Are you sharp enough to code for a top software company? Our Monday puzzles are based on the types of questions they are known to ask, hence the name of the series. Some of these questions include topics like “relativity.” It’s not math, exactly, but you need to be able to figure out relationships.
Because last week’s Micro Softy was also about figuring out relationships, we will depart from our usual practice by presenting its solution before we ask this week’s question:
Solution to Micro Softy 57: My Mother’s Mother-in-law
mother’s mother-in-law.
My boss, Ms. Sterno, asked me the identity of a man named Ben, whom I was just talking to. I told her “Ben is a valued friend and source of information. His mother is my mother’s mother-in-law.”
So who is Ben in relation to me?
Take a look at Figure 2: Ben is my father. His mother is my mother’s mother-in-law. Or, with the same logic, instead of Ben, it could be one of Ben’s brothers I was talking to. In other words, one of my paternal uncles.
Now here is this week’s Microsofty: Is a famous bassist his own grandfather?
I was born in rural West Virginia where terms for relationships can become complicated. I have a number of second cousins once removed and first cousins twice removed living in the West Virginia hills.
grandparents on the right are Ormeda Moore and James
Marks. On the left are Ormeda’s sister Violet Moore and
James’ brother Bill Marks, whom she married. Thus their
children are double first cousins./Public Domain
What happens when two brothers marry two sisters from another family? The children from the two marriages are more than first cousins. Sharing more DNA, they are referred to as double first cousins.
My paternal grandparents (see the photo) are an example. My father, Robert J. Marks, also had a double first cousin named Helen Marks. Children of cousins are second cousins. Children of double first cousins are double second cousins. Helen didn’t have children so I cannot boast about being a double second cousin. But to Helen I am a double first cousin once removed. My daughter is her double first cousin twice removed.
More unusual relationships can also occur, some of them among famous people. The Rolling Stones, one of the most iconic rock groups of all time, had a bass player named Bill Wyman.
I saw the Stones live twice early in their career. They were terrible in concert. Their rendition of I’m a King Bee can curdle milk. But their music has been polished in the studio and Mick Jagger’s terrible singing voice is so ubiquitous that we’re used to it.
Smith. Mandy’s mother, younger than Bill, married Bill’s
son thereby making Bill his own grandfather./YouTube
screen capture.
Here’s the Stones-related story about relationships: Rolling Stone bass guitar player Bill Wyman married a teenager named Mandy Smith in 1989 when he was 52. Wyman’s son, Stephen (only a few years older than Mandy), later dated and married Mandy’s mother, Patsy Smith.
That made Bill Wyman, through marriage, his own grandfather! Puzzled? Here’s the logic.
- Bill marries Mandy.
- Mandy’s mother (Patsy) marries Bill’s son, Stephen.
- That makes Stephen (Bill’s son) also Bill’s father-in-law.
- So Bill becomes the father of his father-in-law → i.e., his own grandfather.
Wow!
Before Bill Wyman, this curious relationship to self was captured in 1947 in the song “I’m My Own Grandpa.” It was covered by many artists including the country comedian Ray Stevens.
Take notes on the lyrics. They are spot-on accurate.
So now here’s the Micro Softy for this week that you have been waiting for:
If Rolling Stone bassist Bill Wyman is his own grandfather, by the same reasoning, does this mean he’s also his own grandson?
The Monday Micro Softy is a weekly feature of GeekPlanet News. Here are the links to all the puzzles and answers to date:
Monday Micro Softy 57: My Mother’s Mother-in-Law. Can you figure out this “relativity” puzzle? Part of the trick to solving Monday Microsofty 56 is to decide whether or not to give it a high five.
Monday Micro Softy 56: “Elon Musk”’s circle of numbers The circle of numbers looks pretty simple until you start thinking about it… If you suspected that last week’s talk of baseball was just a distraction from the real puzzle hint, now you can find out.
Monday Micro Softy 55: “It happens every spring.” Baseball, that is. Here’s a puzzle that takes in baseball’s summer. To solve last week’s puzzle, you don’t need to know the distance. Check the problem again for the number you do need to know. You can find puzzles 51 through 54 here as well.
Monday Micro Softy 50: Cutting through the cornbread. How did Yuri Senior cut the cornbread into eight identical portions using only three straight cuts? You can guess the answer to Microsofty 49 if you try the test question yourself at home, using a small mirror. Links to Microsofties 46 through 49 are here as well.
Monday Micro Softy 45: Can Tony beat the fast-food curfew? An early curfew on fast food service motivated a boy to exercise more vigorously. But how fast was he pedaling? To solve Micro Softy 44, recall that Tony doesn’t need to take the individual pills each day, only the prescribed amount of each. You will find links here to Micros Softies 41 through 44 as well.
Monday Micro Softy 40: The fate of a false prophet. He wasn’t actually fired for being a false prophet but for something that his prophecy unintentionally revealed. The solution to Micro Softy 39 lies in considering an alternative possible meaning of a word commonly used in sports. You will also find links to Micro Softies 30 through 39 and their answers here as well.
Monday Micro Softy 29: A funeral lament in four lines. The funeral director was puzzled by Dan’s description of his relationship to the deceased but there was no question that his grief was sincere Here, you will also find links to Microsofties 22 through 29.
Monday Micro Softy 21: Finding More of the Deadly Fentanyl Pills. Here, you will also find links to Microsofties 11 through 20 as well.
Monday Micro Softy 11: What Happened to That Other Dollar? Here you will find links to the first ten Micro Softies. Have fun!
