This problem, called “The Ptolematic Riddle,” is reported to be an ancient Greek problem, told by the mathematician Colin Maclaurin (1698–1746).

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I am a bronze lion. Out of my mouth, the sole of my right foot, and my two eyes come four pipes that fill a cistern in different times. The right eye fills it in two days. The left eye fills it in three days. The sole of my foot fills it in four days. But my mouth takes six days to fill the cistern. Find how many days all these will fill it together.