5 Pirates

5 pirates of different ages have a treasure of 100 gold coins. On their ship, they decide to split the coins using this scheme: The oldest pirate proposes how to share the coins, and all pirates remaining will vote for or against it. If 50% or more of the pirates vote for it, then the coins will be shared that way. Otherwise, the pirate proposing the scheme will be thrown overboard, and the process is repeated with the pirates that remain. Assuming that all 5 pirates are intelligent, rational, greedy, and do not wish to die, (and are rather good at math for pirates) what will happen?

5 Pirates - Solution
The eldest pirate will propose a 97 : 0 : 1 : 0 : 2 split. Working backwards, splits in terms of younger to older: 2 Pirates: Pirate Two splits the coins 100 : 0 (giving all to the other pirate). Otherwise, and perhaps even then, Pirate One (the youngest) would vote against him and over he goes! 3 Pirates: Pirate Three splits the coins 0 : 1 : 99. Pirate One (the youngest) is going to vote against him no matter what (see above), but this way, Pirate Two will vote for him, to get at least one gold out of it. 4 Pirates: Pirate Four splits the coins 1 : 2 : 0 : 97. This way, Pirate One will vote for him, and so will Pirate Two - they're getting more than they would under 3 pirates. 5 Pirates: Pirate five splits the coins 2 : 0 : 1: 0 : 97. This way, Pirate One will vote for him, and so will Pirate Three - they're both getting better than they would under 4.

Apples and Friends

You have a basket containing ten apples. You have ten friends, who each desire an apple. You give each of your friends one apple. After a few minutes each of your friends has one apple each, yet there is an apple remaining in the basket. How?

Apples and Friends - Solution

Bags of Marbles

You have three bags, each containing two marbles. Bag A contains two white marbles, Bag B contains two black marbles, and Bag C contains one white marble and one black marble. You pick a random bag and take out one marble. It is a white marble. What is the probability that the remaining marble from the same bag is also white? 2/3 (not 1/2) You know that you do not have Bag B (two black marbles) so there are three possibilities You chose Bag A, first white marble. The other marble will be white You chose Bag A, second white marble. The other marble will be white You chose Bag C, the white marble. The other marble will be black So 2 out of 3 possibilities are white. Why not 1/2? You are selecting marbles, not bags.

Black and White Hats

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?

The man in front knew he was wearing a black hat because he knew the first man did not see two white hats and he knew that the second man did not see one white hat because if he saw a white hat, the second man would have known that his hat was black from hearing the first man's statement.

Burning Island

A man is stranded on an island covered in forest. One day, when the wind is blowing from the west, lightning strikes the west end of the island and sets fire to the forest. The fire is very violent, burning everything in its path, and without intervention the fire will burn the whole island, killing the man in the process. There are cliffs around the island, so he cannot jump off. How can the man survive the fire? (There are no buckets or any other means to put out the fire)

The man picks up a piece of wood and lights it from the fire on the west end of the island. He then quickly carries it near the east end of he island and starts a new fire. The wind will cause that fire to burn out the eastern end and he can then shelter in the burnt area. The man survives the fire, but dies of starvation, with all the food in the forest burnt.

Crates of Fruit

The Puzzle: You are on an island and there are three crates of fruit that have washed up in front of you. One crate contains only apples. One crate contains only oranges. The other crate contains both apples and oranges. Each crate is labeled. One reads "apples", one reads "oranges", and one reads "apples and oranges". You know that NONE of the crates have been labeled correctly - they are all wrong. If you can only take out and look at just one of the pieces of fruit from just one of the crates, how can you label ALL of the crates correctly?

The Solution . . .
Take a piece of fruit from the "apples and oranges" crate. If it's an apple then you know that is the "apples" crate since ALL THE CRATES ARE LABLED INCORRECTLY. This means the crate marked "apples" must be "oranges" and the crate marked "oranges" must be "apples and oranges".

Cut Cube

A solid, four-inch cube of wood is coated with blue paint on all six sides. Then the cube is cut into smaller one-inch cubes. These new one-inch cubes will have either three blue sides, two blue sides, one blue side, or no blue sides. How many of each will there be?

