# Numerical Series Puzzle
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [December 4, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026 "2003-12-04T21:14:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ex_Machina)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/1 "2003-12-04T21:14:56Z")
What are the next two numbers in this series and why?
3-3-5-4-4-3-5-5-4-3-_-_
Clue: they are the same number.
I don’t particularly like mathematical puzzles but this one is unusual. I invented it while playing games on vacation.
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/2 "2003-12-04T21:36:44Z")
6 - 6
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/3 "2003-12-04T21:38:09Z")
and the next one, BTW, is 8
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### Author:  [@Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ex_Machina)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/4 "2003-12-04T21:38:28Z")
Very well done Twickster.
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### Author:  [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/5 "2003-12-04T21:44:47Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Ex Machina \*
> \*\*What are the next two numbers in this series and why?
>
> 3-3-5-4-4-3-5-5-4-3-_-_
>
> Clue: they are the same number.
>
> I don’t particularly like mathematical puzzles but this one is unusual. I invented it while playing games on vacation. \*\*
I’ll venture 3&3. The reason being that it’s always two identical numbers followed by a single number followed by a pair.
a-b-c-d-e–f-g-h–i--j-k-l
3-3-5-4-4-3-5-5-4-3-_-_
a&b are a pair
c is single
d&e are a pair
f is single
g&h are a pair
i is single
J&\*would thusly be a pair so k would have to be identical to J making K 3
l is a single which is a incidental triple.
At least, that’s my rationale.
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### Author:  [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/6 "2003-12-04T21:48:00Z")
but then back to 7 - 7 , usually Dyslexia isn’t a problem for math games.
Here’s another some might not know
Find the anagram of ONE PLUS TWELVE that is also 13.
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### Author:  [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/7 "2003-12-04T21:49:13Z")
D’oh!:smack: What’s the rationale for the 8-8 though?
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### Author:  [@Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ex_Machina)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/8 "2003-12-04T21:51:23Z")
ELEVEN PLUS TWO
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### Author:  [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/9 "2003-12-04T21:59:36Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by stpauler \*
> \*\*D’oh!:smack: What’s the rationale for the 8-8 though? \*\*
Grrr, I meant 6-6.
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/10 "2003-12-04T22:02:02Z")
Check my profile – I’m a trained professional. 😛
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### Author:  [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/11 "2003-12-04T22:06:56Z")
Spot on **Ex Machina**
If in Quebec you might try
2-4-5-6-4-3-4-4-_-_
in which case the tow missing are not the same.
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### Author:  [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/12 "2003-12-04T22:08:28Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by twickster \*
> \*\*Check my profile – I’m a trained professional. 😛 \*\*
Cool, the light over my head has a dimmer apparently, I get the 6-6 now.
A&B, then C, D=A+1&E=B+1, then F, G=D+1&H=E+1
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### Author:  [@Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ex_Machina)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/13 "2003-12-04T22:21:45Z")
Interesting Stpauler.
But if you want to know the secret here is a clue. One number in the original series is unique for a special reason. The unique number is the first 4.
Speaking of anagrams, here is another puzzle I made up. Try to think of four letters which can be rearranged to form six different words.
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### Author:  [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/14 "2003-12-04T22:26:58Z")
OPTS
POST
POTS
SPOT
STOP
TOPS
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### Author:  [@Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ex_Machina)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/15 "2003-12-04T22:35:51Z")
Outstanding Gyrate!
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### Author:  [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/16 "2003-12-04T22:37:43Z")
Shouldn’t that be
OPTS
POTS
POST
TOPS
SPOT
STOP
or am I missing something (quite probably)
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### Author:  [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/17 "2003-12-04T22:44:01Z")
Just as I post, I spot your using alphabetic rather than first word order.
And would LOoP be allowed?
LOoP
LoOP
POoL
PoOL
PoLO
POLo
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### Author:  [@Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ex_Machina)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/18 "2003-12-04T23:24:48Z")
Since the words, and not just the individual letters, must be different, I would vote ‘no’.
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### Author:  [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/19 "2003-12-05T00:57:36Z")
ores
o’ers
Eros
rose
roes
sore
or for three letters (without using acronyms/abbreviations)
ate
eat
eta (Greek Letter)
tae (From Tae Kwon Do, pushing it 😉 )
tea
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### Author:  [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numerical-series-puzzle/217026/20 "2003-12-05T22:59:34Z")
There’s also:
ARTS
RATS
STAR
TARS
TSAR
and, obscurely,
SART (n. An assart, or clearing. [Obs.])
See? Ya learn something new every day.