On the five working days of a week a branch library issued 42, 56, 38, 61 and 53 books. On how many of those days was the number of books issued above the daily average?

The five days total 42 + 56 + 38 + 61 + 53 = 250 books, so the daily average is 250/5 = 50. Comparing each day with 50, the days on 56, 61 and 53 are above it and the days on 42 and 38 are below, so 3 days clear the average. 2 counts only 56 and 61 and overlooks 53, which beats 50 by three books. 4 counts 42 as well, but 42 is eight books short of the average. 1 keeps only the largest day, as though only the top day could be above average - in fact an average can be beaten by most of a list, as it is here.