mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix
THE ANSWER: If you came up with 5000, you stepped into the same trap I did. The correct answer is 4100, which you can verify as necessary.
Comments (19)
Comment
- Follow mental_floss
fascinating! I’m bad at math anyways, but I’m glad I’m not the only one to jump to 5000 like a fool :D
posted by gokarm on 8-6-2008 at 7:13 am
I originally got 5000 but decided to double check and decided to add all the 1000’s first then add in the smaller numbers… got the right answer that time.
p.s. re captcha “keep grinned”
a nice little note to start the day
posted by Brad on 8-6-2008 at 7:19 am
I got the correct answer, but also think that 2100 could be correct as well, because the first thing it says is “take 1000″. Could imply subtraction.
posted by mark on 8-6-2008 at 7:34 am
I suck at math, so I did this SLOWLY and got it right!
Take that 7th period Algebra II!
posted by beth on 8-6-2008 at 7:49 am
americans :)
posted by steven on 8-6-2008 at 7:54 am
How about 4100?
ReCaptcha was Please Count!!(LOL)
posted by sandie on 8-6-2008 at 8:04 am
Same exact thing here, Brad! I originally got 5000 but then added all 1000’s first and then added the smaller numbers… got the right answer that time.
posted by Marty on 8-6-2008 at 8:26 am
No problem here. I got 4100 on my first try. Of course, I’ve been a math whiz all my life – Perfect on my math SAT back in 1991. Unfortunately, I am a dumb@$$ when it comes to english. Not sure how i never became an accountant.
posted by Ian on 8-6-2008 at 9:10 am
An oldy but a goody.
posted by Don on 8-6-2008 at 9:53 am
I got 4100 my first try. Just woke up too. I usually don’t get the brain games right, so I must be extra smart today. :)
posted by TPWNN on 8-6-2008 at 11:49 am
D’oh!! I anticipated the answer and got it wrong!! *hangs head in shame*
posted by abbasmurf on 8-6-2008 at 11:58 am
I dont get the trick still!!! someone explain step by step please!
posted by Allyson on 8-6-2008 at 1:29 pm
Allyson: It’s just that when the 40,30,20 and 10 get added together, it equals 100, not 1000. When you’re adding quickly, you could carry that 1 over too fast and get 5000 instead of 4100…
posted by Mangesh on 8-6-2008 at 1:34 pm
I got 5000 as well.
recaptcha: lights 5,000
how’s that for coincidental??
posted by Amy on 8-6-2008 at 2:56 pm
Well, I didn’t expect to get it right, and I didn’t. But looking at it now it’s pretty obvious, whereas it wasn’t when I tried to add it in order. Just goes to show how looking at problems in different ways can help you solve them.
recaptcha: bat- infected. yikes!
posted by Celeste M. on 8-6-2008 at 11:16 pm
HA! I got 4100. In your face, math riddle!
posted by heather on 8-7-2008 at 3:13 am
I had to do this about seven times on the calculator before I figured out what I did wrong. I blame it on the summer, because I got by algebra perfectly fine last year. Yeesh.
posted by Queenie on 8-16-2008 at 10:02 pm
I took the first word to literally and took away 1000 so I started with
-1000. Ended up with 2100.
posted by Flemmington G on 8-28-2008 at 6:17 am
Got 4100… it’s just addition, is it difficultly worded or something? I’m having trouble understanding why this is difficult.
posted by Zerstörer on 11-20-2008 at 1:46 pm