G Washington
It is time for the new puzzler. I have a bunch of crappy puzzlers to choose from today. But I am choosing this one. Don't ask me why.
Here it is.
Many years ago, I was vacationing in upstate New York, and I was in a little sleepy town called Cold Springs.
While I was there, I had occasion to go to an antiques auction. You know a big auction of antiques. That is where they claim to have some rare and priceless antiques, stuff that collectors would really want.
One of the items that comes up is a child's sled, a wooden sled that the auctioneer claims was made by George Washington himself.
The auctioneer turns the thing over and carved into the one of the wooden slats on the back is this:
"G Washington, September 10, 1752."
Now I remember from sixth grade that the square root of 3 was George Washington's birthday. The square root of 3 is 1.732. And George Washington's birthday is in 1732.
So, if this carving on the sled is accurate, that would make him 20 years old at the time. So it stands to reason that at the age of 20, before he started his military career, that he might be making a sled for a niece or nephew or for his own kids. Who knows.
So, I'm ready to bid 20 bucks on the thing, and someone in the crowd pipes up and says, "It's a fake."
He was right. It was a fake. And the puzzler is, how did he know that?
Good luck.
