Happy Birthday
The crew members on RMS Titanic are enjoying their meal during a luncheon party at the Royal dining hall. Among them is a young fellow named William.
William on being asked by Captain Smith about his age replies,"I will celebrate my birthday in the year in which my age will exactly be equal to under root of that year."
How old is William?
The answer is 20.
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1 solution
The year is 1 9 1 2 . So William was born before 1 9 1 2 and celebrate his birthday after 1 9 1 2 .
According to William when he be x year old the year will be x 2 . So he was born is the year x 2 − x .
Now, 4 3 2 − 4 3 = 1 8 0 6 and 4 4 2 − 4 4 = 1 8 9 2 and 4 5 2 − 4 5 = 1 9 8 0 So he must be born in 1 8 9 2 . And his age in 1 9 1 2 would be 2 0 years.
(I don't know if he survived the Titanic sinking and was able to make it to 1 9 3 6 )