The Coin Toss Riddle
You are in a bar having a drink with an old friend when he proposes a wager.
"Want to play a game?" he asks.
"Sure, why not?" you reply.
"Ok, here's how it works. You choose three possible outcomes of a coin toss, either HHH, TTT, HHT or whatever. I will do likewise. I will then start flipping the coin continuously until either one of our combinations comes up. The person whose combination comes up first is the winner. And to prove I'm not the cheating little weasel you're always making me out to be, I'll even let you go first so you have more combinations to choose from. So how about it? Is $10.00 a fair bet?"
You know that your friend is a skilled trickster and usually has a trick or two up his sleeve but maybe he's being honest this time. Maybe this is a fair bet. While you try and think of which combination is most likely to come up first, you suddenly hit upon a strategy which will be immensely beneficial to you. What is it?
"Want to play a game?" he asks.
"Sure, why not?" you reply.
"Ok, here's how it works. You choose three possible outcomes of a coin toss, either HHH, TTT, HHT or whatever. I will do likewise. I will then start flipping the coin continuously until either one of our combinations comes up. The person whose combination comes up first is the winner. And to prove I'm not the cheating little weasel you're always making me out to be, I'll even let you go first so you have more combinations to choose from. So how about it? Is $10.00 a fair bet?"
You know that your friend is a skilled trickster and usually has a trick or two up his sleeve but maybe he's being honest this time. Maybe this is a fair bet. While you try and think of which combination is most likely to come up first, you suddenly hit upon a strategy which will be immensely beneficial to you. What is it?
Hint: Think what would be most likely to happen if you chose HHH, would this be a good decision?
The answer is to let your friend go first. This puzzle is based on an old game/scam called Penny Ante. No matter what you picked, your friend would be able to come up with a combination which would be more likely to beat yours. For example, if you were to choose HHH, then unless HHH was the first combination to come up you would eventually lose since as soon as a Tails came up, the combination THH would inevitably come up before HHH. The basic formula you can use for working out which combination you should choose is as follows. Simply take his combination (eg. HHT) take the last term in his combination, put it at the front (in this case making THH) and your combination will be more likely to come up first. Try it on your friends! Did you answer this riddle correctly?
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Russian Roulette Riddle
You are in a game of Russian Roulette with a revolver that has 3 bullets placed in three consecutive chambers. The cylinder of the gun will be spun once at the beginning of the game. Then, the gun will be passed between two players until it fires. Would you prefer to go first or second?
Hint:
Russian Roulette
Probability puzzles require you to weigh all the possibilities and pick the most likely outcome.
Puzzle ID: #17681
Fun: *** (2.59)
Difficulty: ** (2.07)
Category: Probability
Submitted By: JMCLEOD****
Corrected By: cnmne
You are in a game of Russian Roulette with a revolver that has 3 bullets placed in three consecutive chambers. The cylinder of the gun will be spun once at the beginning of the game. Then, the gun will be passed between two players until it fires. Would you prefer to go first or second?
Answer
Label the chambers 1 through 6. Chambers 1 through 3 have bullets and chambers 4 through 6 are empty. After you spin the cylinder there are six possible outcomes:
1. Chamber 1 is fired first: Player 1 loses
2. Chamber 2 is fired first: Player 1 loses
3. Chamber 3 is fired first: Player 1 loses
4. Chamber 4 is fired first: Player 2 loses (First shot, player 1, chamber 4 empty. Second shot player 2, chamber 5, empty. Third shot player 1, chamber 6 empty. Fourth shot player 2, chamber 1 not empty.)
5. Chamber 5 is fired first: Player 1 loses (First shot, player 1, chamber 5 empty. Second shot player 2, chamber 6, empty. Third shot player 1, chamber 1 not empty.)
6. Chamber 6 is fired first: Player 2 loses (First shot, player 1, chamber 6 empty. Second shot, player 2, chamber 1, not empty)
Therefore player 2 has an 4/6 or 2/3 chance of winning. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Probability puzzles require you to weigh all the possibilities and pick the most likely outcome.
Puzzle ID: #17681
Fun: *** (2.59)
Difficulty: ** (2.07)
Category: Probability
Submitted By: JMCLEOD****
Corrected By: cnmne
You are in a game of Russian Roulette with a revolver that has 3 bullets placed in three consecutive chambers. The cylinder of the gun will be spun once at the beginning of the game. Then, the gun will be passed between two players until it fires. Would you prefer to go first or second?
Answer
Label the chambers 1 through 6. Chambers 1 through 3 have bullets and chambers 4 through 6 are empty. After you spin the cylinder there are six possible outcomes:
1. Chamber 1 is fired first: Player 1 loses
2. Chamber 2 is fired first: Player 1 loses
3. Chamber 3 is fired first: Player 1 loses
4. Chamber 4 is fired first: Player 2 loses (First shot, player 1, chamber 4 empty. Second shot player 2, chamber 5, empty. Third shot player 1, chamber 6 empty. Fourth shot player 2, chamber 1 not empty.)
5. Chamber 5 is fired first: Player 1 loses (First shot, player 1, chamber 5 empty. Second shot player 2, chamber 6, empty. Third shot player 1, chamber 1 not empty.)
6. Chamber 6 is fired first: Player 2 loses (First shot, player 1, chamber 6 empty. Second shot, player 2, chamber 1, not empty)
Therefore player 2 has an 4/6 or 2/3 chance of winning. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Crossing Safety Riddle
Two boys and a man need to cross a river. They can only use the canoe. It will hold only the man OR the two boys' weight. How can they all get across safely?
