Beau Peep Notice Board
Beau Peep Notice Board => Outpourings => Topic started by: Bilthehut on July 23, 2010, 10:31:13 AM
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Cannibals ambush a safari in the jungle and capture three men. The cannibals give the men a single chance to escape uneaten.
The captives are lined up in order of height, and are tied to stakes. The man in the rear can see the backs of his two friends, the man in the middle can see the back the man in front, and the man in front cannot see anyone. The cannibals show the men five hats. Three of the hats are black and two of the hats are white.
Blindfolds are then placed over each man's eyes and a hat is placed on each man's head. The two hats left over are hidden. The blindfolds are then removed and it is said to the men that if one of them can guess what color hat he is wearing they can all leave unharmed.
The man in the rear who can see both of his friends' hats but not his own says, "I don't know". The middle man who can see the hat of the man in front, but not his own says, "I don't know". The front man who cannot see ANYBODY'S hat says "I know!"
How did he know the color of his hat and what color was it?
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The man at the back didn't know, therefore the two in front weren't BOTH white, otherwise he'd have known his own had to be black. Which means the two in front were either black/white or black/black.
The middle guy didn't know either, which means that the hat in front wasn't white, otherwise he'd have known his own was black. Therefore the front guy's hat must have been black, and this is how he worked it out.
Of course, he's relying on the folks behind him being smart enough to think about such things.
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If the cannibals were rich enough to own five cowboy hats and had such good English language skills, you would think they would have just ordered out for pizza wouldn't you.
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Are cowboy hats expensive?
Anyway, perhaps they just saved the hats that belonged to folk they had previously eaten.
Although if cowboy hats are expensive, perhaps they could have sold them on eBay and made enough money for a pizza.
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They were just hats, not especially cowboy ones. Anyway they probably could not afford the broadband connection to surf the net for eBay.
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p.s. Congrats Jack. Good logic and explanation.
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I didn't see any mention in the original question of the hats being cowboy hats. I think this is one of those trick questions that try to trick you into thinking they were cowboy hats, and thereby be confused, especially if you didn't know whether they were stetsons or ten-gallons, the latter being wibble-dribble snickypuff poddly-moddly mangold. I'll be right there, Auntie Cyril.
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I agree with Tarks.
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How about this one, then?
Two boys wish to cross a river.
The only way to get to the other side is by boat, but that boat can only take one boy at a time.
The boat cannot return on its own, there are no ropes or similar tricks, yet both boys manage to cross using the boat.
How do they cross the river?
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Are they wearing hats?
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I know Jack has already answered this, but I wanted to see if we worked it out the same way.
There are five hats, three black, two white. Only three are used.
The rear is first to answer. He see the two hats in front but does not know which colour hat he is wearing. Therefore the two in front cannot both be white.
They could both be black, but the rear guy cannot be sure that he's wearing the third black hat.
Middle guy hears the rear guy's answer and knows that his and Front guy's hat cannot both be white.
Middle can see Front guy's hat.
If it is white, then Middle's own hat must be black, and he can answer.
If Front guy's hat is black, then Middle's could also be black, so Middle cannot answer.
Realising this, Front guy knows Middle guy's hat is black and so, therefore, is his own.
It should be noted that the natives didn't forbid the three captives to speak.
Therefore Rear guy could have said to middle guy "what colour features in the phrase 'as the ace of spades'?".
The middle guy would have said 'black' and that would have allowed him to guess his hat colour. Then they would all have gone free.
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I hate myself for even thinking about this, but nothing says they have to STAY across the river. Therefore, one of them could cross the river and then return with the boat, allowing the other to do the same. If this is wrong, I don't care.
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I hate myself for even thinking about this, but nothing says they have to STAY across the river. Therefore, one of them could cross the river and then return with the boat, allowing the other to do the same. If this is wrong, I don't care.
