Competition - Guess the Number of corks

grasshopper · Post by **grasshopper** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:47 am

grasshopper wrote:I'll go 1624.

Cheers,
grasshopper

2nd guess - 1570. Thanks!

TORB · Post by **TORB** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:54 am

Red Bigot wrote:I'm still waiting for the scientific approach to appear, where are all the mathematicians and engineers?

50 x 27 x 30 = 40500 cc = 40.5 litres (plus a little more 'cos it's heaped up over the top edge a little in the middle), now you just need to work out the average volume of a cork under random stacking conditions where there is a large variation in cork size.

I did it, but as I work with tank volumes and capacities for a living felt it was unfair to answer. The second part of the equation was to measure the amount of space a random sample of corks occupied. Having done it, I can confidently say there are a few guesses that will be very close.

Elvispga · Post by **Elvispga** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:54 am

Hey Brian

Great thread.

My 1st guess is.................2296.

Cheers
Elvis

mphatic · Post by **mphatic** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:34 am

1701 is my second guess. If Brian's clue was accurate, and no-one has guessed it yet, there are only 3 other possibilities left.

There you go Brian, I set up a spreadsheet to do this. The engineer in me is coming out :twisted:

Oh, and if anyone wants to know those other 3 numbers, I'm thinking half of the prize would be fair payment...

Andrew Jordan · Post by **Andrew Jordan** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:35 am

Ok, here is some scientific reasoning for you ....

From the minimal amount of clues Brian has given us, this is what we know so far:

(1) There are more than 1,348 corks in the tank.
(2) Out of the posts posted before 4.53pm Sunday afternoon, one of them was off by 54 , either plus or minus.

So looking at the guesses up until this time that were above 1,348, and taking away anyone's guess so far that matches one of the numbers before 4.53pm plus/minus 54 :shock:

, the number has to be one of the following:

1,701 (mphatic just posted this above) - probably correct number!
Edited 2nd guess 2,884 (who's counting here :roll:

)

All the other possiblities have been "guessed" already. So one of these 2 numbers has to be the number.

Brian?

Elvispga · Post by **Elvispga** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:47 am

2884 2nd guess

mphatic · Post by **mphatic** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:53 am

mphatic wrote:
Oh, and if anyone wants to know those other 3 numbers, I'm thinking half of the prize would be fair payment...

oops, missed a couple of the guesses. At the time I wrote this, there was only ONE number left, and AJ and Elvispga have taken that option. And here I was thinking I could hedge my bets a little...

Mal · Post by **Mal** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:56 am

Andrew Jordan wrote:(1) There are more than 1,348 corks in the tank.
[

He could of also been refering to the amount of bottles he has had, rather then the amount of corks in the bottle.

Andrew Jordan · Post by **Andrew Jordan** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:03 am

Andrew Jordan wrote:

(1) There are more than 1,348 corks in the tank.
[

He could of also been refering to the amount of bottles he has had, rather then the amount of corks in the bottle.

mphatic

Mal,

If that was the case it would add 2 more possible numbers:

1178 (both camw and steve have already guessed this number)

1066 (another possiblity?)

Wizz · Post by **Wizz** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:09 am

Andrew Jordan wrote:Ok, here is some scientific reasoning for you ....

From the minimal amount of clues Brian has given us, this is what we know so far:

(1) There are more than 1,348 corks in the tank.
(2) Out of the posts posted before 4.53pm Sunday afternoon, one of them was off by 54 , either plus or minus.

So looking at the guesses up until this time that were above 1,348, and taking away anyone's guess so far that matches one of the numbers before 4.53pm plus/minus 54 , the number has to be one of the following:

1,701 (mphatic just posted this above) - probably correct number!
Edited 2nd guess 2,884 (who's counting here )

All the other possiblities have been "guessed" already. So one of these 2 numbers has to be the number. Brian?

Assuming no one has the right answer already...

grasshopper · Post by **grasshopper** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:14 am

grasshopper wrote:
grasshopper wrote:I'll go 1624.

Cheers,
grasshopper

2nd guess - 1570. Thanks!

Oops, just realised that my second guess was already used. Oh well, many thanks to Red Bigot for this thread - a terrific gesture of generosity. I was looking forward to adding a wine to my collection that was earlier than 1998 (sad I know) but it was not meant to be.

Thanks again and well done to the winner!

Andrew Jordan · Post by **Andrew Jordan** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:15 am

Andrew Jordan wrote:
Ok, here is some scientific reasoning for you ....

From the minimal amount of clues Brian has given us, this is what we know so far:

(1) There are more than 1,348 corks in the tank.
(2) Out of the posts posted before 4.53pm Sunday afternoon, one of them was off by 54 , either plus or minus.

So looking at the guesses up until this time that were above 1,348, and taking away anyone's guess so far that matches one of the numbers before 4.53pm plus/minus 54 , the number has to be one of the following:

1,701 (mphatic just posted this above) - probably correct number!
Edited 2nd guess 2,884 (who's counting here )

All the other possiblities have been "guessed" already. So one of these 2 numbers has to be the number. Brian?

Assuming no one has the right answer already...

Wizz,

You are totally correct ... maybe Brian is waiting till this thread hits 4 pages before he reveals the winner?