Answer:
Answer:
Hint:
The two boys go across. One of them get out. The other one goes back. He gets out and the man gets in. He goes across. Then the man gets out and the other boy gets in and goes across. Then the boy that was left gets in and now they both go across together. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
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Old Man On London Bridge
I met an old man on London bridge,
As the sun set on the ridge,
He tipped his hat and drew his name,
And cheated at the guessing game.
What was the mans name?
As the sun set on the ridge,
He tipped his hat and drew his name,
And cheated at the guessing game.
What was the mans name?
Hint:
Andrew. In the third line, and drew his name. It works better when you say it. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
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Shooting BB Guns Riddle
Hint:
Kidnapping The Queens Son
The Queen lives in a beautiful castle with her only son and a sheep-dog named Sir FooFoo. One day the Queen decides to go out for a spot of tea with some friends. She leaves her eight-year-old son in the care of her trusted servants. The 18 servants are: Harold the health instructor, Griffith the gardener, Tiffany the private tutor, Philip the photographer, Magdalina the maid, Boris the Butler, Geraldo the groundskeeper, Bernadette the barber, Sandy the sweeper, Anastasia the accountant, Constantine the carpenter, Joel the jester, Lucy the launderer, Sadie the seamstress, McKenzie the musical instructor, Lawrence the lawyer, Dorothy the dentist, Devon the doctor, and Surlamina the Secretary of State. When the Queen came home she discovered her son was missing and that he was kidnapped. The Queen came to a conclusion that it must've been one of her servants who kidnapped her son because he was too young to leave on his own and Sir FooFoo was harmless. The Queen interviewed all of her servants to see which one was responsible for the kidnapping. The alibis are as follows: Harold was lifting weights, Griffith was planting roses, Tiffany was checking homework, Philip was taking pictures of the botanical garden, Magdalina was making the beds, Boris was cleaning the banisters, Geraldo was supervising Griffith , Bernadette was trimming Sir FooFoo's hair, Sandy was sweeping in the corners, Anastasia was managing the Queen's affairs, Constantine was building a birdhouse, Joel was coming up with the jokes, Lucy was doing the laundry, Sadie was designing a dress for the Queen, McKenzie was playing the flute, Lawrence was suing the bank, Dorothy was preparing to extract the Queen's tooth when the Queen came home, Devon was examining an x-ray of the Queen's arm, and Surlamina was being a Secretary of State.
Who is the kidnapper?
Who is the kidnapper?
Hint:
Surlamina is responsible for the kidnapping because there is no Secretary of State in a monarchy. It is believed that Surlamina kidnapped the Queen's son because she was not given a real job. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
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Known For Having Pointy Ears
We are known for having pointy ears
And for making Christmas toys
Which are delivered by Santa to
All of the good girls and boys
We are?
And for making Christmas toys
Which are delivered by Santa to
All of the good girls and boys
We are?
Hint:
7 Guys 6 Rooms Riddle
7 Guys 6 Rooms. All men Want a Room all by Themselves.
The Hotel Manager put the first two guys in room number 1.
The Third Guy in Room Number 2.
The Fourth Guy in Room Number 3.
The Fifth Guy in Room Number 4.
The Sixth Guy in Room Number 5
But The Room Number Sixth is still Empty.
The Hotel Manager put the first two guys in room number 1.
The Third Guy in Room Number 2.
The Fourth Guy in Room Number 3.
The Fifth Guy in Room Number 4.
The Sixth Guy in Room Number 5
But The Room Number Sixth is still Empty.
Hint:
A Mother Was Killed In A Circular House Riddle
The daughter said she was playing with her dolls, the son said he was playing outside in the garden, the maid said she was dusting corners, the butler said he was watching the son, and the chief said he was baking pies.
Who killed the mother?
Hint:
The Maid; As she said she was dusting the corners and in a round house, there are no corners... Did you answer this riddle correctly?
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Cindy Has 5 Kids Riddle
Hint:
The 5th kids name is What. "What is the name of the 5th kid." Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
YES NO
A Woman Has Five Cousins Riddle
Monday is the first cousin.
Tuesday is the second cousin.
Wednesday is the third cousin.
Thursday is the fourth cousin.
What is the name of the fifth cousin.
Hint: The expected answer to your riddle would be "Friday.
"But that is not correct. And all the information you need to find the answer is contained within the riddle.
The name of the 5th is 'What.' As the riddle told you "What is the name of the fifth cousin." it was a statement, not a question. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
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Someones Mom Has 4 Sons Riddle
Hint:
The question itself says "someone's" mom. Given the name of the three other sons the name of the fourth son can be Someone. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
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There Are 5 Sisters In The Room Riddle
Ann is reading a book,
Margaret is cooking,
Kate is playing chess,
Marie is doing laundry.
What is the fifth sister doing?
Hint:
The 5th sister is playing chess with Katie as chess needs two players. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
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Polar Bear Dice Riddle
Polar bears around an ice hole, like petals around a rose. The game is in the name, and the name is in the game. How many polar bears are there?" Johnny asked as he rolled the five dice. The first roll produced 4, 6, 1, 3, 2. "Six," said Billy. "No, two," Johnny replied. The next roll was 5, 1, 5, 2, 4. "Four?" said Billy. "No, eight," Johnny said. The next rolls were 3, 5, 3, 1, 2. There were 8 polar bears. The next rolls were 6, 2, 1, 2, 4. There were no polar bears. How does Johnny figure out the number of polar bears?
Hint: A rose by any other name...could be a die?
Dice all look the same. On a die, the 1, 3, and 5 all have a dot in the center. The 3 has 2 dots on either side of the center dot, and the 5 has 4 dots around the center dot. Johnny simply counted the number of dots around the outside. A "3" has 2 "petals around the rose, or polar bears around an ice hole." The "5" has 4 "petals" or "polar bears." Roll some dice and it will become clear!! Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
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With Eyes That See I Cant Be Found Riddle
Hint:
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