It's not the answer I am after, but I cannot fault your logic in thinking outside the box. Well done, Roger. Now, anyone with the real answer. They do cross the river and end up on the opposite side they started from. And no, they are not wearing hats.
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I know Jack has already answered this, but I wanted to see if we worked it out the same way.
There are five hats, three black, two white. Only three are used.
The rear is first to answer. He see the two hats in front but does not know which colour hat he is wearing. Therefore the two in front cannot both be white.
They could both be black, but the rear guy cannot be sure that he's wearing the third black hat.
Middle guy hears the rear guy's answer and knows that his and Front guy's hat cannot both be white.
Middle can see Front guy's hat.
If it is white, then Middle's own hat must be black, and he can answer.
If Front guy's hat is black, then Middle's could also be black, so Middle cannot answer.
Realising this, Front guy knows Middle guy's hat is black and so, therefore, is his own.
Your logic is sound, Malc.
It should be noted that the natives didn't forbid the three captives to speak.
Therefore Rear guy could have said to middle guy "what colour features in the phrase 'as the ace of spades'?".
The middle guy would have said 'black' and that would have allowed him to guess his hat colour. Then they would all have gone free.
What has this to do with the hat colour. In any case, the third one got it right and they all lived to tell the tale. How do you think this puzzle came to be?
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Mary's mum has four children.
The first child is called April.
The second May.
The third June.
What is the name of the fourth child?
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I was going to say Julius, because it was a boy, but he's probably called Mary.
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...or Sue?
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How about this one, then?
Two boys wish to cross a river.
The only way to get to the other side is by boat, but that boat can only take one boy at a time.
The boat cannot return on its own, there are no ropes or similar tricks, yet both boys manage to cross using the boat.
How do they cross the river?
pee in it? that would sure make the river cross.
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The fourth child is Mary, as it's Mary's mum that has four children.
There are two boats.
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How about this one, then?
Two boys wish to cross a river.
The only way to get to the other side is by boat, but that boat can only take one boy at a time.
The boat cannot return on its own, there are no ropes or similar tricks, yet both boys manage to cross using the boat.
How do they cross the river?
pee in it? that would sure make the river cross.
;D ;D ;D
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How about this one, then?
Two boys wish to cross a river.
The only way to get to the other side is by boat, but that boat can only take one boy at a time.
The boat cannot return on its own, there are no ropes or similar tricks, yet both boys manage to cross using the boat.
How do they cross the river?
"that boat", "the boat" = singular, or one. There is only one boat, Vulture.
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One boy is already on the other side. ;D
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One boy is already on the other side. ;D
Genius! Now what kind of hat was he wearing?
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One boy is already on the other side. ;D
Genius! Now what kind of hat was he wearing?
A sailor's hat? Or a boater?
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One boy is already on the other side. ;D
Correct. They are on opposite sides of the river. One crosses over using the boat, then the other takes the boat back to the opposite side.
The logic question requires us to:
a. Read the question carefully, and
b. Not make assumptions that are not explicit in the question.
(the assumption being that the boys are on the same side of the river)
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Burning rope
There are two lengths of rope.
Each one can burn in exactly one hour.
They are not necessarily of the same length or width as each other.
They also are not of uniform width (may be wider in middle than on the end), thus burning half of the rope is not necessarily 1/2 hour.
By burning the ropes, how do you measure exactly 45 minutes worth of time?
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You burn the ropes at the wooden door of a jewler's shop. The door burns down and you nick a wristwatch.
Finally - one right for me!
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Burning rope
There are two lengths of rope.
Each one can burn in exactly one hour.
They are not necessarily of the same length or width as each other.
They also are not of uniform width (may be wider in middle than on the end), thus burning half of the rope is not necessarily 1/2 hour.
By burning the ropes, how do you measure exactly 45 minutes worth of time?
You just use one rope. (Put the other in the dustbin.)
Then you light the other rope.
After quarter of an hour, you put the fire out.
