Losing A New York Bet
You are hanging around in NYC when a person approaches you.
"Leaving the bald people aside, I can bet a hundred bucks that there are two people living in NYC who have same number of hairs on their heads," he says to you.
You say that you will take the bet. After talking to the man for a couple of minutes, you realize that you have lost the bet.
What did the person say to you that proved his statement ?
"Leaving the bald people aside, I can bet a hundred bucks that there are two people living in NYC who have same number of hairs on their heads," he says to you.
You say that you will take the bet. After talking to the man for a couple of minutes, you realize that you have lost the bet.
What did the person say to you that proved his statement ?
Hint:
This problem can be best solved using the pigeonhole principle.
The argument will go like this:
Assume that all the non-bald people in NYC have different number of hairs on their head. The population is about 9 million and let us assume that there are 8 million among them who are not bald.
Now, those 8 million people need to have different number of hairs. On an average, people have just 100, 000 hairs on their head. If we keep on assuming that there is someone with just one hair, someone with two, someone with three and so on, there will be 7, 900, 00 other people left who will have more than 100, 000 hairs on their head and need different number of hairs.
Now, as per this assumption, if we keep increasing one hair for each person, to make everybody hair different in numbers, we will come across someone with 8, 000, 000 hairs. But that is practically impossible (even 1, 000, 000 is impossible). Thus there must be two people who are having same number of hairs. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The argument will go like this:
Assume that all the non-bald people in NYC have different number of hairs on their head. The population is about 9 million and let us assume that there are 8 million among them who are not bald.
Now, those 8 million people need to have different number of hairs. On an average, people have just 100, 000 hairs on their head. If we keep on assuming that there is someone with just one hair, someone with two, someone with three and so on, there will be 7, 900, 00 other people left who will have more than 100, 000 hairs on their head and need different number of hairs.
Now, as per this assumption, if we keep increasing one hair for each person, to make everybody hair different in numbers, we will come across someone with 8, 000, 000 hairs. But that is practically impossible (even 1, 000, 000 is impossible). Thus there must be two people who are having same number of hairs. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Two Fathers Two Sons Riddle
Hint:
Wooden People Riddle
Hint:
Smiling Lawyers Riddle
Hint:
Word Admonition Riddle
Hint:
'This too shall pass.' If a happy person is told, This too shall pass it will make them sad. But to a person on hard times, hearing, This too shall pass will cheer them up. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
A Rickety Bridge Riddle
Four people need to cross a rickety bridge at night. Unfortunately, they have only one torch and the bridge is too dangerous to cross without one. The bridge is only strong enough to support two people at a time. Not all people take the same time to cross the bridge. Times for each person: 1 min, 2 mins, 7 mins and 10 mins. What is the shortest time needed for all four of them to cross the bridge?
Hint:
17 mins.
The initial solution most people will think of is to use the fastest person as an usher to guide everyone across. How long would that take? 10 + 1 + 7 + 1 + 2 = 21 mins. Is that it? No. That would make this question too simple even as a warm up question.
Let's brainstorm a little further. To reduce the amount of time, we should find a way for 10 and 7 to go together. If they cross together, then we need one of them to come back to get the others. That would not be ideal. How do we get around that? Maybe we can have 1 waiting on the other side to bring the torch back. Ahaa, we are getting closer. The fastest way to get 1 across and be back is to use 2 to usher 1 across. So let's put all this together.
1 and 2 go cross
2 comes back
7 and 10 go across
1 comes back
1 and 2 go across (done)
Total time = 2 + 2 + 10 + 1 + 2 = 17 mins Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
The initial solution most people will think of is to use the fastest person as an usher to guide everyone across. How long would that take? 10 + 1 + 7 + 1 + 2 = 21 mins. Is that it? No. That would make this question too simple even as a warm up question.
Let's brainstorm a little further. To reduce the amount of time, we should find a way for 10 and 7 to go together. If they cross together, then we need one of them to come back to get the others. That would not be ideal. How do we get around that? Maybe we can have 1 waiting on the other side to bring the torch back. Ahaa, we are getting closer. The fastest way to get 1 across and be back is to use 2 to usher 1 across. So let's put all this together.
1 and 2 go cross
2 comes back
7 and 10 go across
1 comes back
1 and 2 go across (done)
Total time = 2 + 2 + 10 + 1 + 2 = 17 mins Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Sumer House Riddle
Hint:
The Tri-Wizard Tournament Riddle
First think of the person who lives in disguise,
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies,
Next tell me whats always the last thing to mend,
The middle of middle and end of the end?
And finally give me the sound often heard,
During the search for a hard-to-find word.
