The Gauntlet of Riddles

  • Thread starter Thread starter amp88
  • 262 comments
  • 10,263 views
Too darn easy Duncy baby.
 
I know a good one about hats.
 
Fire away:)


I like hats.
 
Three men are buried to the neck in the sand, line-astern, all facing the same direction (so the dude at the back can see the other two, the one in the middle can only see the front one and the front one can't see anyone).

A box with five hats - three white, two red - is brought out, and each man has a hat, chosen at random, placed on his head. None of the men see the two hats which remain in the box, or the one placed on their own head.

They are told that, if they can say what colour hat is on their head, they can go free.

The man at the back - Man 1 - says he doesn't know, so remains buried to the neck in sand.
The man in the middle - Man 2 - says he doesn't know either, and also remains buried to the neck in sand.
The man at the front - Man 3 - knows what colour hat he is wearing, states it, and is set free.


Assuming that all three men are smart enough to answer the riddle and didn't just give up because they're dim (and none of them tried to guess what colour hat they have on), how did Man 3 know what colour hat he had on. And what colour is it?
 
Durrr - no!

And you didn't tell me what colour it was.
 
What colour Sombrero?

When you work out the colour, you'll work out how Man 3 knew.
 
The guys behind told him what colour it is.
 
When?

Famine
The man at the back - Man 1 - says he doesn't know, so remains buried to the neck in sand.
The man in the middle - Man 2 - says he doesn't know either, and also remains buried to the neck in sand.
The man at the front - Man 3 - knows what colour hat he is wearing, states it, and is set free.
Click to expand...

And what colour is it?
 
because uh, uh, uh..... bananas?

I was fearing a Famine riddle :scared:
 
This is really hard to explain...

The back guy - if both hats in front were red then he would know he had a white hat. However, since he doesn't guess that, we know that at least one is white.

The middle guy - he realises the guy at the back doesn't know what colour is on his head so he knows that only one of the hats in front of the back guy is red. If the guy at the front is wearing a red hat then the middle guy knows he is wearing a white hat, but the front guy obviously isn't wearing a red hat, so the middle guy can't answer.

The front guy - hears that the other two can't figure it out so works out that he has a white hat on.

That took me ages.
 
911_Carrera
This is really hard to explain...

The back guy - if both hats in front were red then he would know he had a red hat. However, since he doesn't guess that, we know that at least one is white.

The middle guy - he realises the guy at the back doesn't know what colour is on his head so he knows that one of the hats in front of the back guy is red. If the guy at the front is wearing a red hat then the middle guy knows he is wearing a white hat, but he doesn't so he can't answer.

The front guy - hears that the other two can't figure it out so works out that he has a white hat on.

That took me ages.
Click to expand...

*Brain EXPLODES*
 
sicbeing
*Brain EXPLODES*
Click to expand...

Haha, I've heard one with similar principles before. Still made writing this mind boggling though. :indiff:

*EDIT - Ah crap, I've fuxed it up. Lemme try again. :lol:

**EDIT - Fixed.
 
I wasn't aware the 3 men knew how many hats were in the box, never mind the colours of the hats...
 
Neither was I, maybe they arn't we'll have to see what Famine says.
 
911_Carrera
This is really hard to explain...

The back guy - if both hats in front were red then he would know he had a white hat. However, since he doesn't guess that, we know that at least one is white.

The middle guy - he realises the guy at the back doesn't know what colour is on his head so he knows that only one of the hats in front of the back guy is red. If the guy at the front is wearing a red hat then the middle guy knows he is wearing a white hat, but the front guy obviously isn't wearing a red hat, so the middle guy can't answer.

The front guy - hears that the other two can't figure it out so works out that he has a white hat on.

That took me ages.
Click to expand...
It works for me!

I guess we'll just have to wait for Famine to get back to us with the correct answer. Trust him to come up with the mother of all riddles, mind you I did stump him with my camel one... :D
 
911_Carrera
This is really hard to explain...
Click to expand...
You got it right as far as I'm concerned....maybe (or not) this is clearer:
Man 1: He does not see two red hats so he cannot KNOW if he is wearing red or white.
Man 2: He KNOWS that if Man 3 is wearing a red hat, then he must be wearing a white hat.
Since Man 3 is wearing a white hat, he can't KNOW whether his own hat is red or white.
Man 3: Uses input above to announce that he is wearing a white hat.
 
911_Carrera has it right.

The only situation in which Man 1 would know what colour hat he was wearing is if both guys ahead of him are wearing red hats. Since he doesn't know, they aren't, so they are either both wearing white, or they are wearing one of each colour.

The only situation in which Man 2 would than know what colour hat he has on is if the guy at the front is wearing a red hat - remember, there must be at least one white hat wearer. Since he doesn't know, the guy at the front must be wearing a white hat.
 
Another simple one:

A plane crashed yesterday and every single person died in the impact, yet there were survivors. How is this possible?
 
amp88
Another simple one:

A plane crashed yesterday and every single person died in the impact, yet there were survivors. How is this possible?
Click to expand...
Animals travelling in the cargo hold?
 
The purpose of this thread is so that we can test each other with riddles. It is in the Rumble Strip and not the Comedy Corner, because riddles do not have to be funny, and most of the ones I have heard aren't.

First off, the rules:
One person posts a riddle, then we all guess at the answer. The person may give hints as he feels necessary, and when one person answers correctly, anyone may post the next one. There will be a point system involved, however it may only be updated from once a day to once a week, as I can not always access a computer. The riddle must not violate the AUP or ToS. Any sexual content must be used with discretion, and I would prefer to keep the cursing to a minimum. You may make up the riddle yourself.

First riddle:

A woman sitting outside is strapped tightly to a chair. A man with a gun is standing next to her, and gives her careful instructions, then he lets her go.

What were the instructions, and what kind of gun persuaded her to follow them?
 
The strap is a seatbelt and the gun was a radar gun? He pulled her over for speeding? Thats all I got.
 
Yep :) I got it on the first try, my classmates kept flaming me for cheating. Haterzzz...
 
I'd leave out the "what kind of gun" part - makes it too easy.
 
Sakiale
A woman sitting outside is strapped tightly to a chair. A man with a gun is standing next to her, and gives her careful instructions, then he lets her go.

What were the instructions, and what kind of gun persuaded her to follow them?
Click to expand...
Was is Tanni Grey-Thompson's coach with a starter's pistol?
 
Back