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General Category => General Talk => Topic started by: AdderallApocalypse on December 20, 2009, 03:18:18 am

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: AdderallApocalypse on December 20, 2009, 03:18:18 am

Okay, so we havent had one of these in a while. They don't come up very often, but when they do, they're usually pretty fun/stimulating. Of course, i'm referring to topics about riddles, brainteasers, puzzles, basically anything of that nature which makes you think. I'll start off with a fairly simple logic puzzle, and subsequent posts can discuss the solution and/or post new puzzles for everyone to ponder on. As always, if you know the solution, then please don't post it. The puzzle I am going to post is pretty simple and straightforward, and is purely logical. Keep in mind that the entirety of the puzzle is coming from my memory, but I wont leave out any details.

Three logicians, labeled person A, person B, and person C are all standing in a column facing forward such that A can see B and C, B can see C, and C can see no one. A gentlemen comes into the room with five hats; three black ones and two white ones. He blindfolds the three logicians and places a random hat on each man, then undoes their blindfolds. The three logicians can not, by any means, see what hat they are wearing. The goal is to, by only looking forward at the logicians in front of him, to determine what hat he is wearing. They are not allowed to turn around, speak, use mirrors, etc. In other words, they're all logicians and the solution is purely logical, there is no trickery involved whatsoever. The gentlemen first confronts logician A, who isn't aware of the color of his hat. Then it is person B's turn, who also has no idea what hat he is wearing. Lastly, it is up to person C who is able to correctly deduce what hat he is wearing. How is person C able to know what hat he is wearing?

Post whatever you like: lateral thinking puzzles, logic puzzles, math puzzles, puzzles involving pictures, riddles, etc. If you have a solution for this or any other puzzle, then please post it in spoiler tags to ensure you don't ruin it for anyone else. Have fun!

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: Bled on December 20, 2009, 04:00:19 am

What is:
The beginning of eternity
The end of time and space
The beginning of every end
And the end of every place

?

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: ase on December 20, 2009, 04:07:38 am

my dick

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: Frisky SKeleton on December 20, 2009, 05:41:10 am

this doesn't work if they can't talk but even if they can it's no help. person A not knowing what colour hat he's wearing only rules out that both B and C have white hats, so he could still have either a black or a white hat. at any rate a logician would probably hesitate to say he 'knew' while stroking his neckbeard

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: AdderallApocalypse on December 20, 2009, 05:50:10 am

Quote from: Frisky SKeleton on December 20, 2009, 05:41:10 am

this doesn't work if they can't talk but even if they can it's no help. person A not knowing what colour hat he's wearing only rules out that both B and C have white hats, so he could still have either a black or a white hat. at any rate a logician would probably hesitate to say he 'knew' while stroking his neckbeard

Keep in mind that neither A or B find out what hat they are wearing on their own head. Only C knows what hat is on his own head as a result of the previous two not knowing the one on their own.

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: Von Woofen on December 20, 2009, 06:05:26 am

if b and c were both where white then a would know he was black, therefore at least one of the two must be wearing white in front of him. if c was wearing a white hat, b would know he himself was wearing a black hat, which would be why a didn't know, so c therefore must be wearing a white hat, which he would figure out just like i did.

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: Frisky SKeleton on December 20, 2009, 09:14:54 am

Quote from: Omcifer on December 20, 2009, 05:50:10 am

Keep in mind that neither A or B find out what hat they are wearing on their own head. Only C knows what hat is on his own head as a result of the previous two not knowing the one on their own.

they're not allowed to talk but i've got it, C's options aren't limited to one by B not knowing which he is but that B doesn't know which he is limits C's options to one. don't i feel silly

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: Vellfire on December 20, 2009, 03:34:27 pm

Quote from: Bled on December 20, 2009, 04:00:19 am

What is:
The beginning of eternity
The end of time and space
The beginning of every end
And the end of every place

?

it's e (i am making this spoiler tag long because if you could see it was just one character it would give it away whether you looked in it or not

i have two books of lateral thinking puzzles, i might post some if i can find them

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: JMickle on December 20, 2009, 04:46:26 pm

if A doesn't konw, then there must either be:
B C has Blck + White or two blacks.

