Question

Dear Mitch,

In your last posted answer you said you'd be putting up a few new questions for Thanksgiving every few days or so until the holiday.  Did I miss something, or have you been slacking off?

Ben

Answer

Dear Ben,

 

Well, my excuses – though real – would tire you, so, with respect to your question, of the two choices you offer, you haven't missed anything.  Therefore, I guess the logical conclusion is that I have been 'slacking off'. Now, though, I'm back! 

Hope you enjoy the following group of new ones for the holiday,

Mitch

1) At a Thanksgiving get-together, six friends meet and each person shakes hands once with each of the other people.  How many  handshakes take place altogether?

 

A)    32

B)     30

C)    21

D)    18

E)     15

 

2) The Wayondee-Tutmyers have a big family, and every member travels a long distance to spend Thanksgiving together.  (Even those who live close by go as far away as they can before turning around to begin traveling to the event, so that they too can brag about the big journey they made 'just to be with family').

Last year, including the host, the very special Grandma Wellinthky-Wayondee-Tutmyers, 34 people showed up. (So, before we get to the challenging part, at this point the math is 1 host plus 33 guests.)

Of the 34 people present each person had either pie for dessert, or ice cream, or both pie and ice cream, but no one escaped without having to ingest one or both of these homemade treats.  

Of the people present that night for the festivities at Grandma Wellinthky-Wayondee-Tutmyers, 22 people had pie, and 19 people had ice cream.  

How many of the people present had ice cream but NOT pie?
 

NOTE:  The next one is trickier than most people initially think; in fact, it's based on a problem that has become quite famous!  Here goes:

3) Joey B. drives to his grandmother's Thanksgiving dinner at the rate of 40 miles per hour.  Later, returning home from Grandma's, the miracle of escaping without her bothering him about 'meeting a nice girl and settling down' fills him with such relief and excitement that he rushes home at the rate of 60 miles per hour.

Of the time he spent driving that night, going and coming, his car's average rate of movement was most likely:

 

A)    48 miles per hour

B)     50 miles per hour

C)    55 miles per hour

D)    59 miles per hour

E)     60 miles per hour