Riddles!

[j_menz]

its like you're giving yourself obscure hints.

Then why aren't they helping?

[ajspiano]

You know what? Screw you, you can just leave

I always found it weird that those who come up with an answer to a riddle are then not allowed to share it.

I could've been a lot more blunt.

Evidently it didn't help anyone anyway.

[davidjosepha]

I always found it weird that those who come up with an answer to a riddle are then not allowed to share it.

I could've been a lot more blunt.

Haha I know, I'm not upset that you shared the answer, just upset that you got the answer at all! Let's see if I can think of another one.

[j_menz]

you shared the answer

What! He did? When. It's Friday afternoon here, some of us are at our thickest! What have I missed?

[ajspiano]

What! He did? When. It's Friday afternoon here, some of us are at our thickest! What have I missed?

Well I didnt spell it out. - I gave you the key to the lock though..


To make you feel better david, I did spend a bit of time pursuing fairly fruitless avenues..

[davidjosepha]

What! He did? When. It's Friday afternoon here, some of us are at our thickest! What have I missed?

He hinted at it. Spoiler You're supposed to turn one of the switches on and leave it on for 5 minutes, then turn it off, the second turn on and leave on, and the third, leave alone. If the light bulb is on, it's the 2nd switch, if it's off but warm it's the first, if it's off and cool it's the third.

Here's an old Batman riddle that isn't exactly a riddle.

There are three men in a boat with 4 cigarettes but no matches. How do they manage to smoke?

For the solution...

[ajspiano]

There are three men in a boat with 4 cigarettes but no matches. How do they manage to smoke?

I presume they have a cigarette lighter..  or their boat is already on fire.

[davidjosepha]

a cigarette lighter

You're getting close but you probably don't realize why

[ajspiano]

You're getting close but you probably don't realize why

..There was 4 men, the other man had the last match and used it..  the 3 remaining men ambushed him (throwing him overboard), stole his lit ciggy and used it to light the remaining 3.

edit: or just they used the last match to light one and used it to light the rest..   4 cigs, no matches..  but one cig is already alight.

EDIT 2: They trade the 4th cig with pirates in exchange for matches.

[davidjosepha]

..There was 4 men, the other man had the last match and used it..  the 3 remaining men ambushed him (throwing him overboard), stole his lit ciggy and used it to light the remaining 3.

edit: or just they used the last match to light one and used it to light the rest..   4 cigs, no matches..  but one cig is already alight.

EDIT 2: They trade the 4th cig with pirates in exchange for matches.

I almost don't want to tell you the answer because it's so dumb

[ajspiano]

I almost don't want to tell you the answer because it's so dumb

looking at the youtube thing - I gathered it had to be something like that when you said I was getting close..   that alone means no smoking though - doesnt quite work.

[davidjosepha]

looking at the youtube thing - I gathered it had to be something like that when you said I was getting close..   that alone means no smoking though - doesnt quite work.

I told you it was stupid. Now I'm ashamed. But to make up for it, I'll post a riddle I haven't figured out the answer to yet (although I know where you can find the answer, should anyone want to check theirs).

A serial killer known for his hatred of stupid people (hence the puzzle) comes to a village of 100 people. He somehow rounds everyone up without the villagers turning on him and tells them the scenario for tomorrow. He'll line them up in a single file line with everyone facing the same way. He'll then put a black or white hat on each person's head and then starting from the back, ask each person what color hat they have. After each person answers, he'll shoot everyone that answered incorrectly. The village has one night to converse and think of a strategy to save the most people. How many people can be saved and how can you do it?
Some clarifications:
Assume each person can see every single hat in front of them.
Assume there is no additional way to pass information between people other than the word choice "black" or "white". (i.e. you cannot use inflection to indicate to the person in front of you what hat they have)
To determine how many people you save, only include those guaranteed to survive. Assume the killer can overhear the talk/strategy and will place hats accordingly to ensure the most die.
No mind game solutions like we'll pretend to do this strategy and thus make the killer put the hats down in such and such pattern.
There are no restraints on hats (i.e. possible that it could be all white, all black, 50/50, etc) Assume you don't know who lives/dies until the very end.

Hint: 99/100 people can be saved (guaranteed)

[ajspiano]

hmm..

If the first person says the colour thats in front of him..  he may or may not die..

The second person then knows.

The second person will then say his or her colour - using an upward inflection if the person infront has the same colour, and a downward one if its the opposite...   or any other hidden verbal signal.

This should guarantee 99 saves, potentially 100.

EDIT:
..wait.. i didnt read it properly
my bad.

[ajspiano]

Maybe this is still breaking the rules, but you could pause before saying the word, say 5 seconds or something..

Seems too obvious though now..


EDIT:

Remove the hat, look at it. You didnt say that wasnt allowed. 100 saved.

EDIT_EDIT:
No, its way more elegant than that. Works perfect, saves 99.

[davidjosepha]

Yeh, the suboptimal solution is every other person tells the person in front of them the color of their hat, but the killer hears their strategy so he plans accordingly so no one get's lucky and only 50/100 live

and no, the only way you can transfer information is saying "black" or "white" in a monotonous, no hidden meaning tone

By the way, I don't know the answer either so I'm really trying to figure this out. If 99/100 live, the one who dies logically has to be either the first or the last, because anywhere in the middle doesn't make sense. The endpoints are the only spots that would break a pattern...hmm...I really hope the answer isn't something stupid

[ajspiano]

Do you want the hint..? I can make it super subtle.

hmm...I really hope the answer isn't something stupid

Its not, really clever. - assuming I'm right.

[davidjosepha]

Do you want the hint..? I can make it super subtle.
Its not, really clever. - assuming I'm right.

No, I just got it, I was actually falling asleep thinking about it and thought, oh! One sec, I'll write up an explanation and you can see if it's what you got too.

Edit: Screw it, I'm too tired for an explanation of why it works, but the first person in line says "black" if there are an even number of white hats in front of him and "white" if there are an odd number.

[ajspiano]

Agreed.

[unholeee]

how do they deduce that black is for odd and white is for an even amount? if the only communication is one word black/white?

lets say the first guy says white - for uneven amount 92 white hats & 7 black hats - he dies he has a black hat. unlucky, take one for the team, hell 2pac got shot 5 times, he was black too. bang dead.

the second person can count 92 white hats, and 6 black hats. He knows the person behind was wrong because he was shot so he has a black hat. He also knows there is an uneven number of hats because the guy said white, but how is he in any different position to the other guy, if its to an extreme number of hats.

They would have to know the set number of hats? But if they did, they could all be saved, since the last guy could just count :/ Or it have to be in skew of 1 hat either way. hmm

- oh nevermind they could still count the 9x hats in front to deduce their answer. as the number of black hats wouldnt change based on what they could see in front. So the 2nd last guy counts 92/6 knows the amount of black hats is uneven, says black. They all know there is an even amount of black hats now.

[davidjosepha]

hell 2pac got shot 5 times, he was black too. bang dead.

yep, that's what I got out of the riddle too

how do they deduce that black is for odd and white is for an even amount? if the only communication is one word black/white?

They decide beforehand--they have a night to discuss. Also in response to your part about the guy shooting, it doesn't work that way--he doesn't kill anyone until after the entire thing is over, so the only people who know if you answered wrong and are about to die are the people behind you, who can see your hat color and hear what you answered.