I heard one last weekend that i liked (partly because I got it :smarty:).
A husband and wife are driving fast from the country to the city, when their car runs out of gas and comes to a halt. The husband leaves the car and goes down the road to go get some gas. Before leaving he tells his wife to lock all the doors.
When he gets back to the car, he finds his wife dead and a stranger in the car. All the doors are still locked.
You're allowed to ask unlimited yes or no questions.
You mention speed, they're in a hurry. From country to city. To hospital? Wife dead from complication and the strange is a baby?
Liep beat me to it.
I was going to say that the wife unlocked the car to let the stranger in, then he killed her and locked the door again. :hmm: The baby story might make more sense, though.
Nice Liep. :ccr
Same rules as history: winner can ask one or pass.
Quote from: DGuller on June 12, 2013, 06:07:49 PM
I was going to say that the wife unlocked the car to let the stranger in, then he killed her and locked the door again. :hmm: The baby story might make more sense, though.
That was my first thought but then realized it made no sense to have the stranger lock themselves in the car after the murder. Then I noticed the bit about travelling fast from the country to city... and the rest fell together.
Right, I don't know many, but I do like this one and it took me a good while to get the reasoning straight. It's a classic, though, so it's likely not new to many.
"Three wise men are told to stand in a straight line, one in front of the other. A hat is put on each of their heads. They are told that each of these hats was selected from a group of five hats: two black hats and three white hats. The first man, standing at the front of the line, can't see either of the men behind him or their hats. The second man, in the middle, can see only the first man and his hat. The last man, at the rear, can see both other men and their hats.
None of the men can see the hat on his own head. They are asked to deduce its color. Some time goes by as the wise men ponder the puzzle in silence. Finally the first one, at the front of the line, makes an announcement: "My hat is white."
He is correct. How did he come to this conclusion?"
Ooh, I know. But I don't have a puzzle to ask, so I'll let others solve it.
The man at the back is quiet. Had he seen two black hats he would have known his own hat was white. So the front two guys have at least one white hat.
The guy in the middle is quiet. Had he seen one black hat he would have known that his own hat was white. So the guy at the front knows that his own hat is white.
Quote from: Viking on June 12, 2013, 06:18:48 PM
The man at the back is quiet. Had he seen two black hats he would have known his own hat was white. So the front two guys have at least one white hat.
The guy in the middle is quiet. Had he seen one black hat he would have known that his own hat was white. So the guy at the front knows that his own hat is white.
:yes: Either that, or the front guy over-estimated how quick at deducing things the other two guys are, and got lucky anyway.
Fast! Did you know it? It took our group a good 15-20 minutes to get it, of course we getting pretty drunk on vodka at the same time.
Good thread, btw. If this continues I'll have a lot of procrastinating to do tomorrow.
Nice Puff. :ccr
(Liep: Puff, aka Puffin Boy, aka Viking.)
Quote from: Liep on June 12, 2013, 06:24:04 PM
Fast! Did you know it? It took our group a good 15-20 minutes to get it, of course we getting pretty drunk on vodka at the same time.
I solved it many years ago. But I solved if fair and square that time. Unlike DGuller I have a puzzle, similar to the death in childbirth puzzle above.
Late at night a man drives his car to his place of work. He turns on his fm radio. He hears only static. He pulls out his gun and shoots himself in the head. Why did he kill himself?
Is the FM significant? Do we have to know anything about the characteristics of FM waves?
There is a period of silence which means the third man sees a white hat and so stays quiet because he does not know what colour hat he has - ie he doesnt see two black hats so his could be either black or white.
The second man is also quiet which means the first man's hat must be white. If it was black the middle man would know that his hat was white.
edit: nevermind
Again, any yes and no questions. No special knowledge of the technical details of frequency modulation needed. But, seriously you should realize that there is no such thing as FM waves. FM is a way of encoding information into radio waves.
Deaf or has become deaf.
He heard a man's voice singing in the car. He realized he had been cuckolded when the radio didn't work.
