Mind Matters News is pleased to offer a new series, “Monday Micro Softies,” from our director, Robert J. Marks, a series of puzzles that illustrate the ways of thinking needed in the computer industry today. – Eds.

You’ll find the answer to last Monday’s Wolverton mountain Micro Softy (How did Claude escape with is life?) below. But first, here’s today’s brain teaser:

It is now twelve years after the wedding and Claude and Chloe are the proud parents of two children. One Saturday, Claude drove his son Clay to the general store in his pickup truck. The salesclerk, who had just moved from Toad Suck, Arkansas, was new so Claude introduced himself and his son. The clerk asked “How many kids do you have?” and Claude told him he had two children.

“Why didn’t you bring both of them?” the clerk asked.

“With the bucket of potatoes in the middle of the front seat” said Claude, “there’s only room for one passenger in the truck. So we flipped a coin to see who would come with me. Both of them like coming to the store. But Clay won the flip.”

Here is this week’s Micro Softy: Claude brought his son to the store. What is the probability that Claude’s other child is a boy? For those who want statistics, you can assume the chance of birthing either a boy or girl is 50-50.

The solution will be given in the Micro Softy next Monday. And now…

Solution to Micro Softy 4: Claude King Bests Clifton Clowers

Recall that years before, when Claude wanted to marry Chloe, her father Clifton Clowers, who hated him, tried to thwart the match. He asked Claude to draw one of two slips of paper from a hat. One had “death” written on it and the other “marriage.” But just before the draw, Claude found out that Chloe’s father had written “death” on both slips of paper. Yet he went through with the draw, survived, and married her. How did he do it?

Image Credit: Ksenia - Adobe Stock

Recall that most witnesses believed that one slip said “death” and the other “marriage.” So, when Claude pulled out one of the slips, he grinned and shouted “I get to marry Chloe!” He then put the slip of paper in his mouth, chewed and swallowed. When shown the other slip, which said “death,” everyone assumed that Claude must have swallowed the “marriage” slip. And what was Clowers to do? Admit that he had cheated? Foiled, he went into a slow boil but remained silent.

Only Claude, Chloe and her father actually knew that he had cheated and that Claude had outwitted him. So Claude and Chloe were married that evening at the Wolverton Mountain First Baptist Church.

Here are the Micro Softies from earlier Mondays, to date. The answer to one Monday’s puzzle is always given the next Monday:

Monday Micro Softy 1: Microsoft: What did you need to work there in the early days? They asked questions that were not about the details of computer technology. The questions made you think. Hard. For example, they would ask questions like, why are manhole covers round? Also, here’s the Round Trip puzzle.

Monday Micro Softy 2: The Dead Presidents’ Club The answer to Monday Micro Softy 1: The Round Trip puzzle is here too. Today’s puzzle: How would a girl who knew nothing of American history immediately know the name of at least one of three early Presidents who died on July 4?

Monday Micro Softy 3: The Wolverton Mountain Puzzle Here’s the answer to Dead President’s Club as well — and smart STEM people often DON’T get that one right. Today’s brain teaser is in honor of Claude King, Clifton Clowers, and Wolverton Mountain. It’s not high tech but it will surely test your thinking abilities.

Monday Micro Softy 4: Claude King bests Clifton Clowers Clowers offers Claude two slips of paper to choose from on a blind choice: marriage or death… Claude’s sweetheart Chloe warns him that, in reality, both slips say “death.” He says never mind. So how did he escape death and marry her?