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General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: capt. apathy on November 14, 2003, 11:41:11 AM

Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: capt. apathy on November 14, 2003, 11:41:11 AM
here's a few of my favorites-


I have 2 standard issue US coins,  their combined face value is $.55,  however, one of them is not a nickle.  what are they?

_____________________________ __________

lets go back to the time before CD's-  how many more grooves are there on a 33 1/3-rpm album, than a 45-rpm single?

_____________________________ __________

an electrician is left alone to finish up the last of a wiring job.  he's almost done, but faced with a problem.
 
on the first floor of the building (which is also where he currently is), there are 3 switches labeled A,B, & C.  these switches  operate 3 lights on the second floor.  his task is to put the labels on the lights that correspond with the switch that operates them.

here's the problem-  the wiring is all covered so he can't trace the wires, and his boss has taken the wiring plans with him.  all he has to go on is checking to see which switch operates which light.

to further complicate things- there are no windows or other means to tell which lights are on while he is on the first floor.  also he's been left with no keys and the doors (from outside to 1st floor, between first and second floor, and second floor to outside stairs)all lock as he goes through them.  so he can't come back to the 1st floor.

he has nothing to prop doors open with and there is a door at the top and bottom of the stairs.  so once he can see which lights are on, he can no longer go back and reposition the switches.

so here's the question- how can he position the switches on the first floor so that he'll know for certain which light goes with which switch, all in one try?
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: vorticon on November 14, 2003, 11:46:02 AM
1. a 50c peice and a nickel...one isnt a nickel...:p
2. im to young for that
3.
Quote
so here's the question- how can he position the switches on the first floor so that he'll know for certain which light goes with which switch, all in one try?

as this is the real question in that lengthy explanation...he just has to turn them on and go look from the stairwell...it says nothing about labeling them now does it?
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: rabbidrabbit on November 14, 2003, 11:49:35 AM
2)  They both have one groove-- I think.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: capt. apathy on November 14, 2003, 11:49:55 AM
you're right on the first one.

wrong on the 3rd.
Quote
he has nothing to prop doors open with and there is a door at the top and bottom of the stairs. so once he can see which lights are on, he can no longer go back and reposition the switches.


Quote
his task is to put the labels on the lights that correspond with the switch that operates them.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: capt. apathy on November 14, 2003, 11:51:01 AM
rabbidrabbit, wrong answer
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: AWMac on November 14, 2003, 12:03:43 PM
Each record has 2 grooves, one on each side.

:aok
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: vorticon on November 14, 2003, 12:17:42 PM
capot apathy... your missed SO THE QUESTION IS sure labeling was part of the "problem" but NOT part of the question...maybe you should rephrase it...


since noone has answered number 2 correctly (question was how many MORE does it have) im going to beat the to it

the answer is 0
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: AKIron on November 14, 2003, 01:10:09 PM
The light switches is pretty good one. Already know the answer so I won't spoil it.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: capt. apathy on November 14, 2003, 01:13:14 PM
1 &2 are answered.  

3. is phrased corectly,  his task is to put the propper lables on the lights on the second floor.  the question is how does he do it?
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: capt. apathy on November 14, 2003, 01:15:18 PM
thanks Iron.  if you've heard them before it's always more fun to let guys try and figure it out.  

this one took me longer than any other(that I didn't have to give up on) to figure out.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: john9001 on November 14, 2003, 01:46:20 PM
#3...so here's the question- how can he position the switches on the first floor so that he'll know for certain which light goes with which switch, all in one try?


__________________

answer....he can't.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: MrCoffee on November 14, 2003, 02:25:17 PM
1) Its either 54, 45, or 30, take your pick.

2) About 19.6 (rounded off) more groves on a 45 RPM record than a 33 1/3 RPM record.

3) Working on last one, will edit when done...
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: capt. apathy on November 14, 2003, 02:33:37 PM
1 &2 where already solved

1. is a 50 cent piece and a nickle

2. is 0, both the 45 and the 33 have only 1 groove per side for a total of 2 each.

3 can be solved,  there is no trick wording,  just a direct, logical answer.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: jonnyb on November 14, 2003, 02:41:22 PM
3) His task is to put labels on the second floor lights...

My solution, assuming on/off switch positions are known:
1) flip two of the switches to ON
2) Wait some time
3) turn one of the two switches off
4) go upstairs
5) look at lights.  The one that is still on corresponds to the switch that is in the "on" position
6) two of the lights are still off.  Feel the lights.  The one that has been on will still be hot.  That corresponds to the switch that you turned on, then off.
7) The remaining light obviously belongs to the switch you didn't turn on or off.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: capt. apathy on November 14, 2003, 02:42:47 PM
we have a winner
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: MrCoffee on November 14, 2003, 02:42:58 PM
2) oops thats right, there is only one groove per side on a record album. However there is 19.6 more rates per minute between a 33 1/3 rpm record and a 45 rpm record.

3) Leave A switch on, go upstairs, label A light, guess B,C lights then leave building and have a cigarette.

