I found this puzzle recently:
18=26
Here’s the rules:
- Rearrange the numbers to make the equation correct.
- You may not use any mathematical symbols (or ANY symbols of any kind).
- Don’t overthink. Read 1 & 2 carefully.
Get rid of the = and it is a simple number, and therefore correct.
If you remove the “=”, then it is no longer an equation, therefore not correct.
well, if you want to rewrite it as: 1 x 8 = 2 + 6, it would work.
Oh, wait, that’s cheating. Still, I’ll call it a victory.
12[sub]6[/sub]=8
How about 12[sub]6[/sub] = 8 (i.e. “12 base 6 = 8”)?
Or, turn the 1 sideways, 8-6 = 2.
Not sure if either of these is what you’re looking for though.
I’ve been out from school for a week. Whaddya expect?
I ain’t got a clue and ain’t gonna try.
[sub]Do you mean rearranging the numbers ‘18’ and ‘26’, or rearranging the digits they are made up of ‘1’, ‘8’, ‘2’ and ‘6’?[/sub]
Or, from what Bryan Ekers said:
1 times 8 = 2 plus 6
No mathematical symbols.
I may not use ANY symbols?
Ok.
Unless you also want me to remove the =, that should be correct.
To emphasize:
REARRANGE THE NUMBERS
The “=” should stay in place.
LordJim has an interesting solution, but not the one given as the correct one while Omphaloskeptic is on the right track.
How about taking the 1 and laying it slightly diagonal on the = sign, making it 8 (not equals) 26 ?
-AmbushBug
My first thought was to “pinch” the left end of the equals sign to make it a “less than” sign. But apparently that’s not acceptable.
How about 16/2 = 8? I guess making a fraction of it counts as using a symbol.
I got it! “Rearrange” the numbers? OK, turn the 6 upside down to make it a 9. Then you get:
9[sup]2[/sup]=81.
=1826
There. As we all know, nothing actually happened during 1826 (especially if you ignore Russia’s little skirmish with Persia in Transcaucasia), so I’m thinking it’s mightily apropos to say that, yes, nothing equals 1826.
DING! DING! DING! We have a winner!
I found this puzzle in a magazine. The ad was for, of all things, a law firm that promises to solve all of your problems! There’s quite a few more:
Click on any of the “Advertisements” on the left.
Well, if you want to allow “rearranging”, I’d turn the “1” on its side to resemble a minus symbol and make:
8 - 2 = 6
I’m not actually using a mathematical symbol, just a rotated “1”.
Call me a cheater, will you?!
I thought that 12[sub]6[/sub]=8 was a perfectly good solution too. Better tell those lawyers.
I have seen, on very rare occasions, the notation “=[sub]b[/sub]” to denote equivalence mod b. Since all integers are 0 mod 1, this gives the following:
6 =[sub]1[/sub] 82
And 5 others like it. Throw in exponents and number bases, and the number of solutions gets quite large.