Did You Find Out? Get the Answer to the Riddle of E-News Issue No. 05, November 2016
The birthday cake
How many pieces can Uncle Paul get out of his birthday cake?
Uncle Paul got a birthday cake which he wants to share with his guests. Some of them are really hungry, others less so. Therefore, the cake pieces do not have to be cut to the same size. How can Paul cut his birthday cake into as many pieces as possible with only four straight cuts? He is only allowed to cut vertically (2-dimensional).
How many pieces does Uncle Paul get out of the cake?
Solution
The birthday cake can be cut into a maximum of eleven pieces.
Uncle Paul can cut his birthday cake into a maximum of eleven pieces. This requires that each cut crosses all previous cuts, but no more than two cuts can cross at one point.
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