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 12, 2013, 06:33:26 PM
Deaf or has become deaf.
He hears static :contract:
Quote from: Admiral Yi on June 12, 2013, 06:34:15 PM
He heard a man's voice singing in the car. He realized he had been cuckolded when the radio didn't work.
While not the answer, show your reasoning, how did you get there?
Quote from: Viking on June 12, 2013, 06:36:12 PM
While not the answer, show your reasoning, how did you get there?
He asked his wife who was that singing in the car, wife said it was the radio. When the radio didn't work he knew it was a man.
Quote from: Viking on June 12, 2013, 06:27:55 PMI solved it many years ago. But I solved if fair and square that time. Unlike DGuller I have a puzzle, similar to the death in childbirth puzzle above.
Late at night a man drives his car to his place of work. He turns on his fm radio. He hears only static. He pulls out his gun and shoots himself in the head. Why did he kill himself?
Is his place of work a radio broadcaster or otherwise related to radio broadcasting?
He killed himself because he realized that mankind had been wiped out in a thermonuclear holocaust.
It's a The Mist-kind of situation. He fears the worst and preëmptively shoots himself.
Quote from: Jacob on June 12, 2013, 06:43:16 PM
Quote from: Viking on June 12, 2013, 06:27:55 PMI solved it many years ago. But I solved if fair and square that time. Unlike DGuller I have a puzzle, similar to the death in childbirth puzzle above.
Late at night a man drives his car to his place of work. He turns on his fm radio. He hears only static. He pulls out his gun and shoots himself in the head. Why did he kill himself?
Is his place of work a radio broadcaster or otherwise related to radio broadcasting?
Yes
Quote from: Liep on June 12, 2013, 06:44:56 PM
It's a The Mist-kind of situation. He fears the worst and preëmptively shoots himself.
No
Quote from: Admiral Yi on June 12, 2013, 06:44:25 PM
He killed himself because he realized that mankind had been wiped out in a thermonuclear holocaust.
and No
It's Greece, he realises that the government just fired him.
Because he was supposed to be on-air at the time?
Or through some other failure to perform a work function?
Quote from: Liep on June 12, 2013, 06:53:31 PM
It's Greece, he realises that the government just fired him.
No
Quote from: Admiral Yi on June 12, 2013, 06:53:46 PM
Because he was supposed to be on-air at the time?
Yes
Is that it, or do you need more?
Quote from: Admiral Yi on June 12, 2013, 06:57:54 PM
Is that it, or do you need more?
I need more. Ditching work is not reason for suicide.
Basically I answer yes and no questions until somebody can come up with the missing bits from the story.
Is this one of those multi-stage ones, like since he was late for work he knew someone had fucked with his alarm clock, since someone had fucked with his alarm clock he knew....?
Yeah, I think we have to figure out why it was such a big deal why he wasn't on air.
Was it a civilian radio station?
... a military one?
... a government one?
Did the man face personal bankruptcy for his failure to be on air?
Did the man trigger terrible personal repercussions for his failure to be on air?
Did the man trigger large scale death due to his failure to be on the air?
Was the man late for work?
He had set his watch back from summertime, but then he remembered that Medvedev abolished it, and then he remembered that Putin is now president, and that was just too much to bear.
I think I'll sleep on this one. :P
Quote from: Jacob on June 12, 2013, 07:03:58 PM
Yeah, I think we have to figure out why it was such a big deal why he wasn't on air.
Was it a civilian radio station?
Yes
Quote from: Jacob on June 12, 2013, 07:03:58 PM
... a military one?
No
Quote from: Jacob on June 12, 2013, 07:03:58 PM
... a government one?
No
Quote from: Jacob on June 12, 2013, 07:03:58 PM
Did the man face personal bankruptcy for his failure to be on air?
No
Quote from: Jacob on June 12, 2013, 07:03:58 PM
Did the man trigger terrible personal repercussions for his failure to be on air?