The Solution . . .
There are 24 with one side colored, 8 with three sides colored, 24 with two sides colored, and 8 with no sides colored.

Explain: Dead in The Field

In the middle of an otherwise empty field there lies a man wearing a pack. He is dead. There are no other clues visible. How did he die?

The Solution . . .
His parachute failed to open.

Explain: Elevator

A Man works on the 10th floor and always takes the elevator down to ground level at the end of the day. Yet every morning he only takes the elevator to the 7th floor and walks up the stairs to the 10th floor, even when is in a hurry. Why?

The Solution . . .
He is too short to reach the "10" button.

Explain: Glass of Water

A man walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a glass of water. But the bartender takes out a gun and aims it at the man's head. The man says "Thank You" and walks out. Why?

The Solution . . .
The man had hiccups. He wanted to cure it with a glass of water, but the bartender cured it by giving him a surprise.

Explain: Hospital

A Man carries his son into the hospital because his son has a nail in his foot. The Surgeon then walks in and says "I cannot operate on this boy he is my son". What is going on here?

The Solution . . .
The Surgeon is the boy's Mother.

Farmer Crosses River

A farmer wants to cross a river and take with him a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage. There is a boat that can fit himself plus either the wolf, the goat, or the cabbage. If the wolf and the goat are alone on one shore, the wolf will eat the goat. If the goat and the cabbage are alone on the shore, the goat will eat the cabbage. How can the farmer bring the wolf, the goat, and the cabbage across the river?

The Solution . . .
Farmer takes Goat across (leaving Wolf and Cabbage behind) Farmer returns alone Farmer takes Wolf across Famer returns with Goat * We now have the Farmer, the Cabbage and the Goat on one side and the Wolf on the other side Farmer takes Cabbage across Farmer returns alone Farmer takes Goat across

Four Adventurers and a Small Canoe

Four adventurers (Alex, Brook, Chris and Dusty) need to cross a river in a small canoe. The canoe can only carry 100kg. Alex weighs 90kg, Brook weighs 80kg, Chris weighs 60kg and Dusty weighs 40 kg, and they have 20kg of supplies. How do they get across?

The Solution . . .
Chris and Dusty row across, Dusty returns. Alex rows over, and Chris returns. Chris and Dusty row across again, Dusty returns. Brook rows across with the Supplies, and Chris returns. Chris and Dusty row across again for the last time. (Note: some variations on this are possible)

Four People Travel

Four people are traveling to different places on different types of transport. Their names are: Rachel, John, Mr.Jones and Cindy. They either went on train, car, plane or ship. * Mr.Jones hates flying * Cindy has to rent her vehicle * John gets seasick

The Solution . . .
Solution: Cindy: car, Mr.Jones: train, John: plane, and Rachel: ship.

Gears 1

There are five gears connected in a row, the first one is connected to the second one, the second one is connected to the third one, and so on. If the first gear is rotating clockwise what direction is the fifth gear turning?

The Solution . . .
Clockwise.

Gears 2

There are five gears connected in a row, the first one is connected to the second one, the second one is connected to the third one, and so on. How much faster would the last gear be if the second gear was twice the size of the first gear, and all the other gears were the same size as the first gear?

The Solution . . .
The last gear would be the same speed.

Girl and Boy

A boy and a girl are talking. "I am a boy" - said the child with black hair. "I am a girl" - said the child with white hair. At least one of them lied. Who is the boy and who is the girl?

The Solution . . .
They both lied. The child with the black hair is the girl, and the child with the white hair is the boy. (If only one lied they would both be boys or both be girls)

Knights and Knaves

There are three people (Alex, Brook and Cody), one of whom is a knight, one a knave, and one a spy. The knight always tells the truth, the knave always lies, and the spy can either lie or tell the truth. Alex says: "Cody is a knave." Brook says: "Alex is a knight." Cody says: "I am the spy." Who is the knight, who the knave, and who the spy?

The Solution . . .
Alex is a Knight Brook is a Spy Cody is a Knave Brook is not the knight, since if he is, then Alex would also be the knight. Cody is not the knight, since his statement would then be a lie. Therefore Alex is the knight. Hence Cody is the knave, and Brook is the spy.

