The Joys of the Telephone
The days in which telephone dials combined numbers and letters is
definitely numbered, where AU-teuil 06 63 was read as AUTOMNE [autumn] or
POIncare 74 37, POIRIER [pear tree]. Let's take advantage of this once more to
remind ourselves that:
Who is the singer we can listen to at 746.28.72?
What profession is practiced at 708.33.87? [note. Only works in French.]
What is the favourite drink of 725.32.53?
Which poet is loved by 642.42.89?
What is the favourite dish of 632.40.84? [note. Only works in French.]
What is the first name of 628.74.23?
What is the flaw in 727.37.73?
How many kids did 586.32.89 have?
The same number can correspond to many names. But I have noticed that this
is very complicated to produce. The number 728.28.38 corresponds to three names
and 728.24.37 to four.
***
Enrich Your Itineraries
What is the shortest trajectory in which we can use the maximum number of
streets? It is rightly evident that we will obtain the most rectilinear
trajectory possible.
It is a very difficult problem at first glance. For now, I found two
itineraries which seems to nearly answer the question. The first is really very
short. It runs parallel to a portion of rue Geoffery-Saint-Hilaire and goes
from rue Lacepede to rue Censier and uses successively:
Rue Quatrefages
Place du Puits-de-l'Ermite
Rue Georges-Desplas
Rue du Gril.
The second, much longer, traverses all of the 3rd arrondissement and uses
eight streets:
Rue du Grenier-Saint-Lazare
Rue Michel-Le-Comte
Rue des Haudriettes
Rue des Quatre-Fils
Rue de la Perle
Rue du Parc-Royal
Rue Saint-Gilles
The inverse problem - to find the longest trajectory possible utilising the
minimum number of streets - is much less interesting.
Would the letter R be predisposed to wandering? Two Parisian itineraries
use five streets which begin with this letter.
