for the gamblers amongst you

[Mince]

There are three glasses of whiskey on the bar. Two of them are poisoned. You have to choose one of the glasses and drink from it.

You choose one of the glasses, and the barman stops you: "Now that you have chosen one, and before you drink from it, I am going to remove one of these remaining two glasses. The one that I remove has poison in it." He removes one of the glasses, leaving the other glass on the bar.

The barman then say: "You may now either drink from the glass you have chosen or change your mind and drink from the glass on the bar."

What should you do?


1. Drink from the glass you have chosen.

2. Drink from the glass on the bar.

3. It does not matter which one you drink from.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

Was this before the pub smoking ban?

[Mince]

Perhaps.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

Not much help, are you? 

[Mince]

You have a brain, don't you.

Go on. Venture an answer. Stick your neck out.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

I don't like whiskey...or whisky.

[Mince]

I don't think that's an option.

Let's assume that if you don't choose, you're a big girl with ponytails.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

Ah! Well, you didn't say that initially, so the question was incomplete. I'll have a think about it, but I've got to go out for the rest of the day.

[The Peepmaster]

It's easy. Just order a beer instead. Okay, you've wasted a drink, but the risk could have killed you, so it was worth the sacrifice. Also, if you're driving, leave the car and get a taxi. It isn't worth it.

[The Peepmaster]

I think the barman had decide he was going to pinch one of your drinks anyway, regardless of whether or not you'd picked up the "clean" one. It doesn't sound like he's the kind of bloke you want to call your friend, Mince, even if you're desperate for mates.

Firstly, you should knock him off your Xmas-card list. He's not worth it. Has he got a girl-friend? (Or boy-friend). They should be warned if he's that callous.

It's all very suspicious. I would be so wary. If he said something straight-forward like: "I'll give you Mr Jackson's phone number for ?300", it would be better. At least, however bad the whole thing sounded, you would know what you were agreeing to.

I'm also uncomfortable about a phone number being worth 300 quid. That's got to have "Mr Big" written all over it, or "Writ Large" as trendy folk would have it. I don't want to know Mr Big, 'cos he doesn't represent anything I aspire to.

Mince - you're on your own. You got yourself into this mess, and although I sympathise, I can't help you. Don't phone Mr Jackson. Only an idiot would chuck away ?300 for his phone number, and I wouldn't want it to be you, (in case it reflected badly on this website). Tarquin will back me up on this, I'm sure.

[Mince]

Are there more than zero people who are interested in venturing an answer?

[Roger Kettle]

Well, I certainly think Peeps has had a cocktail or two.
Is this conundrum related to the one about asking a liar which gate has a lion behind it?

[Mince]

Is this conundrum related to the one about asking a liar which gate has a lion behind it?

No, the barman tells the truth. It's a question of weighing the odds.

[Roger Kettle]

Okay, since I'm going to have my dinner in a minute, I'll have the drink I've already chosen. Cheers. GLUUAARGH!

[Mince]

Okay, here is the answer.

Choosing to drink from the other glass doubles your chances of living.