Matthew's Problem Zone #1

Hello there all!

I am hoping to begin a rather brain dazzling series of posts, in which I pose a question, and everyone can have a go at answering!

The rules of the series are simple:

1. Don't use the internet for help - it ruins the fun!
2. Don't make redundant comments - they'll just serve to clutter the thread!

Okay, so the first problem is an easy one, but a good 'un all the same.

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««« We have two siblings, and they were born naturally to the very same parents, on the same date and year. However, they are not twins (fraternal or identical). Is this possible or impossible? »»»​

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So, what are your thoughts? Have a little think if you aren't sure, and be sure to put any musings below!

Impossible. Duh. There's no way the women gave birth to two siblings at the very same time! They'd need to be one after the other!

EDIT: Matthew's original question was "We have two siblings, and they were born to the very same parents, on the same time, date and year. However, they are not twins (fraternal or identical). Is this possible or impossible?", if I remember correctly

I'll concede that point, let me edit it so the problem is what it was intended to be!

Well if two parents wanted to have two children, they could make two test tube babies and implant the fertilized eggs in two different surrogate mothers. Then by sheer chance they could be born at the exact same time.

Damn you people and your clever ways of avoiding what I want to be the answer! I will make sure my future problems are much more vigorously checked before posting! However, I do also concede that point, and will add the word "naturally" to after the word "born". (And define naturally as that in which the mother was pregnant with the babies and produced them as one would expect).

You said this was easy! This makes my head hurt! AHHH!

Hahaha Who, I would actually like to say that from testing the latest build we have, 1285 seems to be no more! Fingers crossed it isn't just statistical fluctuations. However, the question has not been answered just yet, as we have the question in its final form (at least I can no longer find any solutions to get around it any more). So what are your thoughts? How could it be that two babies are born naturally, to the same parents, on the same day of the same year, and yet not be twins of any kind?

Ah but Kol, that would not be the very same parents, as they are not born to the same father! They may share common mothers, but their parents legally and biologically, are not the very same!

I give up!

I shall give the answer to this problem at midday of today (GMT). Just because it is only a taster of things to come, and it was rather messily done on my part . I will give you a hint for now however: "They are not twins".

Okay, so the solution is the following:

They aren't twins, but yet they are siblings born naturally on the same day. For that to be the case, they must be some other way siblings born on the same day... how other therefore, than if they were part of a larger set of siblings! Triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets.. ad infinitum.

The next one will go up in an hour or so, I just need to decide one what it shall be! I may specialise into specific subjects now.

Ive heard this one before! Ahhh I'm so dumb haha

The question now is, do I go sciencey, mathsy, or general for the next one?

Uhhhhhhh... sciencey?

I did indeed go sciencey! I hope you like the new question

I was not aware! That would break the puzzle, it would be interesting to see how that is possible.