purchased home, has some monetary value, but no two are worth the same amount of money. Given the information that follows, you should be able to find each antique-owner’s full name, what kind of piece he or she owns, how he or she acquired the item, and its value according to The Traveling Antiques Show appraiser. The total value of the five antiques appraised is $4,000, with the most valuable worth $1,500. Yeager’s item is worth more than the one that one of the guests found in an old barn. The Pickle Castor is valued at twice the amount of Herb’s antique. The antique that one owner bought at an estate sale is worth twice as much as the unopened bottle of Dr Brophy’s Pain Panacea. On the programme, Sperry follows the person who has the Victorian Fish Pond Game appraised. According to the experts, the antique Carl has is worth $500 more than the Puzzle Jug, which is valued at $500 more than the item Zimmer brought to the show. Waldorf isn’t the person who was willed the antique “by my Aunt Agatha”. Sperry isn’t the guest who found an antique at a flea market in Wales. Neither Sperry nor Waldorf is the one who owns the Betty Lamp. The antique Thacker owns is appraised at $500 less than the item shown by Greta; Greta isn’t the one who has the Dr Brophy’s bottle. Diane’s antique, which isn’t the one acquired at an estate sale, is worth less than the Fish Pond Game. The item Aunt Agatha left to one Traveling Antiques Show guest isn’t the Puzzle Jug.

Solutions on January 30

CORRECT ENTRIES

January 2

Suchismita Goswami, Kalyani Govtt. Engg. College; Abhinandan Khan, Dum Dum; A.K. Majumder, Calcutta-106; Sreechandra Banerjee, Calcutta-19; Harjesh Bawa, Calcutta-1; Gazella Bruce; S.P.S. Jain, Noida; S.K. Choudhary, Durgapur-12; S.Krishnaiyer; Surajit Ghosh Dastider, Howrah-9

CORRECT ENTRIES

December 26

Sandeep Ghosh, Howrah; Debjani Hazra, Behala; Bappaditya Sen; Subhash Dey, Jamshedpur; Saikat Das; Anil Agarwal.

Please mail your entries to knowhow@abpmail.com within 10 days. Send complete solutions, not one-line entries.

PUZZLE CRACKED

Solution: Linda Wish, Rosie on Monday, Sunny on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. (2) Fred Grant, Flip on Monday and Tuesday, Calibre on Wednesday and Thursday. (3) Mary Nash, Sunny on Monday, Rosie on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday Stuart Bend, Sunny on Tuesday, Flip on Wednesday and Thursday, Calibre on Friday Tom Flight, Calibre on Monday and Tuesday, Rosie on Thursday, Flip on Friday.

Hint from Ravi Raja: Since the last names Mr Grant and Mr Flight have been used and the full name Stuart Bend has been mentioned, it is clear that either Mary’s last name is Nash and Linda’s last name is Wish or vice versa. But the problem says that on Wednesday, the person whose last name is Wish rode Sunny and Mary rode Rosie. Hence the last name of Mary is Nash and that of Linda is Wish.