QED Night
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Mamma's Age

Unreviewed import — a classic from the public domain; its solution has not been machine-checked yet.

math
Tommy: "How old are you, mamma?" Mamma: "Let me think, Tommy. Well, our three ages add up to exactly seventy years." Tommy: "That's a lot, isn't it? And how old are you, papa?" Papa: "Just six times as old as you, my son." Tommy: "Shall I ever be half as old as you, papa?" Papa: "Yes, Tommy; and when that happens our three ages will add up to exactly twice as much as to-day." Tommy: "And supposing I was born before you, papa; and supposing mamma had forgot all about it, and hadn't been at home when I came; and supposing--" Mamma: "Supposing, Tommy, we talk about bed. Come along, darling. You'll have a headache." Now, if Tommy had been some years older he might have calculated the exact ages of his parents from the information they had given him. Can you find out the exact age of mamma?

Solution

Commit an attempt to unseal the proof. Write your answer — right or wrong, thinking it through is the point.

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