Puzzles
Split 24 ounces of liquid into three equal parts using only 5, 11 and 13 ounce jugs
You have three unmarked jugs holding 5, 11 and 13 ounces, and a container with 24 ounces of liquid. Using only these jugs to pour liquid between them, can you divide the 24 ounces into three equal 8-ounce portions?
Reveal the answer
Yes, Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac published a working sequence of pours between the three jugs in his 1612 puzzle collection. It's one of the earliest documented examples of the water-pouring puzzle genre, the same logic later popularised as the jerrycan riddle in the film Die Hard with a Vengeance.