The remainder of the rope that's left, when re-lit, will only burn for 45 minutes, so when it expires, you'll know 45 minutes has passed.
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Mary's mum has four children.
The first child is called April.
The second May.
The third June.
What is the name of the fourth child?
Herbert?
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You burn the ropes at the wooden door of a jewler's shop. The door burns down and you nick a wristwatch.
Finally - one right for me!
Good idea - lateral thinking - but wrong.
By burning the ropes, how do you measure exactly 45 minutes worth of time?
You just use one rope. (Put the other in the dustbin.)
Then you light the other rope.
After quarter of an hour, you put the fire out.
The remainder of the rope that's left, when re-lit, will only burn for 45 minutes, so when it expires, you'll know 45 minutes has passed.
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Wrong. You have no means of measuring time other than to burn the rope. You do have a lighter to light the rope though.
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You do have a lighter to light the rope though.
Okay - you use one of these: http://www.alibaba.com/member/mesolam.html/viewimg/photo/10797218/Hess_Lighter_Watch.jpg.html (http://www.alibaba.com/member/mesolam.html/viewimg/photo/10797218/Hess_Lighter_Watch.jpg.html)
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You have to somehow break the time down into quarters, so... half then half again, so...
I'm typing this as I'm thinking it, so there's a high probability that by the end of this message, none of it will have made sense. But frankly I'm not awake enough this evening to get it clear in my mind.
You can get half an hour from one rope by lighting both ends of the rope. This way, even if the rope isn't uniform and the two fires don't meet in the exact middle, they'll still meet once half of an hour has passed.
Presumably you can then use the second rope... Yes, if you light one end of the second rope at the same time as you light both ends of the first, then after half an hour the first rope has burnt out and you'll still have 30 minutes of burning left on the second rope. But if you then light the other end of the second rope, it will burn in half the time again, 15 minutes. Which I believe is a total of 45 minutes.
Heck, with the muddle my brain is in right now, it'll probably be easier if I just go out, buy some rope and film the solution for youtube, rather than try to explain it coherently.
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Lord Almighty - I'm just relieved I don't have a piece of rope beside me now.
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;D
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:) :) :) :) Excellent, Jack. Well done and a perfect explanation.
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You do have a lighter to light the rope though.
Okay - you use one of these: http://www.alibaba.com/member/mesolam.html/viewimg/photo/10797218/Hess_Lighter_Watch.jpg.html (http://www.alibaba.com/member/mesolam.html/viewimg/photo/10797218/Hess_Lighter_Watch.jpg.html)
;D ;D...my kind of logic, Peeps
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An oldie but still good:
What goes up a pipe down, but doesn't go down a pipe up?
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Mary Poppins' umbrella?
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Half right, Lil. I suspect that Mary Poppins' umbrella could go down the pipe up, considering what she can get in her bag. Mere mortals' umbrellas obviously cannot go down the pipe up. This is only correct for drainpipes and other small bore pipes.
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Hey Bilgepump - don't you think it would be more convenient to have a watch on your wrist, rather than carrying two ropes and a fag-lighter? Some places wouldn't take too kindly to having you light the ropes on their premises either, due to safety issues.
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An oldie but still good:
What goes up a pipe down, but doesn't go down a pipe up?
A pervy cat-burglar's trousers?
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An oldie but still good:
What goes up a pipe down, but doesn't go down a pipe up?
A pervy cat-burglar's trousers?
;D ;D ;D
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Hey Bilgepump - don't you think it would be more convenient to have a watch on your wrist, rather than carrying two ropes and a fag-lighter? Some places wouldn't take too kindly to having you light the ropes on their premises either, due to safety issues.
Personally, I prefer the aesthetics of a sundial wrist time-piece. one shouldn't be seen outside in sunny weather without one. it's sooo retro.
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I prefer the aesthetics of a sundial wrist time-piece
I have a luminous one so I can tell the time at night.