From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

The BBC Radio 4 Today programme presented a series of puzzle which you can find online. This one is Puzzle No. 501 rCo Thursday 13 June 2019

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4Nlgzd7MbrMmzz8jsmM2w0V/puzzle- for-today

It is the one hundredth anniversary of the observation which proved
Einstein was right about relativity (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science- environment-48369980) so some engineering students have built a machine in which they can travel close to the speed of light. When they travel, time
for them passes 40% slower than for people on Earth. Their friends are
hosting a May Week party on the 14th of June but they decide it would be appropriate to set off in their machine and arrive at the party on the
31st of May, two weeks early. When should they set off?

TodayrCOs #PuzzleForToday has been set by Dr Shaun Fitzgerald, Director of
The Royal Institution
--
David Entwistle
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From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On 10/05/2026 08:49, David Entwistle wrote:

The BBC Radio 4 Today programme presented a series of puzzle which you can find online. This one is Puzzle No. 501 u Thursday 13 June 2019

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4Nlgzd7MbrMmzz8jsmM2w0V/puzzle- for-today

It is the one hundredth anniversary of the observation which proved
Einstein was right about relativity (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science- environment-48369980) so some engineering students have built a machine in which they can travel close to the speed of light. When they travel, time
for them passes 40% slower than for people on Earth. Their friends are hosting a May Week party on the 14th of June but they decide it would be appropriate to set off in their machine and arrive at the party on the
31st of May, two weeks early. When should they set off?

I don't get it. The puzzle was posted 13/6/19, and the party was to be 14/6/??, which would appear
to be "tomorrow". So the friends want to arrive in the past?? They will need a time-travel machine
like Dr. Who's TARDIS!

Perhaps the party is to be in a year's time? If so it needs to say that - perhaps it means 10 years
time? How could any reader know....

Anyhow, if the friends want to arrive at time T, surely they just leave at time T, and they're there
straight away, but then the puzzle would be completely pointless, so I'm surely missing something.

TodayAs #PuzzleForToday has been set by Dr Shaun Fitzgerald, Director of
The Royal Institution

Hopefully he's better at explaining puzzles than the example you gave. As a respected scientist I
would expect him to be! :)


Mike.

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From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Sun, 10 May 2026 16:02:29 +0100, Mike Terry wrote:

I don't get it. The puzzle was posted 13/6/19, and the party was to be 14/6/??, which would appear to be "tomorrow". So the friends want to
arrive in the past?? They will need a time-travel machine like Dr.
Who's TARDIS!

Perhaps the party is to be in a year's time? If so it needs to say that
- perhaps it means 10 years time? How could any reader know....

Anyhow, if the friends want to arrive at time T, surely they just leave
at time T, and they're there straight away, but then the puzzle would be completely pointless, so I'm surely missing something.

No, I don't get it either. The given answer is as follows:

"If the students travel for 5 weeks in earth time, they only experience a travel time of 5 x 60% = 3 weeks. Therefore, when they return they are 2
weeks behind everyone else on earth. Mission accomplished by setting off
on 10 May".

I don't see why the students can't set off at any time prior to the party
and adjust the amount of time they spend travelling accordingly, to arrive
at the appropriate time.

Does anyone think they understand the question and answer given?
--
David Entwistle
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