# EGG+EGG=? \[Puzzle clue\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810 "2016-04-10T17:45:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Calavera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calavera/32/70_2.png) [@Calavera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calavera)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/1 "2016-04-10T17:45:45Z")
A puzzle in yesterday’s Sun newspaper in the UK, EGG+EGG=? The Sun is not exactly a bastion of ultrahard brainteasers, but it’s almost always fair. It gives the puzzle and provides a suggested answer. I have no idea how they get their answer. Suggested answer spoiled bellow 1798: egg=899, 899+899=1798 Anyone want to explain how that’s a solution? Edit: board software messed up the title. It was all caps like how it was presented in the newspaper. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/2 "2016-04-10T17:59:05Z")
> [@Calavera](#): > > Edit: board software messed up the title. It was all caps like how it was presented in the newspaper. Fixed, and title edited to indicate subject. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/3 "2016-04-10T18:12:14Z")
Were there other, related, word equations in the puzzle section? ---
**Author:** ![yearofglad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b782af/32.png) [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/4 "2016-04-10T18:13:47Z")
[This page](http://mathclubressu.blogspot.com/2011/04/brain-teaser-what-does-egg-egg-give-you.html) has the same puzzle except includes the rest of the cryptogram: EGG + EGG = PAGE So maybe the Sun missed including the “answer” to EGG + EGG? (In this case, 899 + 899 = 1798, so the G and E in PAGE represent the same digits as the G and E in EGG.) Without including any sort of encoded answer, of course, the puzzle doesn’t make sense. (I tried to find the Sun’s puzzle online but couldn’t, and I suppose there’s no guarantee the online version would match the print anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/5 "2016-04-10T18:21:55Z")
Seems pretty obvious to me. An E looks like an 8 and a g looks like a 9 (more or less depending on your font). The + and = were clues you were dealing with math and not a word puzzle. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/6 "2016-04-10T18:25:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Seems pretty obvious to me. An E looks like an 8 and a g looks like a 9 (more or less depending on your font). The + and = were clues you were dealing with math and not a word puzzle. I thought of that, but G looks a lot more like a 6 in both upper and lower case. I think it has to be more than that. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/7 "2016-04-10T18:41:43Z")
_The Sun_ screwed up, I think. The actual puzzler for this is EGG + EGG = PAGE. What you’re being asked to do is find a way of matching each of the letters (E, G, P, and A) to distinct digits so that that equation is true. E has to be 5 or greater so that two three-digit numbers add up to a four-digit number. P must be 1, since it’s the carry-over from the second column from the left. G must also be 5 or greater, since G + G in the rightmost column has to equal something different from G + G in the second column to the right. That way a 1 is carried over from the rightmost column to the second column to the right. Note that this also means that G is 1 more than E. Now you just try all the possibilities for the value of G and you find that it must equal 9 and E must equal 8. That means that A must equal 7. So the equation is 899 + 899 = 1798. Here it’s explained slowly: > **[Math Brain Teaser](https://www.kidzone.ws/math/eggplusegg/answer.htm)** > > Fun facts for kids, photos and printable activity worksheets. Suitable for Kindergarten through Grade 6. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/8 "2016-04-10T19:46:26Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I thought of that, but G looks a lot more like a 6 in both upper and lower case. I think it has to be more than that. I thought of that too. I actually started to post this, but deleted it: If you take a “G” and flip it upside down then mirror image it, it looks a lot like a 9. If you do the same to an “E”… it doesn’t look like an 8. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/9 "2016-04-10T22:22:53Z")
