Millard Fillmore Trivia

This week we honor our 13th president of the United States, Millard Fillmore. He served from 1850 to 1853, assuming the office after the death of Zachary Taylor. However, before we get to Fillmore, I present a few quick logic puzzles.

Logic Puzzles

Usually I present just one puzzle per newsletter. However, this week I present a collection of three that have short common-sense solutions. No math is required.

1. You are alone in the middle of a big field with a ball. There are no other objects or people nearby. How can you throw it so that it returns to you?
2. A man who lives on the tenth floor of a building takes the elevator down to the first floor every morning and goes to work. In the evening, after returning from work, he usually takes the elevator to the seventh floor and walks the rest of the way. However, if it rained in the morning or there are other people in the elevator, he takes it the full way to the tenth floor. Can you explain why?
3. There are three light switches downstairs, all in the down position. Each corresponds to one of the three light bulbs upstairs. You can turn the switches on and off and leave them in any position. How would you identify which switch corresponds to which light bulb if you are only allowed one trip upstairs?

 

Millard Fillmore Trivia

1. • One of nine presidents born in a log cabin. The others were Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and James Garfield.
2. • One of four presidents to never win a presidential election. The other three were John Tyler, Andrew Johnson, Chester Arthur and Gerald Ford.
3. • One of two presidents to never have a vice president. The other was John Tyler.
4. • Carried around a dictionary to improve his vocabulary.
5. • Last Whig Party president. In fact, the last of any party besides Democrat or Republican.
6. • Married his teacher, Abigail Powers.
7. • As a sitting president, lost his party’s nomination in the primaries in the election of 1852. The Whig Party instead nominated Franklin Pierce, who lost badly in the general election.
8. • Returned to politics and ran for president in the 1856 election as the American (no nothing) Party candidate. He lost badly, winning only the state of Maryland.

 

Logic Puzzle Answers

1. Throw the ball directly up.
2. The man is a midget and can reach only up to the 7th floor button. However, if he has his umbrella, he can use it to touch the 10th floor button. He can also ask another passenger to press it for him.
3. Flip one switch up for about a minute and then turn it back down. Turn another switch up and leave it up. Then go up to the attic. The lit light bulb will obviously correspond to the switch left up. The off and cold light bulb will correspond to the switch never touched. The other light bulb will be off but warm, corresponding to the switch that was turned on and off.