January Puzzle Contest

Solve this month’s puzzle to win a custom t-shirt or a Webkinz™ toy.

A snail creeps 5 ft up a wall during the daytime. After all the labor it does throughout the day, it stops to rest a while… but falls asleep! The next morning it wakes up and discovers that it has slipped down 1 ft while sleeping. If this happens every day, how many days will the snail take to reach the top of a wall 77 ft in height?

Answer to the December Puzzle: 36

The class has 9 children. The first child shakes hands with the other 8 children. The second child has already shaken hands with the first child, and so has to shake hands with only the other 7 children. In this manner, the second-last child has to shake hands with only one child, and the last child has already met all the children.

8 + 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 36.