Red Bigot · Post by **Red Bigot** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:25 am

GRB wrote:1570 or 1824 with around 2 -15 % TCA affected depending on who you ask or did these get burnt in some pagan ritual

As much as I'd like to stretch this out to 4 pages or more, I've left you stew long enough already, the winner was at the bottom of the first page, 1570 is the magic number.

GRB is the winner!

Please send me an email or PM with your postal address and I'll send off the bottle asap.

Thanks to everyone for playing the game.

Max · Post by **Max** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:29 am

Good on ya Brian for your generosity! This can only mean good things for your wine drinking karma!

cheers
Max

The more the better · Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:30 am

Brian,

My Guess is 1750.

I asked an actuary at work to crunch some numbers for me. I can't be too far out....

Andrew Jordan · Post by **Andrew Jordan** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:32 am

Congratulations GRB (Glen) and well done Brian for an excellent thread.

By the time everybody has said their closing comments, I am sure this thread will be well over 4 pages in length.

parb · Post by **parb** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:32 am

Well done to RB's liver. 1404 corks is my guess.

Cheers,
Parb

The more the better · Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:33 am

Oops ! didn't read the bottom section... And the winner is...

That is it ....I am firing our actuary....

GRB · Post by **GRB** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:40 am

I thought this was a great thread before I won

. It is amazing that a bunch of people who most likely all have well stocked cellars :shock:

can't type fast enough when a free bottle comes up :lol:

. Great idea RB and wonderfull to see everyone pitch in and post, now all we have to do is figure out how to keep the lurkers out of the closet, maybe next time people should have to post a TN to be eligble :wink:

I have a better idea than getting the bottle posted up to Sydney, how about letting everyone know when you and Ric are heading this way and you can bring the bottle up to an offline

. Pick a date and we will get a restaurant organised.

Glen

grasshopper · Post by **grasshopper** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:59 am

Red Bigot wrote:
GRB wrote:1570 or 1824 with around 2 -15 % TCA affected depending on who you ask or did these get burnt in some pagan ritual

As much as I'd like to stretch this out to 4 pages or more, I've left you stew long enough already, the winner was at the bottom of the first page, 1570 is the magic number.

GRB is the winner!

Please send me an email or PM with your postal address and I'll send off the bottle asap.

Thanks to everyone for playing the game.

At least I feel that I had some effect on the result - it was my first guess that created the all important "54 away" clue.

Well done GRB.

Red Bigot · Post by **Red Bigot** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:00 pm

GRB wrote:I have a better idea than getting the bottle posted up to Sydney, how about letting everyone know when you and Ric are heading this way and you can bring the bottle up to an offline . Pick a date and we will get a restaurant organised.

Glen

Glen, a good idea, but it might be a bit of a wait. Ric has just lost his senior staff member due to home/health issues so will have to work more in the shop, we are also working on a trip down south late November, then you get into the silly season...

I'm OK mid-week, but Andrea may be peeved if I go to Sydney without her, if Ric can find a date I'll work on her, but I already owe her big time for my time on crutches. :-(

Anyway, well picked based on the clue.

Christo · Post by **Christo** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:22 pm

Red Bigot wrote:
Christo wrote:By the way, what happens if the wine is corked?!
c

I'll either give you your money back or give you John Glaetzer's address/fax number.

Adam · Post by **Adam** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:38 pm

Unconfirmed but highly probable reports of white wine corks in the fishtank...

Confirm or deny?

Red Bigot · Post by **Red Bigot** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:02 pm

Adam wrote:Unconfirmed but highly probable reports of white wine corks in the fishtank...

Confirm or deny?

Absolutely, we have a couple of long-term friends who drink almost exclusively white wines (and sparkling reds, oddly enough), so there are a reasonable number of their favourite Petaluma Chardonnay corks in the tank, plus probably a few others they brought around. Plus of course some Champagne corks and the odd dessert wine.

Shall I go through the tank again and take out the white ones and start the competition again? :twisted:

GRB · Post by **GRB** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:06 pm

Sure go for it, what do I win this time :twisted:

Glen

Wizz · Post by **Wizz** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:32 pm

The more the better wrote:Brian,

My Guess is 1750.

I asked an actuary at work to crunch some numbers for me. I can't be too far out....

I'm an actuary and it didnt work for me... :oops:

Sean · Post by **Sean** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:58 pm

deleted

Andrew Jordan · Post by **Andrew Jordan** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 4:05 pm

The more the better wrote:
Brian,

My Guess is 1750.

I asked an actuary at work to crunch some numbers for me. I can't be too far out....

Your actuary did get it right, however he was dyslexic when he gave you the middle two numbers. 1750 should have been 1570. Hey Presto ... the correct answer!

Christo · Post by **Christo** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:16 pm

Wizz wrote: I'm an actuary and it didnt work for me...

...yeah but what do you actuary do??! :shock:

c

Red Bigot · Post by **Red Bigot** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:03 pm

Sean wrote:Ummm Brian, have you added any more corks since 2pm on Sunday???

Nope, the new corks are still in the Kitchen, in the base of the decanter drainer, they usually stay there until that fills then go to the fish tank or plastic bag as appropriate to the decoration or lack thereof.

One more post to get to 4 pages... :-)