New Scientist Enigma 540 – Icarus Allsorts

by Chris Maslanka

From New Scientist #1692, 25th November 1989

“It takes all sorts to make a hang-gliders’ convention go with a whirl,”  confided Icarus Thorns to the Rev E. B. Inept as they dallied over their tea on a mountain top.

“You can say that again,” answered his companion, dipping into the bag of proffered sweets and adding absent-mindedly another two lumps to his already sweetened tea. “You can say that again,” echoed the mountains faintly.

“This puzzle, unlike our jump, needs little preamble. In the (correct) equation:

ABC – D – E – F – G – H – I – J = 100

each of the letters stands for a different digit. All you have to do is deduce the value of:

(D × E × F × G × H × I × J) ÷ ABC

So saying, the intrepid Inept threw himself down off the outcrop, his wings glinting in the sun.

Can you deduce the answer before he reaches the bottom?