:D
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: Leslie on November 14, 2003, 02:45:55 PM
Wire all the lights together so switch A turns 'em all on and off.  That's one possible way he could know for certain which switch turns on which lights, and label thusly.




Les
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: Gunslinger on November 14, 2003, 02:52:45 PM
the only thing i can think of for the thrid question is this:

switch A: leave off
switch B: leave on
switch C: disconnect it slightly so that the light flickers

OR borrowing from another answer:

switch A: leave off
switch B: leave on
switch C: run for 10 minutes prior to checking to get it hot than than turn off and run upstairs

But it does leave me with a question if he cant go back to the switches to lable them that also means he cant go back to turn them off so he's have to run one till somone with keys shows up.

OR because you didnt say what tools he had

switch A: leave off
switch B: leave on
switch C: disconnect the wires from power and then short them together.  than all you have to do is take an Ohm meter and look for a short in one of the two that are off.

I got to be missing somthing here cause it sounds like there is a real simple answer to this am I close?
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: capt. apathy on November 14, 2003, 02:53:42 PM
johnny b had it right
check for the warm bulb for your 3rd switch option.


Quote
Wire all the lights together so switch A turns 'em all on and off. That's one possible way he could know for certain which switch turns on which lights, and label thusly.



are you an electrician? I think I may have lived in a house you wired. :D



1 more bonus electrical question.

what do you call a guy who pisses on the 3rd rail of a subway line?
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: Leslie on November 14, 2003, 03:34:50 PM
You're a genius JonnyB, never would have thought of that.

Gunslinger, you also were on the right track.  The labels were already on the switches on the 1st floor, so no need to go back downstairs to label them.  The riddle is solved by labeling the lights A,B, and C to go with the switches (which are already labeled.)

There is nothing about how the electrician gets out of the building...that's not part of the riddle.  So the locked doors don't matter, long as there's a fire escape or awning to jump onto.:D

He waits for the key and spends the night there.


Capt. Apathy, I misread the problem, though my answer would have put the guy on the first floor where he could go home after work.:)




Les


Wait a minute, scratch the above.  I see it now.  He goes through the second floor door to the outside stairs.  The door locks behind him and the building is secure.  Man exits the building and goes on his business.

Good riddle.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: type_char on November 14, 2003, 03:37:21 PM
Too easy, a nickel.

;)

As for the other questions, Im too stupid to figure it out...
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: jonnyb on November 14, 2003, 05:54:19 PM
Quote
Originally posted by capt. apathy
johnny b had it right
check for the warm bulb for your 3rd switch option.


 


are you an electrician? I think I may have lived in a house you wired. :D



1 more bonus electrical question.

what do you call a guy who pisses on the 3rd rail of a subway line?


Funny, I actually saw a show on Discovery Channel that tackled this question.  I think it was called Myth Busters.  Anyway, they proved that unless you're standing in a puddle of water, and can urinate at a flowrate more than an average garden hose, you'll never receive any kind of life-threatening shock.  The reason is because by the time your urine stream reaches the rail it has become a series of separate drops as opposed to a unified stream.  Therefore, the circuit is never complete.

So, to answer the question, I'd have to say you call him relieved :).
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: capt. apathy on November 14, 2003, 06:42:45 PM
Quote
Funny, I actually saw a show on Discovery Channel that tackled this question. I think it was called Myth Busters. Anyway, they proved that unless you're standing in a puddle of water, and can urinate at a flowrate more than an average garden hose, you'll never receive any kind of life-threatening shock. The reason is because by the time your urine stream reaches the rail it has become a series of separate drops as opposed to a unified stream. Therefore, the circuit is never complete.

So, to answer the question, I'd have to say you call him relieved


I'd find thier conclusion suspect after seeing my little brother accidentally hit the wire on the electric cattle fence while pissing outside.


so the answer to the riddle is-  he's the conductor
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: AKIron on November 14, 2003, 06:56:25 PM
Here's one I always liked, and no, I've never been in prison.

Three guys in jail. Two of them have normal vision the third is blind. The warden likes puzzles and offers the three inmates a chance at early release if they can solve one. Here it is.

The warden tells the three that he has 5 hats and that three are white and two are red. He takes three of the five hats and puts one hat on each prisoner's head. They are not allowed to see the remaining two hats nor can they see the hat on their own head. He now tells the three, all in the same cell, that whoever first tells him what color hat is on their own head will be released early.

The three think on this a bit and one of the guys looks at the other two guys and finally says "I don't know". The remaining two guys ponder this and finally the second says "I don't know either". The warden starts to leave thinking there is no way the third guy, who is blind, can know when the blind man says "I know".

Your puzzle is to figure out how the blind man knew what color hat was on his own head.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: NUKE on November 14, 2003, 08:06:06 PM
I think I know:

The Blind guys knows he has a white hat on, because both the other guys can see, and they each  see one red hat ( on the other guy) and one white hat( on the blind guy), so each can't be sure of the other red hat ( on their own head)

This tells the blind guy that each sighted guy must be wearing a red hat, accounting for the 2 red hats.