Knights and Knaves 2

There are three people (Alex, Brook and Cody), one of whom is a knight, one a knave, and one a spy. The knight always tells the truth, the knave always lies, and the spy can either lie or tell the truth. They are brought before a judge who wants to identify the spy. Alex says: "I am not a spy." Brook says: "I am a spy." Now Cody is in fact the spy. The judge asks him: "Is Brook really a spy?" Can Cody give an answer so that he doesn't convict himself as a spy?

The Solution . . .
Cody should answer "No". Brook is either a knave or a spy. If Brook is a spy, then Alex is truthful and is therefore the knight. Alex is a Knight Brook is a Spy Cody is a Knave On the other hand, if Brook is the knave, there are two possibilities: Alex is a Spy Brook is a Knave Cody is a Knight or Alex is a Knight Brook is a Knave Cody is a Spy If Cody is either the knave or the knight, his answer to the question will be "No", and so the judge will not be able to draw a conclusion. On the other hand, Cody can answer "Yes" only if he is the spy.

Lying about their age

Alex, Brook, Cody, Dusty, and Erin recently found out that all of their birthdays were on the same day, though they are different ages. On their mutual birthday, they were jabbering away, flapping their gums about their recent discovery. And, lucky me, I was there. Some of the things that I overheard were... * Dusty said to Brook: "I'm nine years older than Erin." * Erin said to Brook: "I'm seven years older than Alex." * Alex said to Brook: "Your age is exactly 70% greater than mine." * Brook said to Cody: "Erin is younger than you." * Cody said to Dusty: "The difference between our ages is six years." * Cody said to Alex: "I'm ten years older than you." * Cody said to Alex: "Brook is younger than Dusty." * Brook said to Cody: "The difference between your age and Dusty's is the same as the difference between Dusty's and Erin's." Since I knew these people -- and how old they were, I knew that they were not telling the whole truth. After thinking about it, I realized that when one of them spoke to someone older, everything they said was true, but when speaking to someone younger, everything they said was false. How old is each person?

The Solution . . .
Alex is 30 Brook is 51 Cody is 55 Dusty is 46 Erin is 37 REASONING Let the ages and names of Alex, Brook, Cody, Dusty and Erin be A, B, C, D and E. C says to A, that C = A + 10. If C were younger than A, that would be lying, so C must be older than A. (But still lying.) We have A < C. C says to A, that B < D. As C > A, C is lying, so B > D. We have A < C, D < B.

D says to B, that D = E + 9. As D < B, D is telling the truth, so D > E. We have A < C, E < D < B, D = E + 9. E says to B, that E = A + 7. As E < B, E is telling the truth, so E > A. We have A < C, A < E < D < B, D = E + 9, E = A + 7. Since D = E + 9 and E = A + 7, D = A + 7 + 9 = A + 16. We have A < C, A < E < D < B, D = E + 9 = A + 16, E = A + 7. B says to C, that E < C. If B > C then B would be lying, so then E > C, and then A < C < E < D < B. However, C says to D, that C = D 6; since C < D, this gives C = D - 6. However, we have E = D - 9, which would make E < C, giving a contradiction. The assumption that B > C is therefore false, so B < C. We have A < E < D < B < C, D = E + 9 = A + 16, E = A + 7. A says to B, that B = (17/10)A. As A < B, A is telling the truth. We have A < E < D < B < C, B = (17/10)A, D = E + 9 = A + 16, E = A + 7. B says to C, that |C - D| = |D - E| ? |C - D| = 9. As B < C, B is telling the truth, so C = D + 9. As D = A + 16, C = A + 16 + 9 ? C = A + 25. We have A < E < D < B < C, B = (17/10)A, C = A + 25, D = A + 16, E = A + 7. Using D < B < C, we have A + 16 < (17/10)A < A + 25 ? 16 < (7/10)A < 25 ? 160/7 < A < 250/7 ? 22 + 6/7 < A < 35 + 5/7. Since B and A must both be whole numbers, and B = (17/10)A ? B - A = (7/10)A, (7/10)A must be a whole number. Hence A must be divisible by 10. The only whole number fitting 22 + 6/7 < A < 35 + 5/7 is A = 30. We have A = 30, B = (17/10)A, C = A + 25, D = A + 16, E = A + 7. Hence A = 30, B = 51, C = 55, D = 46, E = 37.

