Divide Into Four Pieces

Riddle: A man had a bar of lead that weighed 40 lbs., and he divided it into four pieces in such a way as to allow him to weigh any number of pounds from one to forty. What are the weights of the four pieces?

Answer: 1, 3, 9, 27, are the weights of the four pieces.

Source: https://www.riddles.com/413

Riddle: A man had a bar of lead that weighed 40 lbs., and he divided it into four pieces in such a way as to allow him to weigh any number of pounds from one to forty. What are the weights of the four pieces? Answer: 1, 3, 9, 27, are the weights of the four pieces. — by Anonymous v1.

Riddle: A man had a bar of lead that weighed 40 lbs., and he divided it into four pieces in such a way as to allow him to weigh any number of pounds from one to forty. What are the weights of the four pieces? Answer: 1, 3, 9, 27, are the weights of the four pieces. — by Anonymous v2.