A puzzle by Henry Dudeney:
A robber broke into the belfry of a church, and though he had nothing to assist him but his pocket-knife, he contrived to steal nearly the complete lengths of the two bell-ropes, which passed through holes in the lofty boarded ceiling. How did he effect his purpose? Of course, there was no ladder or aught else to assist him. It is easy to understand that he might steal one rope and slide down the other, but how he cut the two, or any considerable portion of them, without a bad fall, is perplexing.
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Call the two ropes A and B. First tie the ends of A and B securely together. Then climb A and cut off B, leaving sufficient to tie a loop. Hanging with your arm through this loop, cut off A as high as you can reach, pull the severed A through the loop until you come nearly to the knot joining B, and descend by the doubled rope. Then pull through the loop and you have secured the greatest possible length of both ropes.
“If any reader should attempt to make use of this information for criminal purposes we can only hope that he will accidentally let fall the rope A after he has cut it through!”
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