GeekDad Puzzle of the Week: The Trouble with Teapot Temperature - Solution!

Photo: Underwood & Underwood/Project Gutenberg

This week, we needed your help in determining who was right in a typical dispute between an innkeeper and a guest. The answers were emailed and the winner of a $50 gift code from ThinkGeek is Jenny! Congrats Jenny!

An old bachelor was touring the English countryside when he came across an inn that promised hot baths. Feeling tired, dirty, and in need of a very hot bath, he stopped hoping to be satisfied.

He entered the establishment, asked for a room and a hot bath, and sat and watched as the host set a kettle on to boil. After the man had watched it for a few minutes, it began to boil, contrary to the old adage. After a few more minutes, the old man asked the host when his bath would be ready. The host answered, “The water’s just about hot enough.” The bachelor replied, “But you’re cooling off my bath!”

Who was right. Why?

The old bachelor was right. Water won't get hotter than boiling temperature (a constant 100 degrees C at 1 atm). It'll just continue to convert to steam which will then escape the teapot, providing less boiling water to be poured into the bath. The longer the kettle boils, the less hot water there will be, and therefore the cooler the final temperature of the bath.

That's it! Several of you had some very clever responses and work-arounds to the basic, correct answer; I wish I could give everyone a winning ticket. You'll have to be satisfied with a 10% discount on your next purchase of $40 from ThinkGeek by using the code: Puzzling.

Come back on Monday for an entirely new puzzle!

Puzzle solution posted on behalf of Moses Milazzo who is currently on a top secret international mission of importance.