Brownies

[zapatos]

My wife made brownies in an 11x13 in. rectangular pan. Not knowing that she had to deliver exactly half the pan of brownies to each of two different bake sales, I cut out a 1" x 3" rectangular brownie for myself, not along any edge of the pan, but sort of near the corner of the pan, and the edges of my cut were not parallel to the edges of the pan.

 

I don't wish to suffer my wife's anger.

 

How can she make one cut to divide the brownies exactly in half?

 

(two possible answers (that I know of)).

[Phi for All]

My wife made brownies in an 11x13 in. rectangular pan. Not knowing that she had to deliver exactly half the pan of brownies to each of two different bake sales, I cut out a 1" x 3" rectangular brownie for myself, not along any edge of the pan, but sort of near the corner of the pan, and the edges of my cut were not parallel to the edges of the pan.

Can you draw us a picture or does that give away the answer? I can't imagine how (or why) you would take a single rectangular brownie that wasn't along an edge and also not parallel to any of the pan edges. Was this piece at a strange angle? Because that's the only way you can cut a rectangle that isn't parallel to any edge of a rectangular pan.

 

I don't wish to suffer my wife's anger.

 

How can she make one cut to divide the brownies exactly in half?

 

(two possible answers (that I know of)).

My best solution includes suffering. Instead of cutting the brownies with a knife, she kills you with it, gives the remaining brownies to one of the bake sales and tells the other bake sale that she made an identical batch for them but you ate it.

 

 

 

Or, if she doesn't want to go to jail, she could stand the remaining pan of brownies on edge and split them down the center, then cut each half into rectangles. This would make two identical batches of thinner brownies.

[ewmon]

Cut along a straight line that intersects the center of the pan and the center of the brownie "hole".

Edited November 29, 2011 by ewmon

[md65536]

I don't wish to suffer my wife's anger.

You cut a piece out of the brownie and didn't even align to the edges and you're hoping to not suffer her anger?

 

Here's the only idea I could think of:

 

 

 

Balance the pan on a point, and cut a straight line through that point to divide the weight of the pan + brownie into two.

If you cut it any-which-way, you may end up with more of the pan's weight on one side than the other (and so less of the brownie), so make your cut line through the center of mass and the center of the pan, so that the pan's weight is evenly divided too (assuming the pan is symmetrical).

 

If your line intersects the piece that you cut out, that might not count as one cut?

Edit: After reading ewmon's answer, I think this line must intersect the piece that was cut out.

Edit2: Uh, oh yeah... if you take the brownie out of the pan before cutting it, you can find a line that splits the weight but not the hole (assuming the hole is close enough to the corner).

 

 

 

 

Another idea: Cut down the middle into two halves (align with the edge!!, we're not savages), but leave a notch at the end of the cut that is half the size of the piece you stole, such as 3"x.5", added to the side with the missing piece.

 

 

Edited November 29, 2011 by md65536

[zapatos]

Can you draw us a picture or does that give away the answer? I can't imagine how (or why) you would take a single rectangular brownie that wasn't along an edge and also not parallel to any of the pan edges. Was this piece at a strange angle? Because that's the only way you can cut a rectangle that isn't parallel to any edge of a rectangular pan.

 

 

My best solution includes suffering. Instead of cutting the brownies with a knife, she kills you with it, gives the remaining brownies to one of the bake sales and tells the other bake sale that she made an identical batch for them but you ate it.

 

 

 

Or, if she doesn't want to go to jail, she could stand the remaining pan of brownies on edge and split them down the center, then cut each half into rectangles. This would make two identical batches of thinner brownies.

Yes, this piece is at a strange angle. Imagine it anywhere in the pan at any angle. Does not matter.

Thanks for you best solution! I hope you don't know my wife!!

 

And your non-jail solution is almost there but you still only need one cut.

[michel123456]

You said you cut the brownie, you didn't say you eat it. The best way is to put the piece back and cut as usual.

[Phi for All]

Yes, this piece is at a strange angle. Imagine it anywhere in the pan at any angle. Does not matter.

Thanks for you best solution! I hope you don't know my wife!!

I know MY wife, and if I were you, my wife would NEVER understand why I cut a brownie that way. It would be like tying her to a chair and forcing her to watch me fold a road map the wrong way.

 

And your non-jail solution is almost there but you still only need one cut.

Well, the top-half/bottom-half cut gives you half each for the bake sale, but you're going to need more cuts for brownies if you don't want the rest of the wives mad at you.

 

The next riddle is "If zapatos has 25 wounds each requiring between 5-8 stitches, how much suture will the doctor need to finish the job?"

 

 

None. zapatos will have bled out long before the doctor is half finished,

 

[michel123456]

Or

 

there is a difficult horizontal cut dividing the height of the brownies in 2 equal parts. I hope your wife has no yatagan to do that.

 

Edited November 29, 2011 by michel123456