[GAME] Puzzle Corner

[Steve B]

the idea here is ... puzzles

a puzzle shall be given and you should try to solve it #2
the solver can post a new puzzle or state that they dont have one. in this case the next puzzle is posted by whoever manages to get in first. (the early poster gets the go)

here is the first puzzle:

there are two brick rooms seperated by a wooden door.
the rooms are both 25 feet long by 10 feet wide by 7 feet tall.
the door is half way along the 10 foot wall.
in room 1 there are three light switches on one wall. (a,b and c)
in room 2 there are three light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. (1,2 and 3)
each switch operates one bulb and only one bulb.
you are standing in room 1.
you have 2 minutes in this room.
in these 2 minutes you may play with the switches as much or as little as you like.
after the 2 minutes you are to stop using the switches, the door opens and you are taken into room 2.
the door closes and you are no longer given access to room 1.
you are now in room 2.

your task is to work out which switch operates which bulb.

how do you do this ?

[Rondo]

I think I have a solution, but it requires the additional assumption that all the bulbs are in the same state when the task begins. Can we make that assumption?

[Steve B]

all the light bulbs are off at the start of the task.

(i should of had that in the description )

[Rondo]

Okay then. In room one, flip switches a and b. Wait. Just before the door to room two opens, flip switch b again. Do nothing at all with switch c. Now, in room two, one of the bulbs will be on and the others will be off. The one that is on is controlled by switch a. One of the remaining bulbs was switched off just a moment earlier so it should be warm to the touch - that one's controlled by switch b. The one that's both dark and cool is controlled by switch c.

Am I right?

[Steve B]

Correct !

[Rondo]

I'll do one, then. This one's perhaps too much of a classic, but I couldn't think of a better one - hopefully there are people here who haven't heard it before. So, here we go:

Through some Kafkaesque turn of events you have been convicted of a crime and sentenced to death. You are given one last chance to save yourself, however: In your death row cell there are two exits, one leading to the execution chamber, the other one to freedom. Before you choose your exit you get to ask one question from either of two guards posted inside the cell. You know that one of the guards always tells the truth and the other one always lies, but you don't know which is which. What question do you ask to ensure your survival?

[Matrix]

Correct !

I was going to say "watch the direction of light as it streams under the door.... oh well.

[Steve B]

I'll do one, then. This one's perhaps too much of a classic, but I couldn't think of a better one - hopefully there are people here who haven't heard it before.

It is a classic, and i do know it.
i wont give the answer so someone else can have a guess.

[Mayhem]

I'll answer it though I don't have a puzzle to take it's place currently...

You ask one guard and point to one of the doors "If I asked the other guard, is this the door to freedom, what would he say?"

By virtue of the question, no matter which guard you ask, the right door would elicit a "no" response from either of them, and the wrong door would elicit a "yes" response.

If you want the specifics, then you can sit down with a piece of paper and map out the four possibilities yourself

[Rondo]

You ask one guard and point to one of the doors "If I asked the other guard, is this the door to freedom, what would he say?"

Yup, that'll work. Or, with a slight rephrase, you can have the right door pointed to you: "If I asked the other guard which door leads to death, what would he say?" Ask either one and he'll show you the door to freedom.

A new puzzle, anyone?

[Steve B]

another classic:

Three students checked into a hotel and paid the clerk £30 for a room (£10 each). When the hotel manager returned, he noticed that the clerk had incorrectly charged £30 instead of £25 for the room. The manager told the clerk to return £5 to the students. The clerk, knowing that the students would not be able to divide £5 evenly, decided to keep £2 and to give them only £3.

The students were very happy because they paid only £27 for the room (£9 each). However, if they paid £27 and the clerk kept £2, that adds up to £29. What happened to the other Pound?

[Mayhem]

It's silly maths time heh...

Technically the hotel only received £27 from the guests by virtue of what they paid (£30) then the clerk returning the refund (£3). £25 of it is left in the hotel till, the other £2 is now in the clerk's pocket

[Steve B]

thats right, its a twisted maths problem.
The trick is that you are not supposed to ADD the £2 to the £27 -- you have to SUBTRACT it! If you do this, you arrive at £25, which is what the hotel received as payment. The way the riddle is formulated is purposefully misleading -- and very effective in baffling people.
me for example .. it took me ages to figure it out.

your turn if you have one.

[Thunderer]

They would have actually paid 28 pounds total, not 27 as suggested, since the clerk kept two, therefore they would have been satisfied to pay 9.33333333333 pounds each not 9.

[Steve B]

A bear walks south for one kilometer, then it walks west for one kilometer, then it walks north for one kilometer and ends up at the same point from which it started. What color was the bear?