1010101 to 950

Take 1010101 and rearrange it to represent 950

Source: Unknown, submitted by reader Shumma Smithee.


Solutions were received from: Alan O'Donnell, Susan Hoover, Denis Borris, and Paul Botham.

Three different solutions were received. All have merit, though I think the first is likely the intended solution.

  1. Move the last "1" to a horizontal position over the second "1", thus creating "10 TO 10", or 9:50.
  2. Rearrange all the characters to make "1000 - L". With L representing 50 in Roman Numerals, this would become 950.
  3. Create "1001", "101", and "" (nothing) and change the binary to decimal to make "9", "5" and "0".

Mail to Ken