As part of our recent jungle adventure (invented solely for the purposes of this puzzle), my wife Allison and our two children Max and Nora had to cross a river with our supplies to view a live volcano.
From a local canoe rental firm, we were able to lease a canoe, but the canoe had a strict weight limit: no more than 100kg of people or supplies could rest in the canoe at any point in time or it would sink instantly. This would not only forfeit our canoe-rental deposit, but would also feed the piranha that inhabit the river throughout its fast-running length.
Strictly for the purposes of this puzzle, my family has the following weights (ok, ok, masses):
| Judd | 90kg |
| Allison | 80kg |
| Max | 60kg |
| Nora | 40kg |
| Supplies | 20kg |
Please note that any/all people can row the canoe in either direction, that the supplies are indivisible, and that the canoe cannot be simply pushed to “coast” across the river due to the current.
Is it possible for us to devise a scheme to cross the river with our supplies to see the volcano? If so, how? If not, why not?
As always, please submit your response to GeekDad Central by end of day Friday to be considered for the fabulous prize drawing. This week’s puzzle prize is a $50 Gift Certificate courtesy of the fine folks over at ThinkGeek.
Good luck, and happy puzzling!