From there, B would what he is wearing if C is wearing a White hat. (his must be black) but since he doesn't know, C must be wearing a Black hat.

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: AdderallApocalypse on December 20, 2009, 05:43:09 pm

Quote from: Von Woofen on December 20, 2009, 06:05:26 am

if b and c were both where white then a would know he was black, therefore at least one of the two must be wearing white in front of him. if c was wearing a white hat, b would know he himself was wearing a black hat, which would be why a didn't know, so c therefore must be wearing a white hat, which he would figure out just like i did.

No, C cant wear a white hat. You were correct initially when you said that A wasnt sure what hat he is wearing. There are two white hats, and three black. So if he saw two white hats then only black is left, so he could guess. Since he didnt, you know that there are either: a black and white on B and C, or two blacks on B and C(Either way A could be wearing a black or white since there are three blacks.) B, knowing these possibilities deduces that since C has a black hat, he could either have a black or white. If C had a white, then B could only have a black hat(being that both didnt have white then that would be the only one, so this wasnt the case either). Lastly, C knows that since neither A nor B was able to guess, then he must have a black hat.

Edit: Yeah, Jmickle is spot on. Also, I have a nice book called "The Moscow Puzzles" which I might post from later.

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: esiann on December 20, 2009, 07:45:27 pm

here are some lateral thinking puzzles from a book. i am just choosing the first four from it. have fun and good luck!

THE LATE REPORT
A man and his wife went on vacation. Two months later, the man called the police to report the location of a body near the place where he had been on holiday. The police thanked the man and then asked why it had taken him two months to report the body. What was the reason?

THE STRANGER IN THE BAR
Two men went out for a drink together in a bar. One of them looked up, saw a tall, dark stranger looking like death and drinking soda water, and pointed him out to his companion. Startled and uneasy, the two men left and went to another bar some miles away. After a few minutes, they looked up and saw the same sad, pale stranger drinking soda water. Deciding to leave, they went to a third bar, which was empty except for a young couple. However, within a few minutes, the cadaverous man appeared and, in a slow, sad, voice, ordered a soda water. Almost out of his mind, one of the men went over to him and said, "Who are you and what do you want?" What did the man answer?

GERTRUDE
When Gertrude entered the plane she caused her own death and the deaths of 200 people. Yet she was never blamed or criticized for her actions. What happened?

MAD COW IDEAS
In 1996, the British government was faced with the task of slaughtering many thousands of healthy cattle in order to allay fears over the disease BSE, or mad cow disease. What proposal did the government of Cambodia make to help solve the problem?

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: Vellfire on December 20, 2009, 07:55:26 pm

I think I know the Gertrude one, because I think I've seen a riddle similar to it before:

She was a hurricane?  Perhaps also a different natural disaster but I think only hurricanes get named so yeah that is my guess.

Here's one from my book.  This book also comes with hints, I'll put those in spoiler tags for anyone who wants them.  I'd recommend trying to figure it out without the hints though because you feel a lot more awesome when you do.

THE SINGLE WORD
A woman whom I had never met before was introduced to me.  I didn't say a word.  She told me about herself, but I didn't say a word.  She told me many more things about herself, but I didn't say a word.  Eventually I said one word and she was very disappointed.  What was the word?

Hints (Click to reveal)

Hint #1: Other people also heard what she had to say.
Hint #2: There is no sexual connotation to this story.  The narrator could be male or female.
Hint #3: The word I said summarized a decision that would significantly affect the woman.
Hint #4: None of my companions was allowed to speak in the woman's presence.

edit: gwhoops put quotes instead of spoilers for my answer to the gertrude one...hope nobody saw that *_*
edit2: found another one i liked from this book

WHO WANTS IT ANYWAY?
He who has it is worried.  He who loses it is poorer.  he who wins it no longer has it.  What is it?

