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Cigarette stubs

Question: “A beggar collects cigarette stubs and makes one full cigarette with every 7 stubs. Once he gets 49 stubs, how many cigarettes can he smoke totally?”

Note to readers from developed nations: This is a logical puzzle and not a question about the socio-economic issues in the third world countries.

The given answer is eight. I say it is seven.

If our man doesn’t smoke the stub of his own custom made cigarettes, he can make an additional cigarette from the stubs, which will make it possible to smoke eight cigarettes.

I’d imagine he smokes up the entire cigarette because anyway the whole thing is made of stubs Which will enable him to smoke only seven. Well, I guess it is impossible to smoke a cigarette in its entirety, without burning your lips. I don’t smoke, so I wouldn’t know

1. Mathematically, you are correct, but you wouldn't be able to smoke a cigarette made from stubs made from stubs. (Twice recycled) You'd wretch.

   Posted by: Dano on January 6, 2003 10:40 PM

2. to make a cigarete you need only one filter and 6 stubs without filter, so from 49 stubs u can get 49 filters and 49 leftout which are used for smoking.From 49 leftovers u get 8 set of 6 stubs and from 49 filters use 8 filter to these sets making a total of 8 cigarettes. I think it makes sence.

   Posted by: Shah Tanveer Aziz on February 3, 2004 12:29 AM