I have a super hard riddle posted underneath this one. It's there if anyone wants to answer it. But for the sake of keeping the riddles coming, I posted a slightly easier one to be answered. If someone answers below, then you post the next riddle.
There were three things on a table, and there were 4 people. They each got 1 thing, how did this happen?
Hard Riddle 10 straight-jacketed prisoners are on death row. Tomorrow they will be arranged in single file, all facing one direction. The guy in the front of the line (he can't see anything in front of him) will be called the 1st guy, and the guy in the back of the line (he can see the heads of the other nine people) will be called the 10th guy. An executioner will then put a hat on everyone's head; the hat will either be black or white, totally random. Prisoners cannot see the color of their own hat. The executioner then goes to the 10th guy and asks him what color hat he is wearing; the prisoner can respond with either "black" or "white". If what he says matches the color of the hat he's wearing, he will live. Else, he dies. The executioner then proceeds to the 9th guy, and asks the same question, then asks the 8th guy ... this continues until all of the prisoners have been queried.
This is the night before the execution. The prisoners are allowed to get together to discuss a plan for maximizing the number of lives saved tomorrow. What is the optimal plan?
Hint: Guaranteed that 9 survive.
BEHOLD!!! The 88 Plymouth Sundance!!
I'm working under the assumption that the only sources of information available to each prisoner are 1) Seeing the hats of the people in front of him in line, and 2) The answers of the people behind him in line. And possibly 3) The knowledge of whether the person behind him in line has died or not, after answering.
1) Given that the hats are "totally random", seeing the colors of the hats in front of you doesn't give you any help as to what color YOUR hat is. No information is imparted.
2) By extension, given that 9 out of 10 people have to say the correct colors of their OWN hats, and given that their hats are "totally random", that means that 9/10 people are going to say an answer that is totally random, from the perspective of all other people in line. That means the prisoners are precluded from imparting any information to the people in front of them by way of their own answers, i.e. their answers will be as "totally random" as each of their individual hats.
3) Given that 9/10 people survive, their life / death will impart no information to the people in front of them. Each will live regardless of whether the hat on his head is white or black.
That leaves everything to the 10th person in line; since he's assumed to die anyways, he's free to use any means to communicate with people in front of him. i.e. his answer is the only one that's variable. So what means of imparting information are available to the 10th person?
The 10th person in line has no control over his own death, because as I said, it's a 50/50 chance for him. So this leaves him with one bit of information: he can say either black or white. It's impossible to impart 9 yes/no answers to the people in front of him, via one bit of information.
I think the riddle is stated incorrectly, unless I'm missing something. I see two ways this riddle could work:
1) There is more starting information for the prisoners. Do they perhaps know beforehand how many hats of each color there are?
2) There is another method of imparting information, i.e. I'm either missing something or the prisoners break the rules (*cough" before answering means "The guy's hat in front of me is black"). The latter is not a very satisfying answer to the riddle.
Amazingly enough, you don't need any more information than is stated to solve this riddle, and the only thing that the guys can say is black or white. Like it states in the title, it's very difficult, but good observations.
Does anyone know the answer to the items riddle?
BEHOLD!!! The 88 Plymouth Sundance!!
Probably not right but:
1 cough black 2 coughs white(or vice-versa). They cough before they're shot so the person in front can guess right.
EG: (9 = white.)
10:*guessing* "cough... black cough"
he coughs 2 times so 9 knows he's white. That way at least 9 people would survive.
yeh but the first dude that has nobody in front of him cud probly see what colour was goin on.....--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Probably not right but:
1 cough black 2 coughs white(or vice-versa). They cough before they're shot so the person in front can guess right.
EG: (9 = white.)
10:*guessing* "cough... black cough"
he coughs 2 times so 9 knows he's white. That way at least 9 people would survive.
Sephiro this here.
M&M's No.1 Fan is on the right track, but you can't cough during asking time.
Hint: The actual survival rate of everyone is 95%, but it's guaranteed to allow 90% to survive.
BEHOLD!!! The 88 Plymouth Sundance!!
Each prisoner can see the hat of the person in front of them? Well, the tenth prisoner ahs a 50/50 shot at dying because no one can see his hat, but the best plan to work out would be to say the color or the opposite of the color of the person in front of you's hat. But then that doesn't make sense either. I don't know. Hmm.
Signature by rubah. I think.
Then there could be something like, kick the left heel of the person in front of you for black, and kick the right heel of the person in front of you for white, or visa versa.
Well, something of the like, it seems to make sense to me. Also, it would be possible to pull this sort of thing off without attracting the attention of the guard, or executioner.
Well, good guess, but assume you can only say "black" or "white" during examination time.
BEHOLD!!! The 88 Plymouth Sundance!!
No. 10 says the colour of the hat in front of him. There is a chance he has the same colour hat.
No. 9 then says what 10 said. BUT, if the colour of No. 8's hat is the same he says "Whiiite." or "Blaaack." As if he was thinking as he was saying it.
No. 8 then says what 9 said, if 9 said "Whiiiite" or "Blaaack". If the colour of the hat in front is not the same colour as yours, you just say "White." or "Black." and the person in front knows that they should say the opposite.
It may not be what you're thinking, but it works with a guaranteed 90% living, and possible 100%.
I'd prefer it if they all died however.
That or "They can see the hat as it goes on their heads lolololololololololol"
Last edited by Quindiana Jones; 10-07-2006 at 05:03 PM.
Riddles aren't like that, though. Most riddles are fairly easy things to figure out if you're logical. Answers aren't hidden, aren't varying, and are generally pretty equitable if you're a decently functioning human being. So it doesn't follow that using a variant in the way you commmunicate would be the answer. My_car etc. has already said that one can't cough while they're speaking, so why would they be able to stretch their words?
The more I think on it, the more I believe this is a joke or a bad riddle. Not because I can't deduce it, but because I can't see how it could be dedeuced.
Signature by rubah. I think.
I looked up the answer. Neat.