A VERBAL DESCRIPTION OF THE REASONING Cody tells Alex she's older than her by 10 years. If Cody is younger, she's lying, and that's impossible, so Cody must be older than Alex, just not by 10 years. FACT: Cody is older than Alex (but not by 10 years). Cody also lies to (younger) Alex that Brook is younger than Dusty. FACT: Dusty is older than Brook. Dusty tells the truth to (older) Brook that she's 9 years older than Erin.

FACT: Dusty is 9 years older than Erin. Erin tells the truth to (older) Brook that she's 7 years older than Alex. FACT: Erin is 7 years older than Alex. Alex tells the truth to (older) Brook that Brook's age is 70% greater than her own. For Brook's age to be a whole number, Alex's age must be a multiple of 10. Since Brook is older than Dusty, and Dusty is 7 + 9 = 16 years older than Alex, that means Brook has to be more than 16 years older than Alex. The lowest multiple of 7 greater than 16 is 21. FACT: Alex is at least 30 years old (and definitely a multiple of 10). At this point, Brook appears to be the oldest, lying lady. Let's assume that, and see if it works. In that case, Cody is lying to Dusty that the difference in their ages is 6 years, but Brook tells the truth to (older) Cody that the difference between Cody's age and Dusty's is the same as the difference between Dusty's and Erin's, namely, 9 years. Let's test this scenario, assuming Alex's age is 30. Then we get, from youngest to oldest: TESTING: Alex = 30, Erin = 37, Dusty = 46, Brook = 51, Cody = 55 Checking all statements and the age relations shows that this is an answer. Is this the only answer? If Alex's age was 40, then Brook's age would be 68, and Cody's age would be 65, so Cody would not be the oldest, and that would be a fatal flaw. If Alex is older than 30, Brook is older than Cody, and Cody is not the oldest. Hence, it must have been the only answer.

Marble Mix Up

Years ago, to puzzle his friends, a scientist gave one of four containers containing blue and/or yellow marbles to each of the friends; Tom, Dick, Harry, and Sally. There were 3 marbles in each container, and the number of blue marbles was different in each one. There was a piece of paper in each container telling which color marbles were in that container, but the papers had been mixed up and were ALL in the wrong containers. He then told all of his friends to take 2 marbles out of their container, read the label, and then tell him the color of the third marble. So Tom took two blue marbles out of his container and looked at the label. He was able to tell the color of the third marble immediately. Dick took 1 blue marble and 1 yellow marble from his container. After looking at his label he was able to

tell the color of his remaining marble. Harry took 2 yellow marbles from his container. He looked at the label in his container, but could not tell what color the remaining marble was. Sally, without even looking at her marbles or her label, was able to tell the scientist what color her marbles were. Can you tell what color marbles Sally had? Can you also tell what color marbles the others had, and what label was in each of their containers?

The Solution . . .
Tom took two blue marbles; his label said, "two blue one yellow", and this means he had to have three blue marbles because all of the labels were wrong. Dick took one blue marble and one yellow marble; his label said, "one blue and two yellows", so he had to have two blues and one yellow. Harry did not know what he had because he saw two yellow marbles and the label said, "three blue". Sally knew what she had because she knew what was left, two yellow marbles and one blue marble.

Matching Socks

You are about to leave for holiday, but you forgot socks! You race back to your room, but all the lights are off, so you can't see the color of the socks. Never mind, because you remember that in your drawer there are ten pairs of white socks, ten pairs of black socks, and eleven pairs of blue socks, but they are all mixed up. How many of your socks do you need to take before you can be sure to have at last one matching pair?

The Solution . . .
The answer is four. Although there are many socks in the drawer, there are only three colors, so if you take four socks then you are guaranteed to have at least one matching pair.

Missing Fish

Two fathers took their sons fishing. Each man and son caught one fish, but when they returned to camp there were only 3 fish. How could this be? (None of the fish were eaten, lost, or thrown back.)

The Solution . . .
There were only three people. The son, his father, and his grandfather.

