Texas Topper

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You bought a ten-gallon hat as a souvenir of a visit to Texas; Only when you got home did you discover that the label states it to be only a six-gallon hat. By now, you were skeptical that it was even that big, and you decided to test it by trying to fill it with 6 gallons of water. The only containers you had on hand were those below.

Using them, how were you able to pour 6 gallons into the hat?

Container A

Container B

 

Scroll down for the answer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Answer:

The key is to reduce the content of container A to 6 gallons. This can be achieved as follows:

1. Fill container A.
   
   
2. Fill container B from container A, leaving 5 gallons in A.
   
   
3. Empty container B.
   
   
4. Refill container B from container A - this leaves 1 gallon in A.
   
   
5. Empty container B and put the remaining gallon from container A into container B.
   
   
6. Refill container A.
   
   
7. Fill container B from container A. This will require 3 gallons, leaving 6 gallons in container A.
   
   

Now you can find out if you really have a 6 gallon hat.

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