{"id":844,"date":"2018-12-27T20:49:14","date_gmt":"2018-12-28T00:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blogs.euni.org\/?p=844"},"modified":"2018-12-27T20:49:21","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T00:49:21","slug":"the-friendly-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blogs.euni.org\/?p=844","title":{"rendered":"The Friendly Safe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cAre you telling me that another uncle has passed away, Jill!!\u201d exclaimed Jack, taking another sip of a hot chocolate while sitting at a caf\u00e9 table at Chez Pierre\u2019s<\/em>, \u201chow many uncles do you have??\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, Jack, I do have quite a number of them, ten on either side of my\nprolific rural families. Uncle Ulysses, the business magnate, who was lost while\nexploring ancient Inca tunnels in the Andes, was a favorite of mine. He was quite\nfond of solving riddles,\u201d said Jill with a reminiscing fond smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo uncle Ulysses left you a mansion and lands way out in the\ncountryside,\u201d said Jack, fascinated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, it will be a fine hideaway for us. I\u2019m planning to check it out\nthis weekend, coming along?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWouldn\u2019t miss it,\u201d said Jack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a long trip deep into the interior, inspecting the estate lands,\ngetting to know the major domo, staff, and exploring the many rooms in the\nlarge mansion, they wound up in uncle Ulysses\u2019 office admiring a large painting\nof general Simon Bolivar, uncle Ulysses\u2019 idol. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJill, do you see that curly Gothic decoration below the painting,\u201d\nsaid Jack. pointing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI see it, the curlicues seem to end up in knob that looks like a\nbutton,\u201d said Jill, pensively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon they were eagerly pushing on the knob, but only when Jack pressed\nand rotated the Gothic decoration did the painting suddenly swing aside with a\nswoosh, exposing a modern electronic wall safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They opened a golden envelope with \u201cJill\u201d written on it in stylish\nhandwriting that was glued to the back of the painting of general Simon Bolivar,\nwhich read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy dearest niece, If you read\nthis, I have gone missing and will not return. The valuables of your\ninheritance are contained in this safe. To safeguard against others opening it,\nin addition to the fingerprint screen, you\u2019ll need to solve the following simple\nriddle to arrive at the six digit combination.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riddle: \u2018Two numbers are amicable\nand their sum is 504, the divisors of the one adding up to the other and vice\nversa.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m sure you will make good use\nof your new estate and the fortune contained in the safe.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your loving uncle, <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ulysses.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

P.S. The safe will lock up after\ntwo incorrect code attempts, but as you are my clever riddle-solving niece, I\u2019m\nsure this won\u2019t be a problem.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNice uncle,\u201d said Jack, \u201cI\u2019m greatly impressed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs you\u2019re the student of number theory, Jack, you open it,\u201d said Jill\nfirmly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo problem, Jill, place your finger in the slot and we\u2019ll have the\nsafe open in a jiffy. I like this place,\u201d laughed Jack, pulling out a yellow notepad\nand an India ink pen from his bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what would you say is the\ncombination to the safe?<\/em><\/p>\n

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