No other combination would work.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: AKIron on November 14, 2003, 08:22:43 PM
Nuke, the first guy sees either two white hats or a red and white hat, or a white and red hat. What does the second guy see?
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: NUKE on November 14, 2003, 08:29:05 PM
even if they all had white hats on, the sighted guys still could not say for sure what color hat they had on, and niether could the blind guy deduce anything.

The options that each sighted guys could see would be:

Red/White  ( couldn't tell what color they had on)
White/ White ( could tell what color they had on)
Red/Red ( obviously not this option)

I dunno, I gotta think some more, I just looked at it for about 2 minuts and figured the blind guy has to have a white hat....... but now I must think lol
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: NUKE on November 14, 2003, 08:48:46 PM
The blind guy is wearing a white hat:


If he was wearing a red hat, one of the other guys would be able to deduce the color of their own hat by the remaining color options.

Either way, if the blind guy had a red hat, ONE of the others would know the color of his own hat, and win.

If the blind guy had a red hat, if one of the other guys is wearing a red had too, then the other would see 2 red hats and know he had a white hat, or they are both wearing white hats and the first guy that said he didn't know his color would tell the remaining guy he must not have a red hat, and know he had a white hat.

The only way one of the sighted guys could not deduce the color of his hat would be if the blind guy had a white hat on.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: AKIron on November 14, 2003, 10:53:14 PM
Well done. I think you got it Nuke, if you mean this:

Obviously if either of the first two saw red/red he would know his own was white so therefore neither of them saw red/red.

The first guy sees either (none of which reveal his own color):

white/white
red/white
white/red

The second guy knows what the first guy saw (since he failed) and he sees (and still can't deduce his own as his own could still be either red or white):

white/white
red(1st guy)/white(blind guy)

He doesn't see:

white(1st guy)/red(blind guy)

Because if he did he would know his own had to be white.

Therefore, the third guy, who was privy to all the discussion and admission of failure, knew that his could not be red leaving only white.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: Holden McGroin on November 15, 2003, 12:02:07 AM
But does the blind guy completely understand the concept of color?  What is his perception of red / white?
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: Zippatuh on November 15, 2003, 12:41:19 AM
A man is white water rafting down the Amazon when his raft is tipped he’s thrown out, looses all gear, and knocked unconscious.

He awakes at an undetermined amount of time on the bank.

He struggles to his feet and noticed the sun on the horizon.

“Damn, I’m going to have to wait until morning before I can walk out”

Being unconscious and not having a compass, how did he know that it was dusk and not dawn?

_____________________________ __________

A man and his son are injured in a car wreck.  Both are taken to separate hospitals.

When the boy is wheeled into the emergency room the doctor states…

“I can’t work on him, he’s my son”

How?

(an old but good one)
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: Holden McGroin on November 15, 2003, 12:49:52 AM
He knows which way the river flows, observes the current, and deduces west / east.

The doctor is his mother (Tin Cup)

A traveller walks down a road and comes to a fork. Down one fork, is Truthville, where all citizens cannot help but tell the truth.  Down the other fork is Falseville, where all citizens must lie, always.  There is a man at the intersection who is a citizen of one of the two towns.

The traveller asks the man one simple yes or no question, and by the mans answer, the traveller knows which fork goes to each town.

What does he ask?
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: AKIron on November 15, 2003, 01:05:34 AM
Heard that one.

Here's another.

A man returns to his high rise apartment bldg  after work and rides the elevator to the 15th floor where he then gets off and takes the stairs to his apartment on the 20th floor. He does this every day unless it's raining. When it's raining he takes the elevator all the way up to the 20th floor. Why?
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: NUKE on November 15, 2003, 01:10:31 AM
He has arthritis and the rain makes his joints hurt??
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: AKIron on November 15, 2003, 01:23:15 AM
Quote
Originally posted by NUKE
He has arthritis and the rain makes his joints hurt??


Nice try but nope.

He's very short and can only reach the 15th button, unless he has his umbrella.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: NUKE on November 15, 2003, 01:29:00 AM
LOL!

I figured the guy was walking the steps to keep in shape, now I learn he is a moron who doesn't always keep a stick or something to press the buttons when he doesnt have the umbrella :)


I do like puzzles that make me think in abstract ways to find the answer.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: majic on November 15, 2003, 08:35:48 AM
"A traveller walks down a road and comes to a fork. Down one fork, is Truthville, where all citizens cannot help but tell the truth. Down the other fork is Falseville, where all citizens must lie, always. There is a man at the intersection who is a citizen of one of the two towns.

The traveller asks the man one simple yes or no question, and by the mans answer, the traveller knows which fork goes to each town.

What does he ask?"



What direction (which fork) is your town?

No matter what the guy will point to Truthville.
Title: riddles/ brain-benders
Post by: eskimo2 on November 15, 2003, 11:59:37 AM
Quote
Originally posted by NUKE
LOL!

I figured the guy was walking the steps to keep in shape, now I learn he is a moron who doesn't always keep a stick or something to press the buttons when he doesnt have the umbrella :)


I do like puzzles that make me think in abstract ways to find the answer.


And he's got to be a midget who can only reach the 15th floor button on the elevator without his umbrella.

eskimo