This week's Problem of the Week is in honor of Elvis Presley's birthday, which of course occurs this week (have you purchased a birthday present yet?).
You must determine the values of A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and I in the magic square below. The magic sum is equal to Elvis' age when he died (actually, he is still alive -- ).
The nine clues about Elvis' life should be all that you need to solve this magic square. However, it can be solved mathematically with just a little logic. The sum of the three numbers in each row, column, and diagonal must all be the same. In the clues below, the day refers to a number from 1 to 31 -- not the names of the days of the week.
| A |
B | C |
| D |
E | F |
| G |
H | I |
Extra Credit:
How many times does Elvis sing the word, blue, in the song,
Blue Christmas?
The magic number was 42 -- Elvis' age at his death.
The answer to the extra credit is 12 times (the number of times he sings "blue" in the song Blue Christmas).| 1. Richard K. Johnson | La Jolla, California |
| 2. Walt Arrison | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 3. Tori Eads * | Winchester, Virginia |
| 4. Keith Mealy | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| 5. Jay Carpenter | Winchester, Virginia |
| 6. Anne Beavers | Arlington, Virginia |
| 7. Sarah Butler | Columbus, Georgia |
| 8. Elizabeth Emmart | Winchester, Virginia |
| 9. Ellen Sankovich * | Winchester, Virginia |
| 10. Renata Sommerville | Austin, Texas |
| 11. Harrison Wallace | Columbus, Georgia |
| 12. Carter Wallace | Columbus, Georgia |
| 13. ---------- | United Kingdom |
| 14. Carter Neal | Columbus, Georgia |
| 15. Carter Staples | Columbus, Georgia |
| 16. Rick Jones | Kennett Square, Pennsylvania |
| 17. Wilds Ogie | Columbus, Georgia |