Monty Hall

This is a famous puzzle based on the show "Let's make a deal". The host, Monty Hall, offers you a choice of three doors. Behind one is a sports car, but behind the other two are goats. After you have chosen one door, he reveals one of the other two doors behind which is a goat (he wouldn't reveal a car). Now he gives you the chance to switch to the other unrevealed door or stay at your initial choice. You will then get what is behind that door. You cannot hear the goats from behind the doors, or in any way know which door has the prize. Should you stay, or switch, or doesn't it matter?

The Solution . . .
Your first choice has a 1/3 chance of having the car, and that does not change. The other two doors HAD a combined chance of 2/3, but now a Goat has ben revealed behind one, all the 2/3 chance is with the other door. You better switch! (Unless you really want a goat)

Relative Picture

A man on a park bench is looking at a small portrait. You ask him, "Who is that in the picture?" The man says, "Brothers and sisters, I have none, but that man's father, is my father's son." Can you tell what person is in the picture?

The Solution . . .
The picture is of his son.

Shirt Friends

At a restaurant downtown, Mr. Red, Mr. Blue, and Mr. White meet for lunch. Under their coats they are wearing either a red, blue, or white shirt. Mr. Blue says, "Hey, did you notice we are all wearing different colored shirts from our names?" The man wearing the white shirt says, "Wow, Mr. Blue, that's right!" Can you tell who is wearing what color shirt?

The Solution . . .
Mr. Blue could only be wearing white or red and we know that there is already someone else wearing the white shirt so Mr. Blue could only be wearing the red shirt. Mr. White could have only been wearing a blue or a red shirt, and red is already taken, so Mr. White is wearing a blue shirt. Mr. Red now has to be wearing a white shirt.

Ten Balls in Five Lines

Place 10 balls in 5 lines in such a way that each line has exactly 4 balls on it.

The Solution . . .

Three Coaches, Three Athletes and a River

There are three Athletes (Alex, Brook and Chris) and their individual Coaches (Murphy, Newlyn and Oakley) standing on the shore. No Coach trusts their Athlete to be near any other Coach unless they are also with them. There is a boat that can hold a maximum of two persons. How can the six people get across the river?

The Solution . . .
Alex and Brook cross, Alex returns Alex and Chris cross, Chris returns Coaches Murphy and Newlyn cross to join their Athletes Brook and Newlyn return Newlyn and Oakley cross, Alex returns * All three Coaches are across Alex and Brook cross, Coach Oakley returns Chris and Coach Oakley cross. DONE!

Triplets

Three sisters are identical triplets. The oldest by minutes is Sarah, and Sarah always tells anyone the truth. The next oldest is Sue, and Sue always will tell anyone a lie. Sally is the youngest of the three. She sometimes lies and sometimes tells the truth. Victor, an old friend of the family's, came over one day and as usual he didn't know who was who, so he asked each of them one question. Victor asked the sister that was sitting on the left, "Which sister is in the middle of you three?" and the answer he received was, "Oh, that's Sarah." Victor then asked the sister in the middle, "What is your name?" The response given was, "I'm Sally." Victor turned to the sister on the right, then asked, "Who is that in the middle?" The sister then replied, "She is Sue." This confused Victor; he had asked the same question three times and received three different answers. Who was who?

Triplets - Solution

The Puzzle: Three sisters are identical triplets. The oldest by minutes is Sarah, and Sarah always tells anyone the truth. The next oldest is Sue, and Sue always will tell anyone a lie. Sally is the youngest of the three. She sometimes lies and sometimes tells the truth. Victor, an old friend of the family's, came over one day and as usual he didn't know who was who, so he asked each of them one question. Victor asked the sister that was sitting on the left, "Which sister is in the middle of you three?" and the answer he received was, "Oh, that's Sarah." Victor then asked the sister in the middle, "What is your name?" The response given was, "I'm Sally."

Victor turned to the sister on the right, then asked, "Who is that in the middle?" The sister then replied, "She is Sue." This confused Victor; he had asked the same question three times and received three different answers. Who was who?

The Solution . . .
The first one cannot be Sarah, because that would make the first one a liar. The second one cannot be Sarah for the same reason. So, the third sister must be Sarah. This means the middle one is Sue and the only one left is Sally.

Two Boys Cross a River

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.

The Solution . . .
The boys start on opposite sides of the river.