Puzzles
Sam Loyd's archery puzzle: hit exactly 100 points with six arrows
In Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia of Puzzles, the winner of an archery contest scored exactly 100 points using six arrows, each landing in one of six rings worth 16, 17, 23, 24, 39, or 40 points. A ring could be hit more than once. Which six scores, added together, make exactly 100?
Reveal the answer
Two arrows in the 16-ring and four in the 17-ring: 16+16+17+17+17+17 = 100. It's the only combination of the six listed values that works with exactly six arrows. The puzzle appears in Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia of 5,000 Puzzles, Tricks and Conundrums, compiled by his son and published in 1914, three years after Loyd's death; Martin Gardner later called Loyd 'America's greatest puzzlist.'