Ken's blog

“Lennie, have you done your math homework?” asked daddy, while driving home from school.

“Yes, daddy I did it during math class,” said Lennie with a bored expression.

“That was fast,” said daddy in surprise, “was it so easy?”

“Yes, daddy, too simplistic. Can you give me something interesting to puzzle on,” asked Lennie.

“Yes, I can: There is a four digit number with sequential digits that is divisible by seven,” said daddy with a smile. “Can you find it, Lennie.”

“Oh, thank you so much, daddy I like that one,” said Lenny enthusiastically jumping up and down on the car seat.

And Lennie worked it out before they got home.

What would you say is this number?

The king of Persia, Darius – self-proclaimed as the “King of Kings”– jerked aside the flap of his elaborately decorated campaign tent and strutted out in splendid war regalia. King Darius’ soothsayer Macumba had just informed him after inspecting some dots in the sand that the number of soldiers in King Darius’ army would tell whether his coming battle against the Greeks would be victorious or not.

Outside the campaign tent stood Zopyrus, his chief general, looking over the vast field of soldiers who were getting ready for battle.

“General Zopyrus, how many men do we have in my army,” King Darius demanded to know.

“I don’t know exactly, O King of Kings,” replied general Zopyrus, but I will surely find out.

“Line them all up in columns of two,” said King Darius.

General Zopyrus instructed his aide Mortius to carry out the order. Mortius returned, reporting: “O King of kings, there are many columns of two, but alas one soldier remains unpaired.”

“Then line them up in columns of three,” said King Darius. Mortius ran off to comply, almost tripping over his dangling sword.

Mortius returned, reporting: “O King of kings, there are many columns of three, but two soldiers remain in excess.”

“Do I have to do all the thinking,” shouted King Darius. “Continue with four, five, six, etc. and let me know when there are no soldiers in excess,” barked King Darius.

“Yes, O King of kings,” Mortius ran off again to comply, general Zopyrus shuffling his feet nervously.

Mortius returned: “O King of kings, columns of four left three soldiers in excess, columns of five left four, columns of six left five, columns of seven left six, columns of eight left seven, columns of nine left eight, columns of ten left nine, columns of eleven left ten, columns of twelve left eleven, and columns of thirteen left zero in excess, ” he reported breathlessly.

“Well then, that should be sufficient information to determine the total number of soldiers in my army,” said King Darius. “General Zopyrus, have your aide get busy at once. This information is vital.”

“O King of kings, I will ask the court astrologer, Leonardis,” said general Zopyrus. “He is good with numbers.”

“Report the result to me immediately,” the King of kings Darius swept aside the tent flap and returned into his campaign tent, awaiting the result of the battle.

How many soldiers do you think Darius had in his army?

Did King Darius win the battle with the Greeks?

On a sunny Fall afternoon, Madame Lulu opened the creaky door to her gypsy wagon at the fairground in response to a persistent knock. In climbed Jasper from the step ladder with a confused look.

“Madame Lulu, I need to know when I will be born again, can you help me?” he blurted out excitedly, gesticulating.

“Let’s see what I can do,” replied Madame Lulu indicating a chair by a table adorned with a rich red tablecloth full of esoteric and astrological symbols. A white dove swooped down from above and landed on the back of Madame Lulu’s chair, looking on with interest.

Jasper sat down rapidly. “You see, Madame Lulu, I’m fatally ill from drug addiction, so I would like to know when I will be back, ” he confessed.

“Cross my palm with silver, my friend, and we’ll have a look,” smiled Madame Lulu sympathetically, sitting down across from Jasper and beginning to shuffle a pack of Tarot cards.

Madame Lulu swiftly placed five cards in a cross layout. “Central is the Death card in reverse, indicating the number 31. The Fool adjacent to it represents your next birth, so the duration of your next life will be your birth year divided by 31,” explained Madame Lulu.

“But, Madame Lulu, this is not enough information,” protested Jasper, busy writing down her statements in a small notebook.

“The Hermit above indicates a cross sum of 9. The Magician below reversed shows you will inherit your cloudy mental state in your next life for you to repair this unfortunate condition,” said Madame Lulu.

“The World’s number tau indicates your early life will pass into a century with no leap year,” informed Madame Lulu.

“Thank you, Madame Lulu, all noted,” exclaimed Jasper, placing a large silver dollar in Madame Lulu’s palm. “My friend Leonard will help me work out the figures. “

“So generous,” smiled Madame Lulu and escorted Jasper to the door of her wagon. “Wear this green jasper stone. It will help you on your way,” said Madame Lulu, folding a shiny green jasper stone into his hand.

Can you work out the year Jasper will be born again and the length of his life?