1530.32 – Basil's Age

Basil Finfrock, born near the end of the 19th century, noticed that he was $x$ years old in the year $x^2$ . How old was he in 1900?

Solution

We need to find the year $x^2$ in the late 1800's or early-to-middle 1900's. $44^2 = 1936$ is the only year that works.

So Basil was 44 in 1936; so he was born in 1892, and he was 8 in 1900.