It is one of the most famous questions ever asked on the quiz show The 1% Club – the final question, worth A$100,000, that only 1% of people are expected to solve:
January = 717
March = 5315
June = 4624
August = ?
The contestant, Michael, first locked in 686 – then changed his answer in the final five seconds and won the money. This post shows you the full solution, why 686 is the trap almost everyone falls into, and how to solve every puzzle in this family in under ten seconds.
Stare at the Numbers First
Before reaching for a rule, look at the shape of the answers. 717 and 5315 and 4624 are not random. Each looks like three numbers squeezed together:
- 717 could be 7 | 1 | 7
- 5315 could be 5 | 3 | 15
- 4624 could be 4 | 6 | 24
That is the key insight. These are not single numbers at all – they are three separate values written side by side with no spaces. Your job is to figure out what the three values are.
Step 1: Count the Letters
Months are words, so start with the most obvious property a word has: its length.
- JANUARY has 7 letters
- MARCH has 5 letters
- JUNE has 4 letters
Now look at the first digit of each code: 7, 5, 4. Exact match. The first number is the letter count of the month.
Step 2: The Month Number
The middle values are 1, 3, and 6. January is the 1st month, March is the 3rd, June is the 6th. Exact match again. The second number is simply the month’s position in the year.
Step 3: The Last Number Gives It Away
The third values are 7, 15, and 24. What connects them to the first two?
- January: 7 x 1 = 7
- March: 5 x 3 = 15
- June: 4 x 6 = 24
The third number is the product of the first two: letters multiplied by month number. The complete rule is:
Code = [letters] [month number] [letters x month number], written side by side.
Now Solve August
August has 6 letters. It is the 8th month. And 6 x 8 = 48.
Put the three pieces together: 6 | 8 | 48 = 6848.
August = 6848. That is the answer Michael switched to with five seconds left – and it won him A$100,000.
Why 686 Is the Trap (and Why So Many People Type It)
686 looks close, and that is exactly what makes it dangerous. It gets the first two pieces right – 6 letters, 8th month – but then repeats the 6 instead of doing the multiplication. In other words, 686 is what you get when you solve two-thirds of the puzzle and your brain fills the last slot with a number it has already seen.
Under time pressure (or the pressure of a game show studio), that is the most natural mistake in the world. The lesson: when a code has three parts, make sure you have a rule for all three parts before you answer. Two matches out of three is a coincidence waiting to cost you.
Check the Rule on a Month Nobody Gave You
A good rule should work on months the puzzle never mentioned. Try December:
- DECEMBER has 8 letters
- December is the 12th month
- 8 x 12 = 96
So December = 81296. And February? 8 letters, 2nd month, 8 x 2 = 16, so February = 8216. The rule holds everywhere – which is how you know it is the real rule and not a coincidence.
Enjoyed this? Try these next: If x^x = 49, Then x = ? (Solved Step by Step) and NYT Pips: How to Solve the Domino Logic Puzzle (Strategy Guide).