# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/21 "2016-04-12T03:29:58Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > 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 think that I originally got stuck in the same place that you did. I got past it by writing out all of the equations that I thought were necessary, and finally resorted to just blindly assigning numbers that obeyed those equations. Then I went back and checked whether the puzzle added up. When it didn’t, that showed me the critical equation that I had missed, which let me solve the puzzle. ---
**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, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/22 "2016-04-12T04:15:07Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > I think that I originally got stuck in the same place that you did. I got past it by writing out all of the equations that I thought were necessary, and finally resorted to just blindly assigning numbers that obeyed those equations. Then I went back and checked whether the puzzle added up. When it didn’t, that showed me the critical equation that I had missed, which let me solve the puzzle. I don’t use equations like that very much (well, maybe sporadically) because it’s too hard to keep them all in mind. Instead, I use an elimination matrix (or several). Only I got to a certain point where I had eliminated ALL the possibilities for some of the letters. Oops. Elimination matrices, without equations at all, are also used for entirely non-numeric logic puzzles. Here is an example: [quote] Five sisters all have their birthday in a different month and each on a different day of the week. Using the clues below, determine the month and day of the week each sister’s birthday falls. [ol][li] Paula was born in March but not on Saturday. Abigail’s birthday was not on Friday or Wednesday.[/li][li] The girl whose birthday is on Monday was born earlier in the year than Brenda and Mary.[/li][li] Tara wasn’t born in February and her birthday was on the weekend.[/li][li] Mary was not born in December nor was her birthday on a weekday. The girl whose birthday was in June was born on Sunday.[/li][li] Tara was born before Brenda, whose birthday wasn’t on Friday. Mary wasn’t born in July.[/ol][/li][/quote] [Source, with full analysis](http://www.puzzlersparadise.com/article1021.html). The most elaborate word arithmetic problems are those long-division problems that you see in crossword puzzle books. The same kind of elimination matrix works for those, along with the occasional equations relating some of the letters. ---
**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 12, 2016, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/23 "2016-04-12T04:20:45Z")
S e n d + m o r e = m o n e y 9567 + 1085 = 10652 ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/24 "2016-04-12T04:40:54Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > 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. 😃 Second grade. Question asked of children living in the middle of New York City on standardized test: “Which animal doesn’t belong? Cow, horse, deer, goat.” I considered saying the horse didn’t belong because it wasn’t kosher, then it dawned on me that the horse was the only one without horns or antlers, so I said “horse.” I got it wrong. The correct answer was deer, because the other animals all live on a farm. ---
**Author:** ![J0hnk53](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/35a633/32.png) [@J0hnk53](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J0hnk53)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/25 "2016-04-12T05:57:17Z")
could it be : 0+0=0? goose egg = zero Layed an egg = nada EGG upside down would be 663 btw :smack: ---
**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, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/26 "2016-04-12T07:48:53Z")
I’d have said horse because it’s the only one with one toe. Aren’t cow, deer, and goat all two-toed? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/27 "2016-04-12T08:57:15Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Second grade. Question asked of children living in the middle of New York City on standardized test: > > “Which animal doesn’t belong? Cow, horse, deer, goat.” > > I considered saying the horse didn’t belong because it wasn’t kosher, then it dawned on me that the horse was the only one without horns or antlers, so I said “horse.” > > I got it wrong. The correct answer was deer, because the other animals all live on a farm. I’d have said cow, because all the others could be either gender. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/28 "2016-04-12T10:09:25Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > The correct answer was deer, because the other animals all live on a farm. Perhaps deer aren’t farmed in the US (though I have seen deer as wild animals on a farm in the US), but they are farmed in Australia. > [@Senegoid](#): > > I’d have said horse because it’s the only one with one toe. Aren’t cow, deer, and goat all two-toed? Yes – cows, deer and goats belong to the order of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla), while horses belong to the odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla). A zoological taxonomist would say that horses are the odd ones out (in two senses of the word “odd”). ---
**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 12, 2016, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/29 "2016-04-12T10:28:31Z")
It was deer because that was the only word that didn’t contain the letter o. A good example of a question with multiple legitimate answers. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/30 "2016-04-12T11:54:59Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I don’t use equations like that very much (well, maybe sporadically) because it’s too hard to keep them all in mind. Instead, I use an elimination matrix (or several). Only I got to a certain point where I had eliminated ALL the possibilities for some of the letters. Oops. > > Elimination matrices, without equations at all, are also used for entirely non-numeric logic puzzles. Here is an example: > > [Source, with full analysis](http://www.puzzlersparadise.com/article1021.html). > > The most elaborate word arithmetic problems are those long-division problems that you see in crossword puzzle books. The same kind of elimination matrix works for those, along with the occasional equations relating some of the letters. That one seems poorly-constructed as well, because it is assuming that only the months and days that are mentioned in the puzzle exist. If they had use verbiage like “Tara was born before Brenda, whose birthday wasn’t **the one** on Friday” instead of “Tara was born before Brenda, whose birthday wasn’t on Friday” then it would have been accurate, since knowing that Brenda was not born on Friday does not mean that someone else _was_. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/31 "2016-04-12T12:24:51Z")
