Archive-name: puzzles/archive/real-life
Last-modified: 17 Aug 1993
Version: 4


==> real-life/icecubes.p <==
You have an old-fashioned refrigerator with a small freezer compartment
which could hold seven ice cube trays stacked vertically, but there are
no shelves to separate the trays.  You have an unlimited supply of trays,
each of which can make a dozen cubes, but if you stand one on top of
another before it's frozen, it will nest part way into it and you won't
get full cubes from the bottom tray.  So, what is the fastest way to
make ice cubes?

==> real-life/icecubes.s <==
By using frozen cubes as spacers to hold the trays apart, you can make
84 cubes in the time it takes to freeze two trays.  Fill one tray,
freeze it and remove the cubes.  Place two cubes in the opposite
corners of six trays, and fill the rest with water.  Freeze all six,
plus a seventh you put on top, at the same time.

==> real-life/microwave.p <==
Every morning when I warm my milk for breakfast, I put one cup of milk
in the microwave (which is in working order) for exactly 84 seconds.  Why?

==> real-life/microwave.s <==
When you put your cup in the microwave, the handle on the cup is
pointing towards you. Your microwave has a revolving plate on which the
cup is placed. After 84 seconds, the handle is again in it's initial
position, so you can take the cup out without burning your hands.