The best puzzlers, the great ones, in my opinion, require the puzzle-solver to develop some key insight into the situation, and with that insight, nothing else, at least nothing complicated, is needed to figure out the answer. Just an “Ah Ha” moment, then the answer becomes self evident, often requiring not even paper and pencil.
Hint: The Bee and the Train puzzler is a great puzzler.
Another one like that was where the RAF tracked where all bullet hole occurred on planes when they came back from each mission. They used that info to improve the armor plating. Question: where did they put the armor?
The Bee and The Train,
The first sentence is the problem in the puzzler,
RAY: You have two trains on the same track speeding toward one another. The trains are 150 miles apart, on the same track, but going clearly in opposite directions.
How can they go toward each other and clearly go in opposite directions?
G
One goes east the other west.
I agree it is sort of odd wording to say the trains are going in opposite direction. It’s true, but confusing way to say it. It would be more clear to say the two trains are on the same track 150 miles apart and heading towards each other.
I still have no idea where they put the armor on those planes Texases. Maybe a hint? Maybe I’m assuming something that isn’t true? I’m assuming RAF means Royal Air Force, and also assuming the holes in the RAF planes occurred while the RAF planes were flying. But who – or where – was it that was shooting at them? i.e. were the shots that put holes in the RAF planes fired from other enemy planes at or near the same altitude, or were the shots fired from the ground upwards at the flying planes?
All the above (ground fire and fire from other planes).
Hint-they would end up with a diagram of all the bullet holes on the planes that landed.
Is this related to the puzzle … “An airplane with 20 passengers, 2 pilots, and 1 stewardess crashes exactly on the border between North Dakota and South Dakota. Where do they bury the survivors?”
Not really. Not a joke, actually happened, I think. What good would the information on where all the bullet holes on planes that returned be?
Oh, I think I’m catching on, you mean they put the armor where there were NO bullet holes (on the returning planes)? Because bullets hitting THOSE locations would cause the plane to crash, so the planes hit there wouldn’t return, they’d crash instead?
Bingo!