[Guest]

In the time of the roman republic, a peddler and his wife started traveling toward Sicily in order to find a place to sell sandals, their craft.

On the first of October, they came across an old woman with no shoes on. Of course, being astute businessmen, they tried to sell her some shoes. They were very generous in selling them, so the old woman told them a prophecy.

Exactly one year, month, week, and day from that day, the couple would come across an opportunity to travel on a journey and become rich beyond all imagining. In order to pay for the journey, they were to collect bags of sand. The woman told them whenever they came to the sea, they must collect one bag. When the time came for the journey, the sand they had collected would turn into salt, and they would use the salt to pay for the whole trip (Roman soldiers used to be paid in salt, a very valuable commodity. This is where the word salary comes from). The only catch was they had to touch the sea by the first day of the tenth month of that year.

This news they found to be wonderful but a little worrisome because they were a ways away. They quickly thanked the woman and took off toward the sea. They arrived at the sea right on time.

1. What is the minimum number of bags that the couple must collect?

2. What is the date that the opportunity will come to the couple?

[Guest]

In the time of the roman republic, a peddler and his wife started traveling toward Sicily in order to find a place to sell sandals, their craft.

On the first of October, they came across an old woman with no shoes on. Of course, being astute businessmen, they tried to sell her some shoes. They were very generous in selling them, so the old woman told them a prophecy.

Exactly one year, month, week, and day from that day, the couple would come across an opportunity to travel on a journey and become rich beyond all imagining. In order to pay for the journey, they were to collect bags of sand. The woman told them whenever they came to the sea, they must collect one bag. When the time came for the journey, the sand they had collected would turn into salt, and they would use the salt to pay for the whole trip (Roman soldiers used to be paid in salt, a very valuable commodity. This is where the word salary comes from). The only catch was they had to touch the sea by the first day of the tenth month of that year.

This news they found to be wonderful but a little worrisome because they were a ways away. They quickly thanked the woman and took off toward the sea. They arrived at the sea right on time.

1. What is the minimum number of bags that the couple must collect?

2. What is the date that the opportunity will come to the couple?

The minimum number of bags is one (1) and the date is November, 2nd week, day 2 of the following year.

[Guest]

answer to q.2 should be November 9th, but Im stumped to the answer to q.1.

Id say 1- because they arrived at the sea that first day, so therefore had to collect a bag of sand.

Though these answers sound too simple. I am surely missing the point here. or am I?

Will be interesting to see how this one progresses

Edited August 29, 2010 by spacekatbaby

[Guest]

In the time of the roman republic, a peddler and his wife started traveling toward Sicily in order to find a place to sell sandals, their craft.

On the first of October, they came across an old woman with no shoes on. Of course, being astute businessmen, they tried to sell her some shoes. They were very generous in selling them, so the old woman told them a prophecy.

Exactly one year, month, week, and day from that day, the couple would come across an opportunity to travel on a journey and become rich beyond all imagining. In order to pay for the journey, they were to collect bags of sand. The woman told them whenever they came to the sea, they must collect one bag. When the time came for the journey, the sand they had collected would turn into salt, and they would use the salt to pay for the whole trip (Roman soldiers used to be paid in salt, a very valuable commodity. This is where the word salary comes from). The only catch was they had to touch the sea by the first day of the tenth month of that year.

This news they found to be wonderful but a little worrisome because they were a ways away. They quickly thanked the woman and took off toward the sea. They arrived at the sea right on time.

1. What is the minimum number of bags that the couple must collect?

2. What is the date that the opportunity will come to the couple?

The Romans had multiple calendars at this time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_calendar

In the calendar of Romulus, the 10th month is December.

That doesn't really seem to change the answers to me.

And q(1) also doesn't seem to be answerable from the given information.

I'm guessing 2 because they are going to Sicily, an island, which they must arrive at by boat, and they will encounter sand at 2 different beaches.

q(2) seems straight forward, though, because in all Roman calendars, November always follows October.

Edited August 29, 2010 by mmiguel1

[Guest]

(1.) The minimum number of bags that the couple needed to collect is 2, as the only requirement to the number of bags the couple were to collect is given by the plural “bags of sand”. (In addition, Sicily, being an island, requires two coasts the couple would have needed to encounter to travel from the mainland or another island to the island of Sicily.)

(2.) Though the (lunar) calendar year was in transition throughout the era of the Roman Republic, “[e]xactly one year, month,” from the month of October would have still have been the month November; and as months have almost always had a different number of days, a month later from the 1st day of a month would still be considered the 1st day of the following month, i.e., November 1st. The difference would then be in the term ‘week’. Since the week during the Roman Republic was a ‘market week’ of 8-days, “week, and day from that day” would be 8+1=9 days from the 1st day of the month In other words, November 10th of the following year. This, of course, assumes the old woman followed the Roman nundinal cycle. If the old woman was Jewish, for instance, the week would have been only 7-days in length, and using the same calendar, the date would then have been November 9th of the following year.

