Support for Car Talk is provided by:

The Puzzler

New Puzzler: Matchstick Math

RAY: Get out a bunch of matches and construct the following equation with Roman numerals:

One minus three equals -- using two match sticks to make the equals sign Ñ equals two.

Editor's note: this being the Car Talk Puzzler Psychic Friends Network, we can actually diagram this puzzler as...

I - III = II

RAY: Now, if the equation were three minus one equals two, that would be pretty good. But it's not.

The question is, what's the fewest number of match stick movements you can make to make an equation that's correct? You're not allowed to bend, fold, staple or mutilate any of the matchsticks, but you can move them, and you must use all the matches.

[ Car Talk Puzzler ]

Search Car Talk
GO
Watch the show online, see bloopers, and discuss the episode, "The Car of the Future."
Learn the ploys, and chat with our covert car sales operative "Deep Plaid."
Can you save money and use regular, when your owner's manual calls for premium? Find out.
Check out these tips and fork over fewer dineros at the pump.
A 20-year retrospective, this way. (Warning: Fearfully ugly faces.)
Ready to wrap your cranium around Ray's most perplexing puzzlers? Great!
From air filters to oil changes, can you DIY? Find out.