**Wendell Wagner** has it right. It’s a word-arithmetic problem. ```auto E G G + E G G ---------------- P A G E ``` **WW** ’s logic is the correct logic for arriving at the unique solution, which is: ```auto 8 9 9 E G G 8 9 9 + E G G ---------------- 1 7 9 8 P A G E ``` There’s a strong hint in the 10’s place, where you have G+G=G. This can only happen if G=9 with a carry-in from the unit’s place. (Well, it could happen also if G=0 with no carry-in, but then you can’t have G+G=E in the unit’s place.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/10 "2016-04-10T23:05:28Z")
And, of course, “P” and “A” are meaningless except that they aren’t “E” or “G”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/11 "2016-04-10T23:28:14Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I thought of that, but G looks a lot more like a 6 in both upper and lower case. I think it has to be more than that. Like I said it depends on the font. A g or a g certainly looks more like a 9 than a 6. And I’ve found fonts where a E look more like an 8 than usual but none of them are available for posts on this board. That said, I agree with Wendell Wagner. Adding PAGE to the equation makes this a substitution puzzle. ---
**Author:** ![yearofglad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b782af/32.png) [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/12 "2016-04-11T02:23:05Z")
I also agree with Wendell. Obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/13 "2016-04-11T04:07:33Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Like I said it depends on the font. A g or a g certainly looks more like a 9 than a 6. And I’ve found fonts where a E look more like an 8 than usual but none of them are available for posts on this board. But the G in the actual puzzle is in upper case, and certainly doesn’t look like a 9. In any case, it couldn’t be something so ambiguous as depending on which font you pick. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/14 "2016-04-11T13:58:42Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > But the G in the actual puzzle is in upper case, and certainly doesn’t look like a 9. In any case, it \*\*couldn’t \*\*be something so ambiguous as depending on which font you pick. Bolding mine. I’d substitute “shouldn’t” for “couldn’t.” It already appears the Sun fouled up by editing out the right half (=PAGE part) of the equation. People passing old puzzles around may have no clue which parts are functional and which are window dressing. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/15 "2016-04-11T16:03:36Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Bolding mine. > > I’d substitute “shouldn’t” for “couldn’t.” Perhaps I should have added “in a well constructed puzzle.” Good puzzles should have only one possible answer, once all clues are accounted for. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/16 "2016-04-11T16:09:34Z")
Agree 100%. Crappy puzzles, like crappy test questions, are one of my pet peeves. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/17 "2016-04-11T16:45:24Z")
[Communicating badly and then acting smug when you’re misunderstood is not cleverness](https://xkcd.com/169/). ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/18 "2016-04-11T17:32:25Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Agree 100%. Crappy puzzles, like crappy test questions, are one of my pet peeves. And there can never be any _á priori_ assurance that any puzzle, or test question, will be well-constructed. So I think **LSLGuy** is right with “shouldn’t”. **Colibri** ’s “couldn’t”, if it presumes a well-constructed puzzle or question, presumes too much. Or like he said, perhaps he should have stipulated that. I once got 98% instead of 100% on a college chem test because of one of the professor’s many badly-constructed questions. (I decided to take my 98 and run rather than appeal it, despite that professor’s overly-easy openness to appeals. 98 was good enough for me.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/19 "2016-04-11T20:34:24Z")
I’ve often said “You can’t create puzzles or tests for people too much smarter (or dumber) than you are.” I’m sure every smart 'Doper has missed test questions due to glaring ambiguities & obvious corner cases that never entered the test author’s feeble mind. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/20 "2016-04-12T02:50:33Z")
Here’s another “word arithmetic” problem, for whomever may be interested: The universal message sent by college students to Mommy and Daddy: ```auto S E N D + M O R E -------------- M O N E Y ``` **DISCLAIMERS:** I myself don’t know the solution. I don’t know that there is a solution, or that there is a unique solution. I tried solving it myself earlier today and got stuck half-way through. I presume that it’s a well-formed problem, and I just bungled the logic myself, and I didn’t go back and try it again. I saw this problem many years ago, and I assume I’m remembering it right. I know that there are many puzzles of this type. ETA: I just Googled this specific problem, and immediately found several sites discussing it, including at least one showing the solution. It’s a Henry Dudeney puzzle from July 1924. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810.md?page=2)