Hints (Click to reveal)

Hint #1: It's something that can be won or lost.
Hint #2: If you lose it, then you suffer financial and other penalties.

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: mkkmypet on December 20, 2009, 08:03:26 pm

hi esiann
hmmm
The Late Report: uhh because he wanted time to flee the country and establish a new life before he told them where his wife's body was? hah
The Stranger in the Bar: "i'm a sad pale man and i want some soda water" haha i don't know
Gertrude: Gertrude was a bird who flew into the plane's engine or something and made the plane crash
Mad Cow Ideas: Cambodia wants to eat them delicious cows

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: Frisky SKeleton on December 20, 2009, 08:15:57 pm

gertrude: if it was a storm or a bird the accident would've been blamed on it, gertrude could be the name of the lake or mountain or area the plane crashed into
velfarres last one: court case

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: mkkmypet on December 20, 2009, 08:29:39 pm

ah yeah i like velfarre's answer for the gertrude one because hurricanes (in america at least) are usually given "people names" like Katrina and Ike

EDIT: wait wait wait no, it says that she "enters the plane"and that she causes her own death. it totally makes more sense for it to be a bird.

EDIT EDIT: oops fixed

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: Frisky SKeleton on December 20, 2009, 08:36:33 pm

yeah i liked it too since gertrude is such a hurricane name, but accidents caused by hurricanes are blamed on the hurricane!

stranger: sober driver/bar inspector?
late report: it doesn't say his wife's body. i'm still stumped, unless it was at his house why would he report it to his local authorities?

edit: the official reason for the crash would be bird strike, the bird would be blamed. gertrude was a smoker the plane didn't crash

edit2: that was silly it says when she entered the plane. maybe she had a contagious disease

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: dada on December 20, 2009, 08:39:31 pm

(https://legacy.gamingw.net/etc/math.berkeley.edu/~corn/problem1.gif)

White to play and draw.

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: Frisky SKeleton on December 20, 2009, 09:08:59 pm

if the white queen goes to the green square (b7?) then the white pawn upwards and black can either chase the pawn while the white queen does the same to the black pawn or go for a queen and white can do the same, though it seems like one would still be disadvantaged if they both got queens

edit: mad cow ideas: cambodia is largely buddhist so unless the problem really is HOW TO KILL EM QUICK i'd say keeping them for milk maybe but i'm not sure on how prion diseases are transmitted

the single word: if it weren't for the summary of a decision hint i'd guess they were playing some reverse charades type game

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: AdderallApocalypse on December 20, 2009, 09:27:11 pm

Im sort of confused by the setup. I thought that those were two kings, or are you just leaving some pieces out for the sake of it being a puzzle. Also, which is the starter side for white? Black?

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: dada on December 20, 2009, 09:30:45 pm

Quote from: Frisky SKeleton on December 20, 2009, 09:08:59 pm

if the white queen goes to the green square (b7?) then the white pawn upwards and black can either chase the pawn while the white queen does the same to the black pawn or go for a queen and white can do the same, though it seems like one would still be disadvantaged if they both got queens

One problem with that logic: the white queen can't chase after the black pawn anymore if you move the white pawn upward immediately after. Black will catch the white pawn and queen its own if you do that. The key is to keep moving diagonally down to the left until you reach e5 (e6 works too). Then either both queen or both pawns get caught. Two solitary queens is a draw too.

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: dada on December 20, 2009, 09:32:30 pm

Quote from: Omcifer on December 20, 2009, 09:27:11 pm

Im sort of confused by the setup. I thought that those were two kings, or are you just leaving some pieces out for the sake of it being a puzzle. Also, which is the starter side for white? Black?

White moves first. And yes, those are just two kings and two pawns.

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: AdderallApocalypse on December 20, 2009, 09:34:33 pm

Quote from: esiann on December 20, 2009, 07:45:27 pm

GERTRUDE
When Gertrude entered the plane she caused her own death and the deaths of 200 people. Yet she was never blamed or criticized for her actions. What happened?

