This is very difficult to phrase without sounding like I'm attempting to insinuate my intelligence.
But I don't believe that many very intelligent men took more than 10 minutes to solve this problem, unless it was presented to them in some dramatically different way (eg, the name was not emphasized as much as it was here).
Maybe it's due to all the brain-puzzler job interviews I've done (which weren't very common in 70s when this incident purportedly took place) ... but yea. I figured this one out immediately based on the name and the first example.
But I don't believe that many very intelligent men took more than 10 minutes to solve this problem, unless it was presented to them in some dramatically different way (eg, the name was not emphasized as much as it was here).