Yes
Quote from: Jacob on June 12, 2013, 07:03:58 PM
Did the man trigger large scale death due to his failure to be on the air?
No
Quote from: Jacob on June 12, 2013, 07:03:58 PM
Was the man late for work?
No
Did his failure cause small scale loss of life?
Quote from: Admiral Yi on June 12, 2013, 07:09:43 PM
Did his failure cause small scale loss of life?
The entire point here is that his failure causes the loss of his own life.... but, apart from that one sucide.
No.
I'm going to bed, if anybody cares, I'll continue this tomorrow.
The late at night bit still hasn't been asked about or included in any theory.
If you leave when you're pitching, I propose you put the answer in spoiler mode. That way someone else can handle the pitching chores in your absence.
Fair enough, lets keep going then...
Is he still in his car?
Does he usually work late at night?
Is the reason he was late significant?
Quote from: Admiral Yi on June 13, 2013, 07:10:22 AM
Is the reason he was late significant?
Quote from: Jacob on June 12, 2013, 07:03:58 PM
Was the man late for work?
No
When a man isn't late for work, but, happens to be absent when he should be at work, what does that imply?
He broadcasts on the radio at night and carries a gun. He has a place of work (which could be his house, I suppose - the puzzle doesn't say where he is driving from). When he isn't broadcasting, no one replaces him. When no one replaces him, he kills himself, even though he isn't late for work.
Hmmm. Good puzzle.
Okay, he maybe left the station when he shouldn't have, running a tape or whatever to cover his absence, and the tape ran out or broke or something.
Still doesn't seem like a suicidal blunder.
Quote from: grumbler on June 13, 2013, 07:33:14 AM
Okay, he maybe left the station when he shouldn't have, running a tape or whatever to cover his absence, and the tape ran out or broke or something.
Still doesn't seem like a suicidal blunder.
Yes.
In what circumstance would this be a suicidal blunder?
Quote from: Viking on June 13, 2013, 07:35:00 AM
Yes.
In what circumstance would this be a suicidal blunder?
He drove home to kill his wife, planning to use the fact that he was on air as his alibi.
Quote from: grumbler on June 13, 2013, 07:38:09 AM
Quote from: Viking on June 13, 2013, 07:35:00 AM
Yes.
In what circumstance would this be a suicidal blunder?
He drove home to kill his wife, planning to use the fact that he was on air as his alibi.
We have a winner. When he turned on the radio he realized that he lost his alibi after doing the deed.
Alternative versions of this have him turning on the radio and hearing about some significant dramatic event which mean that his pre-recorded show is obviously pre-recorded.
Okay, here's one that I enjoyed in the past.
There are three switches downstairs. Each corresponds to one of the three light bulbs in the attic. You can turn the switches on and off and leave them in any position. How would you identify which switch corresponds to which light bulb, if you are only allowed one trip upstairs?
Quote from: grumbler on June 13, 2013, 07:54:02 AM
Okay, here's one that I enjoyed in the past.
There are three switches downstairs. Each corresponds to one of the three light bulbs in the attic. You can turn the switches on and off and leave them in any position. How would you identify which switch corresponds to which light bulb, if you are only allowed one trip upstairs?
Switch two on for a while, then switch one off and go upstairs.
One light will be burning, one will still be warm, the other cold.
Quote from: Maladict on June 13, 2013, 07:59:18 AM
Quote from: grumbler on June 13, 2013, 07:54:02 AM
Okay, here's one that I enjoyed in the past.
There are three switches downstairs. Each corresponds to one of the three light bulbs in the attic. You can turn the switches on and off and leave them in any position. How would you identify which switch corresponds to which light bulb, if you are only allowed one trip upstairs?
Switch two on for a while, then switch one off and go upstairs.
One light will be burning, one will still be warm, the other cold.
Yep. Should have left in the "blind man" part, but that adds trivial complications.
