Riddle Me This....

[OrigamiTulip]

Help! How do you get 49 steps? I've done the math several times, and I keep coming up with 48. I'm so confused

[12dn94dst]

i got it after the hint. the "middle step" tells you it's an odd number. even numbers don't have a middle

the bird sings on step 33 (btw, the middle step is 25 (33 - 8))

he walks down 12 steps and picks up a pebble
33 - 12 = 21

He takes one step up and tosses the pebble over his left shoulder
21 + 1 = 22

Now, he walks up the remaining steps three at a time which only takes him 9 paces

3 x 9 = 27; 27 + 22 = 49

[mccoyred]

Originally Posted by 12dn94dst

i got it after the hint. the "middle step" tells you it's an odd number. even numbers don't have a middle

the bird sings on step 33 (btw, the middle step is 25 (33 - 8))

he walks down 12 steps and picks up a pebble
33 - 12 = 21

He takes one step up and tosses the pebble over his left shoulder
21 + 1 = 22

Now, he walks up the remaining steps three at a time which only takes him 9 paces

3 x 9 = 27; 27 + 22 = 49

Duh! I started off with x/2 when it should have been (x+1)/2!

[mccoyred]

Originally Posted by OrigamiTulip

Help! How do you get 49 steps? I've done the math several times, and I keep coming up with 48. I'm so confused

I got 48, too!