[Guest]

i would have to agree with the date November 9th..but, given the information they would need 1 bag of sand

Exactly one year, month, week, and day from that day, the couple would come across an opportunity to travel on a journey and become rich beyond all imagining. In order to pay for the journey, they were to collect bags of sand. The woman told them whenever they came to the sea, they must collect one bag. When the time came for the journey, the sand they had collected would turn into salt, and they would use the salt to pay for the whole trip (Roman soldiers used to be paid in salt, a very valuable commodity. This is where the word salary comes from). The only catch was they had to touch the sea by the first day of the tenth month of that year.

Grammatically, this implies that they only need one bag of sand. While the woman does state that they must collect bags of sand, they woman also states that they must collect one bag of sand whenever they came to sea. This simply means that they must collect at least one bag. If they were to hit more than one beach on their journey, then they must collect one bag per beach.

[Quantum.Mechanic]

i would have to agree with the date November 9th..but, given the information they would need 1 bag of sand

Grammatically, this implies that they only need one bag of sand. While the woman does state that they must collect bags of sand, they woman also states that they must collect one bag of sand whenever they came to sea. This simply means that they must collect at least one bag. If they were to hit more than one beach on their journey, then they must collect one bag per beach.

And since it doesn't say where the encounter occurred, we can assume for the sake of minima that it occurred at sea, so only 1 beach is involved, and 1 bag of sand.

Edited August 30, 2010 by Quantum.Mechanic

[Guest]

And since it doesn't say where the encounter occurred, we can assume for the sake of minima that it occurred at sea, so only 1 beach is involved, and 1 bag of sand.

Actually the text does give us some indication where the encounter occurred - or rather where it did not occur. It did not occur at sea as they had to depart wherever they were toward the sea which was a distance still from them.

They quickly thanked the woman and took off toward the sea....This news they found to be wonderful but a little worrisome because they were a ways away.

Of course they were not required to cross the sea once they reached the coast. They may already have been on the island of Sicily or, if they were not there, there was no requirement for them to complete their journey to the island, thus the minima may yet be 1 bag of sand.

[Thalia]

3 or 4 bags.

-Leaving for Sicily

-Landing at Sicily

-Leaving Sicily

It depends on where the couple goes before the journey. If they stay at Sicily, 3 bags. If they leave, 4 bags because they will get another one when they land.

[Guest]

I'm waiting for some big punchline to this question that everyone has probably missed.

[Guest]

The couple needs only to collect one bag of sand. It is no longer necessary for the couple to go to Sicily because they will become rich on their journey and no longer need to sell sandals. The date that the couple would receive their opportunity is 9/9. The month is still November, but it would be in the ninth month of the year because Julius and Augustus had not yet added the months July and August to the calendar.

[Guest]

The only catch was they had to touch the sea by the first day of the tenth month of that year.

In the years circa 450 BC to the end of the Roman Republic circa 44 BC, the high priest, the Pontifex Maximus, would add the intercalary month Mensis Intercalaris, also known as Mercedinus or Mercedonius, to the civil calendar after the Terminalia - the 23rd day of Februarius (February). This would make the tenth month September instead of October during those years. If such a year was the year following the prophesy, "[e]xactly one [calendar] year, [one] month, [one] week [of 8 days*], and [one] day from" the first of October would be the tenth of October, otherwise the date may be the tenth of November.

The "tenth month" may also refer to the month of December, as December was the tenth month (decem = 'ten') in the calendar introduced by Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, circa 713 BC that existed at the beginning of the Roman Republic, circa 509 BC, until the calendar was modified by the Decemviri, ten men commissioned as legislatures, circa 450 BC. If such is the case, the tenth day of Ianuarius (January) would have been the date referred to by the prophesy.

*During the period of the Roman Republic, and for about a century following its end, the length of a week in the Roman calendar was 8 days. If 'week' is to refer to the modern 7-day week, the date would be one day prior in each of the given solutions.

Of course, this assumes

On the first of October,.... Exactly one year, month, week, and day from that day...

is to be based upon the ancient Roman calendar of the Republic. For the modern calendar accepted by most nations, the interpretation would be November 9th.

[Guest]

The couple needs only to collect one bag of sand. It is no longer necessary for the couple to go to Sicily because they will become rich on their journey and no longer need to sell sandals. The date that the couple would receive their opportunity is 9/9. The month is still November, but it would be in the ninth month of the year because Julius and Augustus had not yet added the months July and August to the calendar.

The modern date notation 9/9 would be incorrect. The months of July and August already existed, but under different names. The month of July was known as Quintilis before it was renamed Iulius in honor of Gaius Julius Caesar circa 44 BC, and the month of August was known as Sextilis before it was renamed Augustus in AD 14 to honor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born as Gaius Octavius Thurinus) after his death.

At the beginning of the Roman Republic, December was the tenth month. Around 450 BC, the calendar was legislated to begin in the month Ianuarius (January) with an intercalary month Menes Intercalaris, also known as Mercedinus or Mercedonius, added every other year after Februarius (February), making September or October the tenth month during the latter years of the Republic.

From the implication that the solution was to be based upon the Roman calendar at the time of the Roman Republic, the day would not be the 9th day of the month. During the era of the Republic, the Romans observed an 8-day week.

Edited August 31, 2010 by Dej Mar

[Guest]

minimum of two bags of sand and the date is november 9 of the following year (i think)