Now string them together, and answer me this,
Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies,
Next tell me whats always the last thing to mend,
The middle of middle and end of the end?
And finally give me the sound often heard,
During the search for a hard-to-find word.
Now string them together, and answer me this,
Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?
Hint:
The Plane Crash
There was an airplane crash, every single person on board died, but yet two people survived. How is this possible?
Hint:
A Walk In The Desert Riddle
Four men walk into the desert. Suddenly all four are simultaneously knocked out. They awake buried to their heads in the sand unable to look anywhere but straight ahead. They are positioned so that each man sees another's head before him. However between the first and second man there is a separating wall.
So the first man sees only desert. The second man sees only wall. The third man sees another's head and a wall. The fourth man sees two heads and a wall. On top of each mans head is a hat. The underside of each cap is black, but the outside of each cap is either blue or white. Before any of the men can speak, their captors tell them if they speak, they die. However, if any of them can guess the color of their cap on the first try they go free. The captors tell them that there are two blue caps and two white caps.
Being an omniscient observer of the situation, we know that the order of the caps are: blue, white, blue, white. So knowing the perspective of each man in the sand, and that they can only see the color of caps/wall/desert in front of them, which of the four men knows for certain the color of his own cap. More importantly: why?
So the first man sees only desert. The second man sees only wall. The third man sees another's head and a wall. The fourth man sees two heads and a wall. On top of each mans head is a hat. The underside of each cap is black, but the outside of each cap is either blue or white. Before any of the men can speak, their captors tell them if they speak, they die. However, if any of them can guess the color of their cap on the first try they go free. The captors tell them that there are two blue caps and two white caps.
Being an omniscient observer of the situation, we know that the order of the caps are: blue, white, blue, white. So knowing the perspective of each man in the sand, and that they can only see the color of caps/wall/desert in front of them, which of the four men knows for certain the color of his own cap. More importantly: why?
Hint:
The third man. This is because he knows there are only two of each color cap. If the man behind him (the fourth man) saw two caps that were the same color in front of him, he would know that his own must be the opposite. However, because the caps alternate in color. The fourth man has only a 50% chance of getting his hat color correct, so therefore he stays quiet. The third man realizes that the fourth man is quiet because he must not see two caps of the same color in front of him, otherwise the fourth man would say the opposite of the caps in front of him. Therefore, the third man presumes his own cap must be the opposite of the mans in front of him, and his presumption is correct. Under this same logic, after the third man speaks his color hat, the second man, even though he sees only wall, would be the next to go free, because he knows his cap must be the opposite of whichever color the third mans cap was. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Death On Saturday Riddle
A man is found dead one Saturday morning. He was killed while his wife was sleeping. The wife tells the police all that she knows. She tells them that the cook was cooking breakfast, the maid was cleaning and the butler was getting the mail. The police immediately arrest the person who is responsible. Who is responsible and why?
Hint:
The wife is responsible. The reason is simple – she was supposed to be sleeping but she knew all that had happened! Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
The Indian Potato Riddle
Hint:
The Everyday Gateway
I can open a place or close empty space; show you behind to put a smile on your face. I am both figurative and literal, solid or thought- to choose to enter, or to think nought. I'm a gateway that you pass through everyday- though you forget how I affect the path that you stay. For, though the scenes change and turn into dreams, I am a constant with you, forever it seems.
Hint:
Solitary Confinement Riddle
You are in solitary confinement. It is Friday afternoon and you absolutely must have a cigarette. The only person who can give you one is the guard outside your cell. What do you do?
Hint:
To get the guard to give you a cigarette (and this really is the preferred answer to this question), threaten to kill yourself by smashing your head against the wall of your cell. That gives you leverage with the guard - hed be tied up by doing paperwork about your suicide, so hed miss weekend time with his family (its Friday afternoon, remember?) -- so hell give you a cigarette. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
Finding The Car Riddle
There are three doors in front of you. New car waits behind one of them; goat is hidden behind each of the remaining two. You may open one of the doors and get what is behind them. You want the car off course. You choose your door. Moderator (who knows where the car is) than opens one of the remaining doors and shows that there is goat. Now he gives you the opportunity to change your decision.
You are standing in front of two closed doors. Will you change your decision?
You are standing in front of two closed doors. Will you change your decision?
Hint: It matters whether you change your decision or not.
Imagine there were one hundred doors and moderator would open all but two.
Its better to change the door.
You win in case you chose wrong door at first (odds 2-in-3).
If you dont change the door you win only in case you originally picked the correct door (1-in-3).
Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
You win in case you chose wrong door at first (odds 2-in-3).
If you dont change the door you win only in case you originally picked the correct door (1-in-3).
Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
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