| From the introduction, Sid Slapdash sits at the head of the table and Sydney
Slapdash at the foot, with the six children arrayed three on each side;
the children talk about their day's events in clockwise order starting at
Sid's left. We will arbitrarily number the seats 1-6 in the order in
which their occupants talk. By clue 6, Sammy sits opposite the sibling
who let the frogs escape in biology class. By clue 8, Scotty has one of
the two chairs (3, 4) next to his mother. Since boys don't sit opposite
each other (clue 1), Sammy can't be in the other of chairs 3 and 4
opposite Scotty. Sammy sits in chair 1, 2, 5, or 6. If Sammy were in chair
1 and the girl (1) who let the frogs loose in chair 6, by clues 1 and 8,
Stanley couldn't be in chair 3 or 4. He would have to sit in chair 2 (9),
opposite the girl who dropped the macaroni and cheese on the cafeteria
floor (5). Since Scotty is in seat 3 or 4 (8), however, there is no way
for clue 4 to work. So Sammy doesn't have chair 1. If Sammy sits in
chair 2 at dinner, with the girl who let the frogs go in chair 5, Scotty
is in chair 3 or 4 (8) so that Stanley isn't in chair 3 or 4 (1). By
clue 9, Stanley would have chair 1, opposite the girl who spilled the
macaroni and cheese (5) in chair 6. By clue 3, Stanley would have erased
the school's server hard disk--no (9). Therefore, Sammy doesn't sit in
chair 2. If Sammy were the 5th to speak, with the girl who freed the frogs
then 2nd and Scotty in chair 3 or 4 (8), Stanley would have to be in chair
1 (1, 9), with the macaroni spiller in chair 6 (5). Again, however,
Stanley would have been the Slapdash who wiped out the school's data base
(3), which he isn't (9). So Sammy's seat isn't chair 5 and is chair 6,
with the girl who let the frogs loose sitting to her dad's left in chair 1.
By clue 3, Sammy erased the server's hard disk. Since Scotty is in chair
3 or 4 (8) and Stanley can't be opposite him (1), Stanley is in 2 or 5--by
clue 9, chair 2; the girl (1) who dropped the macaroni and cheese on the
cafeteria floor is in chair 5 (5). By clue 4, if Sally had chair 3 and Scotty
then chair 4 (8), Scotty would have bounced off the trampoline in gym--no
(8). Sally is in chair 1, and Stanley fell off the trampoline. Suzy isn't
in chair 5 (2) so Cindy must be (1). Then Scotty blew acid all over the
chemistry lab (7) and talked about it from seat 4. Suzy, in the 3rd chair,
fell off the stage during dance rehearsal and injured the tuba player.
In sum, the Slapdashes' dinner conversation went in order
- Sid Slapdash
- Sally Slapdash, freed the frogs
- Stanley Slapdash, bounced off the trampoline
- Suzy Slapdash, fell off the stage
- Sydney Slapdash
- Scotty Slapdash, blew up the chemistry experiment
- Cindy Slapdash, spilled macaroni and cheese in the cafeteria
- Sammy Slapdash, erased the school's data base
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