Number Game

[samantha1303]

This puzzle was on quiz tv last week.
They received hundreds of calls and nobody got the right answer, it was for £9000 at its highest.
They gave the answer as it had been on screen for over 4 hours and wasn't making good tv.
Have a few goes and hopefully someone will give the correct answer.

The puzzle is a text message on a mobile phone.
I will post the puzzle in Blue so that you know exactly which part of this post it is.

The only instructions / rules are ADD ALL NUMBERS TOGETHER.
Here in blue is what that rule applies to......

PLS PICK UP MUM
2DAY AT 10AM.99
MARY AVE. THX
LOL XXX

[mathare]

PLS PICK UP MUM
2DAY AT 10AM.99
MARY AVE. THX
LOL XXX

OK, add all the numbers up. Let's start with the easy ones 2+1+0+9+9 or should it be 2+10+99? Let's go with that for now, so that's 111.

Now L = 50, I = 1, C = 100, M=1000, X=10 and D = 500 in Roman Numerals so
3xL = 150
1xI = 1
1xC = 100
4xM = 4000
1xX = 10
1xD = 500
Total of Roman numerals is 4751

Total = 4862

Not entirely sure about that but it's got to be worth a try

[TheOldhamWhisper]

As I have no idea how to get a . on a mobile phone, I'm probably way out but:

21412 - treating each word as a number on a mobile phone
226 - sum of all the keypresses on a mobile phone

[samantha1303]

Great guesses guys but unfortunately they are not right, keep trying please.
I will tell you all that the answer is over 5,000 but less than 20,000

[markwales]

Over 5000? BUgger I thought I was onto something with 4406 !!!

I used roman numeral figures that I was aware of.

L 50
C 100
M 1000
M 1000
Number 2
Number 10
M 1000
Number 99
M 1000
V 5
X 10
L 50
L 50
XXX 30
4406

[markwales]

Quiz TV is the biggest rip off ever....

Firstly it costs an arm and a leg to get through, then when you try, only very few people actually get through! They can be stood there saying they're waiting for calls, you try dialing and get 'Sorry, you've not got through this time'...even though the bugger is stood there waqiting for a call!! I only tried the once, never again.

[piggy]

your not wrong mark i watched this the other night for a while wasn't tempted to phone in as i'm pretty good with numbers and there was dozens of ways i could see of working it out, the biggest rip off is that they don't have to tell you how they get their answer no suspicion there then:D :D

[presto]

i saw this channel once ages ago. with a similar question.

something like:
add the answers together,
- number of james bond films.
- numbers on a telephone
- 2+2

i have to admit i was watching for 2-3 hours, as i just didn't get the logic to the answer, after previous logical answers were dismissed.

in the end after at least 3 hours someone rang in with a stupid answer like 14,359 and was correct - no explanation. nothing. - this has to be a complete scam.

i was talking to a mate in the pub about the same thing and he said his brother tried calling, - said he called 6 times and just got a message 'you have not got through this time call again' (or something similar) @ £1.50 or so a pop i bet. this has to be a scam.

[samantha1303]

If you call from a bt landline it costs 60p each time that you call.
However you are charged even if you get the message Presto said above.
From a mobile it costs £2.50 each time- I know unfortunately.
People do get through and win though.
I guess it has to be your lucky day.
Come on guys try guessing - pleeeese

[piggy]

5,362

[MarcusMel]

What happens if you turn the message upsidedown?

[MarcusMel]

eg LOL becomes 707 and PLS becomes 576

[susanwells]

12,867

[samantha1303]

Sorry Susan.
Good idea Marcus.
Come on guys it only costs 60p each time you call even if you don't get selected to guess, but remember it is for £9000

[samantha1303]

Ok guys, I am going to give you the answer - but then I would love someone to tell me how it is the answer as I have no clue.

The answer is
11293

[MarcusMel]

The IC in PICK could be 99 still doesn't help tho.

[mathare]

The IC in PICK could be 99 still doesn't help tho.

I could be wrong here but I thought in Roman numerals they only used the prefix to mean '1 less' when the difference in demoninations was one.

So IC wouldn't be valid as 99, it'd have to be XCIX (10 less than 100, 1 less than 10)

[MarcusMel]

Yes - found that out last night the current sideways thought is to line all the Roman Numbers up together and then add all the legal roman numbers together.

You know the old joke "What do you get when you add one and one - eleven"

[samantha1303]

Its all going over my head this - I'm sure one of you can make it work though

[GlosRFC]

There are far more numbers than you realise. Take the final 3 digits - XXX - as an example. I see that many of you have assumed that to be 30 which is correct....but it's only one of the possible numbers it contains.

XXX = 30
but if you take each digit in isolation then
XXX = 10+10+10 = 30
and if you compound each digit then
XXX = 10 x 10 = 100
but, just like those puzzles that ask you how many triangles there are, you also have other combinations
XXX = 20
and another
XXX = 20
I'm not sure if XXX would be valid though, if it were, that means you could also include all the other permuations.
And one other way of looking at it
XXX = 10 x 10 x 10 = 1000

So the clue says add ALL numbers together and those last three digits alone would give you at least 1200!