This week's Problem of the Week is in honor of Elvis Presley's birthday, which of course occurs this week (have you purchased a birthday present yet?).

You must determine the values of A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and I in the magic square below. The magic sum is equal to Elvis' age when he died (actually, he is still alive -- ).

The nine clues about Elvis' life should be all that you need to solve this magic square. However, it can be solved mathematically with just a little logic. The sum of the three numbers in each row, column, and diagonal must all be the same. In the clues below, the day refers to a number from 1 to 31 -- not the names of the days of the week.

   
      A      
    		      B             C      
   
      D      
    		E F
   
      G      
    		H I

Clues:

  • A. The number of weeks that Elvis' Blue Hawaii album stayed at #1 on the charts.
  • B. Elvis' height measured in feet.
  • C. The day in August 1977 on which Elvis died.
  • D. It was on this day in April of 1957 that Elvis moved in to Graceland.
  • E. The number of times that Elvis was nominated for a Grammy Award.
  • F. The number of Elvis' top 40 hits that hit #1 (he had 107 top 40 hits).
  • G. The day in May 1960 of Elvis' television special, "Welcome Home, Elvis."
  • H. Elvis' age when he moved into Graceland.
  • I. The day in January 1935 on which Elvis was born.

Extra Credit:
How many times does Elvis sing the word, blue, in the song, Blue Christmas?

Click here if you need the nine numbers


Solution:

A. 20
B. 6
C. 16
D. 10
E. 14
F. 18
G. 12
H. 22
I. 8

The magic number was 42 -- Elvis' age at his death.

The answer to the extra credit is 12 times (the number of times he sings "blue" in the song Blue Christmas).
Click here for Elvis' lyrics to Blue Christmas


Correctly solved by:

1. Richard K. Johnson La Jolla, California
2. Walt Arrison Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3. Tori Eads * Winchester, Virginia
4. Keith Mealy Cincinnati, Ohio
5. Jay Carpenter Winchester, Virginia
6. Anne Beavers Arlington, Virginia
7. Sarah Butler Columbus, Georgia
8. Elizabeth Emmart Winchester, Virginia
9. Ellen Sankovich * Winchester, Virginia
10. Renata Sommerville Austin, Texas
11. Harrison Wallace Columbus, Georgia
12. Carter Wallace Columbus, Georgia
13. ---------- United Kingdom
14. Carter Neal Columbus, Georgia
15. Carter Staples Columbus, Georgia
16. Rick Jones Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
17. Wilds Ogie Columbus, Georgia
* Solved the Extra Credit