Nice. :ccr:
Addendum to the rules: if you already know the answer (this has nothing to do with you Maladict), and wish to claim the next pitch, give the answer in spoiler. That will give others who haven't heard it before a chance to work it out for funsies.
I actually worked that one out all by myself :smarty:
I've got nothing, open floor.
Quote from: Viking on June 13, 2013, 07:40:38 AM
Quote from: grumbler on June 13, 2013, 07:38:09 AM
Quote from: Viking on June 13, 2013, 07:35:00 AM
Yes.
In what circumstance would this be a suicidal blunder?
He drove home to kill his wife, planning to use the fact that he was on air as his alibi.
We have a winner. When he turned on the radio he realized that he lost his alibi after doing the deed.
Alternative versions of this have him turning on the radio and hearing about some significant dramatic event which mean that his pre-recorded show is obviously pre-recorded.
That's a terrible alibi, unless the cops just don't investigate at all.
A man works in an office building. When he goes to work, he enters the lobby and gets on the elevator on the first floor. Some days he rides the elevator all the way up to the 14th floor where he works. Other days, he gets off the elevator on the 11th floor and walks up to the 14th floor. At the end of the day, he always gets on the elevator on the 14th floor and rides it all the way down to the first floor.
Answer, as I might not be available all the time:
[spoiler]He's a midget. He can't reach the button for the 14th floor. Now I am going to type in a bunch of filler so that the length of the answer can't be used as a clue. Four score and seven years ago our forefathers did something or other. Death to the unions. Lalalalalalalalallalala. [/spoiler]
What's the question?
Assuming that it is "why does he sometimes get off at the 11th floor?" I'd guess that there are some elevators that only go to the 11th floor, so if he ends up on one of those he has to take the stairs the rest of the way up.
Why does he do that?
For exercise
No to both.
This is an old one that I got immediately when I first came across it years ago, for some reason it foxes quite a lot of people though.
If you want to claim the next pitch Tricky, feel free.
Yeah, I remember the answer to this one as well. Deferring to Richard.
Girlfriend works on the 11th floor?
I like this thread. :)
The man is a construction worker involved with building the building. When he started the elevator only went to the 11th floor, but now it goes to the 14th
No to both, although I like the Max option.
I haven't got a puzzle :(
Here's a clue, I may have found this puzzle easy due to a visit to a tall building as a child.
Hmm,
[spoiler]The answer seems kind of bogus. It would be easy enough for the midget to have a cane or other stick like object to poke the 14th floor button if no one else was there. Certainly easier than walking 3 floors up.[/spoiler]
Frunk, we just had a puzzle where the answer was a radio prerecorded show used a an alibi for murder.
Bogus, it happens.
Quote from: Grey Fox on June 13, 2013, 10:32:11 AM
Frunk, we just had a puzzle where the answer was a radio prerecorded show used a an alibi for murder.
Bogus, it happens.
Yeah, I don't really like those.
Does he do anything on the 11th floor?
He is a janitor, he sometimes starts clening from the 11th and works his way up? :hmm:
The "child" clue confuses me. :wacko:
I am about to cheat, I have little self control. :(
Quote from: lustindarkness on June 13, 2013, 10:39:01 AM
He is a janitor, he sometimes starts clening from the 11th and works his way up? :hmm:
He works only on the 14th floor.
QuoteI am about to cheat, I have little self control. :(
Man up.
Damn it.
How about a cafeteria on the 11th floor, so if he did not eat breakfast at home, he will get it there on the 11th floor?
I am running low on ideas. must. not.scroll.up....
No.
There is a coffee machine on the 11th floor, and afterwards he can't be arsed to wait for the elevator on the 11th floor? On the way down, he kinda has to wait either way, so he may as well save himself the physical exercise.
Are the other days the weekend?
There are express and local elevators in the building, and he takes the first one available? Sometimes it's a local, sometimes it's express. I guess 11th floor is an express stop, and the 14th floor isn't?
Quote from: Viking on June 13, 2013, 10:34:56 AM
Does he do anything on the 11th floor?
