ERJ Brainteaser: September

Question 2: Famous five

What do Carl XVI, Churchill, Elizabeth II , Hillary and Lincoln currently have in common?

Answer: Despite a subtle clue in the title, this teaser worked out quite chewy for many – but not John Coleman, membership manager, Circol ELT, Dublin, Ireland and David Mann, key account manager, SPC Rubber Compounding, UK: both identifying, before any (other) clues were issued, that these people feature on five denomination banknotes in their countries, or coin in the case of King Carl XVI Gustaf. Correct replies followed soon after from: Andrew Knox, Rubbond International, Ohé en Laak, The Netherlands; Sudi Sudarshan, strategic market & technology insights lead, Bridgestone Americas Inc. USA; Michele Girardi, quality manager, Scame Mastaf SpA, Suisio, Italy; John Bowen, consultant, Bromsgrove, UK; Stephan Paischer, head of product management special products, Semperit AG Holding, Vienna, Austria. Very well done to all above, and everyone else who had a go.

Question 1: A sense of place

Which city, country or other placename might start this series?

____, City of London, Arlington, France,

Answer: As we thought, Bermuda (Triangle) was a go-to answer to this teaser. But not for everyone, with Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mauritania, Namibia, Nicaragua, Rotterdam and even the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area also showing up in the replies (see ingenious Solutions below). Indeed, we were left half-expecting someone to chip in Switzerland, home of the Toblerone. Anyway, very well done to: John Coleman, membership manager, Circol ELT, Dublin, Ireland; David Mann, key account manager, SPC Rubber Compounding, UK; Stephan Paischer, head of product management special products, Semperit AG Holding, Vienna, Austria; Michele Girardi, quality manager, Scame Mastaf SpA, Suisio, Italy; Andrew Knox, Rubbond International, Ohé en Laak, The Netherlands; John Bowen, consultant, Bromsgrove, UK; Jose Padron, laboratory analyst, Toyoda Gosei, Waterville, QC, Canada; Sudi Sudarshan, strategic market & technology insights lead, Bridgestone Americas Inc. USA.

Solutions

John Coleman

Thanks to the Polygon clue the connection between the following places becomes evident:

• City of London – Also known as the Square Mile.
• Arlington, VA – Known for the Pentagon.
• France – often referred to as l'Hexagone.

It then becomes obvious that we are looking for any placename associated with a triangle.

Therefore, the Bermuda Triangle is a suitable fit.

David Mann

As they have nicknames relating to shapes with increasing numbers of sides (the square mile, the pentagon located in Arlington, l’hexagone..) the logical precedent would be Bermuda (triangle).

Stephan Paischer

The answer could be Nicaragua, because of its triangle shape.

City of London              also known as square mile

Arlington                      home of the Pentagon

France                          also known as Hexagone

Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Namibia would also fit.

Michele Girardi

The first name could be Bermuda, since it's known  for its  triangle,  and  : 

- London is known for its squares ( Hyde Park, Trafalgar, Kensington , .. )

- the Pentagon is located in Arlington

- The French people refer to their country as the Hexagon

Andrew Knox

I must admit I wasn’t aware that The Pentagon was in Arlington County, Virginia. Nor would I personally associate the City of London with the term “The Square Mile”.

Due to the shape of the outline of the country of France I understand it is often referred to as “l’Hexagone”. So the answer will be Triangle, with the obvious association of Bermuda as a place name.

John Bowen

First one might be Rotterdam, as it is based on a triangular plan.

London - square mile, Arlington Pentagon, France hexagon.

Jose Padron

Well, it seems that this a multiple-answer question, great challenge, looking for countries, cities or other place names with a relation with polygons.

I am just taking countries to answer this brainteaser.

As the City London is well known as the Square Mile

In Arlington County, US is located the Pentagon, the headquarters of US Department of Defense

France is known as the Hexagon because the outline in Europe.

To start this list, it is mandatory to find a 3-sided polygon, a triangle.

The most triangular country is Nicaragua, however there are some other countries with triangular outline; the list includes: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Namibia, Mauritania and Bolivia.

So, I will send my answer with Nicaragua, despite there will be more answers as I noted before.

Sudi Sudarshan

The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area of North Carolina, ISA, commonly referred to as The Research Triangle. The clues suggest a sequence of places associated with polygons of increasing number of sides. London, with 'The Square Mile' (4), Arlington with the Pentagon (5) and France with Hexagon (6). So the previous place is associated with a triangle, a polygon with 3 sides. Multiple answers are possible, one of which is The Research Triangle.