This puzzle is easy, just define it as a type with the addition type class/trait. ```auto struct Egg; struct QuestionMark; impl Add for Egg { type Output = QuestionMark; fn add(&self, _: &Egg) -> QuestionMark { QuestionMark } } ``` ---
**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 12, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/32 "2016-04-12T13:13:05Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > That one seems poorly-constructed as well, because it is assuming that only the months and days that are mentioned in the puzzle exist. If they had use verbiage like “Tara was born before Brenda, whose birthday wasn’t **the one** on Friday” instead of “Tara was born before Brenda, whose birthday wasn’t on Friday” then it would have been accurate, since knowing that Brenda was not born on Friday does not mean that someone else _was_. Actually the sentence as written carries more info than the sentence you propose. As written it means A) Tara’s birth month precedes Brenda’s birth month. B) One sister was born on a Friday. C) Some sister (ambiguously Tara or Brenda) was not born on Friday. Your reformulation eliminated fact B. Which may be a crucial fact. Often good puzzles of this style include subtle facts in addition the obvious ones. The folks who skim past the subtle facts and don’t recognize them often get stuck. I love the fact they couldn’t manage to write 8 simple SVO-pattern English sentences without using an ambiguous construction in one. Although I suppose it’s possible the ambiguity was deliberate as a subtle[sup]2[/sup] clue. But I seriously doubt it. Both of these tidbits also show up the importance of editing and the danger of incautious editors tweaking the sentences to “read better” without fully understanding the significance of each tidbit of direct and implied meaning in each one. My bottom line: Morons. We’re friggin’ surrounded by friggin’ morons! This ignorance fighting thing is darn hard work. 😃 ---
**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 12, 2016, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/33 "2016-04-12T15:34:08Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I’d have said horse because it’s the only one with one toe. Aren’t cow, deer, and goat all two-toed? Yes, which is part of why they are kosher (cloven-hoofed). You could also say horse because it’s the only one normally used for riding. ---
**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 12, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/34 "2016-04-12T15:49:07Z")
Horses are also the only non-ruminant in the list. That might be co-valent to the cloven / not distinction. Beyond my detailed knowledge of taxonomy. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/35 "2016-04-12T16:04:01Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > I’d have said cow, because all the others could be either gender. No, “cow” is the generic term for **any** individual of some type of domestic cattle, irrespective of age or gender. (It can also refer specifically to such individuals that are mature females.) Just as “dog” comprises both (male) dogs and bitches, and “goose” comprises both (female) geese and ganders, “cow” comprises both (female) cows and bulls. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/36 "2016-04-12T16:38:37Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Second grade. Question asked of children living in the middle of New York City on standardized test: > > “Which animal doesn’t belong? Cow, horse, deer, goat.” > > I considered saying the horse didn’t belong because it wasn’t kosher, then it dawned on me that the horse was the only one without horns or antlers, so I said “horse.” > > I got it wrong. The correct answer was deer, because the other animals all live on a farm. Clearly this should be goat, as only the goat has a beard. It’s the devil’s animal, to boot. I meant to say obviously the answer is deer. It’s a term of “endearment”, while being called “goat” or “cow” are insults. Being called a “horse” is usually an insult, unless you are a football player. ---
**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 12, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/37 "2016-04-12T16:57:33Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Horses are also the only non-ruminant in the list. That might be co-valent to the cloven / not distinction. Beyond my detailed knowledge of taxonomy. There are some cloven-hoofed animals that are not ruminants, like pigs. Since they don’t “chew the cud,” this makes them non-kosher. ---
**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 12, 2016, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/38 "2016-04-12T17:03:58Z")
So I’m right back to **Rivkah** ’s original thinking, just stated in different terms. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![J0hnk53](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/35a633/32.png) [@J0hnk53](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J0hnk53)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/39 "2016-04-12T19:54:12Z")
> [@J0hnk53](#): > > could it be : > > 0+0=0? > > goose egg = zero > > Layed an egg = nada > > EGG upside down would be 663 btw > > :smack: All righty then. Does the \ function not work? I would like to correct my error. EGG = 993 Upside down. Where did anyone come up with 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 12, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810/40 "2016-04-12T21:53:12Z")
There are posters in this thread still trying to suss out the EGG puzzle as a typographical puzzle? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/egg-egg-puzzle-clue/751810.md?page=3)