Hidden content (Click to reveal)

A hurricane sounded okay at first but there are two problems: Gertrude would be blamed for her actions, and hurricanes dont dissipate when they hit a plane. She also wouldnt enter the plane. A bird would probably be blamed, too, unless the question really wants to be stupid by saying "No one ever knew a bird caused the crash." She also wouldnt enter the plane, unless she entered and began attacking the pilot...Lol unlikely. But a lake sounds the best suiting, "Lake Gertrude" The pilot crashed into Lake Gertrude, the water seeped in and drowned everyone and wouldnt be blamed because it's the pilots fault for crashing. Then again, a lake is inanimate so it cant cause its own death.

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: AdderallApocalypse on December 20, 2009, 09:35:14 pm

Quote from: Dada on December 20, 2009, 09:32:30 pm

White moves first. And yes, those are just two kings and two pawns.

Yes I know, but are we viewing the board from white's perspective?
I realize if it's whites move then we probably are but not neccessarily.

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: Frisky SKeleton on December 20, 2009, 09:37:10 pm

Quote from: Omcifer on December 20, 2009, 09:27:11 pm

Im sort of confused by the setup. I thought that those were two kings, or are you just leaving some pieces out for the sake of it being a puzzle. Also, which is the starter side for white? Black?

if you get a pawn to the other side it transforms into a queen (post op) or any other piece i think??

oh white is always at the bottom iirc

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: ase on December 20, 2009, 09:41:59 pm

Gertrude: "The plane" might be referring to any 2-dimensional rectangular area in space as opposed to a passenger jet or other vehicle. I don't really know where I'm going with this!!!

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: dada on December 20, 2009, 09:43:34 pm

Quote from: esiann on December 20, 2009, 07:45:27 pm

GERTRUDE
When Gertrude entered the plane she caused her own death and the deaths of 200 people. Yet she was never blamed or criticized for her actions. What happened?

It's a BIRD that flew into the engine. And it has a name because it came from a farm.

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: dada on December 20, 2009, 09:44:38 pm

Quote from: Omcifer on December 20, 2009, 09:35:14 pm

Yes I know, but are we viewing the board from white's perspective?
I realize if it's whites move then we probably are but not neccessarily.

Yeah, we're looking at it from white's perspective. So black has to move down, white up.

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: crone_lover720 on December 20, 2009, 10:38:17 pm

Gertie was a 1999 terrorist who blew up the plane with plastic proximity explosives that were placed in her luggage. as she entered the plane, the explosives were triggered and the entire plane and part of the airport were blown to smithereens, killing 200 people. investigators found it impossible to determine who had caused the explosion, and to the world Gertie was just another murdered innocent.

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: esiann on December 20, 2009, 10:50:49 pm

re: gertie: that is a much better answer than "gertie was a goose! she was sucked into the plane engine. poor gertie." unfortunately, it is also so, so wrong. each of these has only one correct answer, as is the case with all lateral thinking.
late report: they were reviewing their vacation photos many months later and spotted a corpse! alas, what a buzzkill. no one had noticed because it was in a remote section of the island and these were very intrepid travelers.
stranger bar man: he is a cabbie. they were jerks and did not recognize him even though he left with them. "who was that creep who was just standing there, looking haggard and not bothering us in any way?" as the cabbie glowers in the rearview mirror
mad cow: stick them on mine fields, obviously

this book has the worst answers for most of these, i should probably find some good examples of those instead of picking at random

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: Vellfire on December 21, 2009, 01:33:52 am

Quote from: Frisky SKeleton on December 20, 2009, 08:15:57 pm

velfarres last one: court case

this is pretty much right, the book technically says lawsuit but yeah you got it!

Title: Puzzles, riddles, brainteasers. Oh my!
Post by: crone_lover720 on December 21, 2009, 03:27:01 am

Quote from: esiann on December 20, 2009, 10:50:49 pm

mad cow: stick them on mine fields, obviously

oh my!!