Did this question get answered?
Quote from: Viking on June 13, 2013, 10:55:35 AM
Quote from: Viking on June 13, 2013, 10:34:56 AM
Does he do anything on the 11th floor?
Did this question get answered?
Getting out of the elevator is anything.
No to Liep, no squared to Guller.
A different clue of sort.
While Crazy Canuck would have no trouble always getting off on the 14th floor, Peter might never reach it.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on June 13, 2013, 10:59:28 AM
Quote from: Viking on June 13, 2013, 10:55:35 AM
Quote from: Viking on June 13, 2013, 10:34:56 AM
Does he do anything on the 11th floor?
Did this question get answered?
Getting out of the elevator is anything.
No to Liep, no squared to Guller.
Does he do anything specific to being on the 11th floor on the 11th floor apart from getting out of the elevator, moving to the staircase and starting to climb the stairs?
(when the questions start looking like the ones philosophers ask about the nature of conciousness and being then I suppose the game might be going a bit too far)
Quote from: Viking on June 13, 2013, 11:04:52 AM
Does he do anything specific to being on the 11th floor on the 11th floor apart from getting out of the elevator, moving to the staircase and starting to climb the stairs?
No.
Enough with the kibbitzing. :mad:
He's not tall enough to reach the 14th button, so has to rely on somebody else?
Quote from: Liep on June 13, 2013, 11:06:08 AM
He's not tall enough to reach the 14th button, so has to rely on somebody else?
Yes. You have the floor.
Seriously? :lol: That was a reach (pun intended).
Now I get RH's clue. :P
The time had come when the father of two sons was to decide who would receive his fortune.
They both kneeled before the aged man as he spoke. "You will both race your camels to the nearest city. The owner of whichever camel arrives at the gates second will receive my fortunes."
Confused, both men rode their camels toward the city, step by step, as slow as they could. As luck would have it, the Great Sage was passing by. Seeing him, they pleaded for his wisdom.
"How might we resolve this such that it doesn't take the rest of our lives," said the first man.
"And yet it must be in a competitive manner," added the second. "Neither of us are willing to concede."
The Great Sage stroked his beard and shared his wisdom.
On hearing his advice, both men ran back to the camels and raced toward the city as fast as they could.
What was the Great Sage's suggestion?
They switched camels.
Quote from: frunk on June 13, 2013, 11:14:31 AM
They switched camels.
Yes, a bit easy, but it was the only one I could think of.
Little person, midget is not pc anymore. :D
I had not heard the camels one, pretty good.
Next.?
Quote from: lustindarkness on June 13, 2013, 11:27:10 AM
Little person, midget is not pc anymore. :D
I had not heard the camels one, pretty good.
Next.?
Imp will return as the preferred phrase for stunted dwarfish midgets.
Don't have one, so open floor.
Quote from: frunk on June 13, 2013, 11:40:16 AM
Don't have one, so open floor.
An easy one. What goes up but never down?
Age?
My ex-wife never went down :(
A man walks into a bar and asks for a glass of water. The bartender reaches under the bar, pulls out a handgun, points it at the man's head, and pulls the trigger. The gun is not loaded. The first man says thank you and walks out of the bar.
I have a feeling I might have heard it before, so:
[spoiler]Hiccup? The gun was to shock it out of him.[/spoiler]
Yup
Quote from: frunk on June 13, 2013, 11:14:31 AM
They switched camels.
I'd seen this one as a bicycle race, I think in Encyclopedia Brown.
No one else gonna bite Yi's puzzle? I yield the floor at any rate. Can't think of anything right now.
Already looked at your spoiler.
Quote from: Liep on June 13, 2013, 12:35:36 PM
I have a feeling I might have heard it before, so:
[spoiler]Why are you reading the spolier again? this is a quote.[/spoiler]
Yes, heard this one before.
I'm not reading it again, stop accusing me. :mad:
:D
:lol: