17

I heard this classic riddle a long long time ago and really liked it, but I'm afraid it was way too simple for you all in the format that I originally heard it, so I have tweaked it just a little:

101 / 50 + 0 = 1/9

The answer is the name of a person. Who is it, and why?

hint:

The equation is actually of the form "name = description" (or who = why, if you prefer).

Now that a correct answer has been given, here is the riddle as I originally heard it, suitable for any well-educated person:

A hundred and one, divided by fifty, followed by nothing: one of nine.

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Hellion
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2 Answers2

15

My guess is:

Clio one of the 9 Muses

Why?

In roman: 101 = CI, we put 50 = L in between to get CLI and we "add" 0 which kinda looks like "O" and we get CLIO. There are 9 muses and she is one of them so that is the reason behind 1/9.

Also:

The roman numbers are a reference to the roman time, when the muses actually got their roles (for example Clio became the muse of history).

Also:

one big "thanks" to @rand al'thor as he provided the basis by mentioning the roman numerals in his answer.

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dmg
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  • You are correct, sir(?)! – Hellion Feb 02 '15 at 15:02
  • @Hellion, "sir" it is :) Anyway, now that this was answered, do you mind sharing the original riddle as well? – dmg Feb 02 '15 at 15:21
  • Excellent! But @Hellion saying the answer is "the name of a person" was a bit confusing - I assumed it would be an actual name, like Derek Smith, rather than a name and description. – Rand al'Thor Feb 02 '15 at 21:52
  • @randal'thor, yeah, sorry about that; when I came back and looked at it, I thought perhaps I hadn't expressed that well. Hence my first "hint". – Hellion Feb 02 '15 at 22:40
8

101/50 could be

CIBYL (which sounds like it could be a name),

since

101 in Roman numerals is CI, 50 in Roman numerals is L, and the division stroke is often read as 'by'.

Doorknob
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  • +0 could also be "no", "none", "nil" etc, with the plus just symbolizing that you're combining the words. – EFrog Feb 01 '15 at 13:27
  • Or just 'o'. I like @warspyking's idea though! – Rand al'Thor Feb 01 '15 at 13:53
  • Meta-information maybe, but nothing offensive or otherwise against SE guidelines. Many answers have a few lines in them that don't really answer the question; look at some of the answers to this question. @Doorknob really has a problem with me ... sigh ... – Rand al'Thor Feb 01 '15 at 15:52
  • Hmmm... why the DV, I wonder? – Rand al'Thor Feb 02 '15 at 21:52