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?
YES NO
YES NO
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
You Might Need A Tube Map
To get around this city
You might need a Tube map
And as you get on the train
Be sure to mind the gap
What city is this?
You might need a Tube map
And as you get on the train
Be sure to mind the gap
What city is this?
Hint:
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
YES NO
An Island That Has 3 Gods
There is an Island that has 3 gods. One god always tells a lie, and the other always tells the truth. The third god has a random behavior. To top it off, these three gods, being jerks, answer in their own languages such that you are unable to tell which word, between "ja" or "da", means "no" or "yes". You have 3 questions to work out the True god, the false god, and the Random god.
Hint:
Question 1: (To any of the three gods) If I were to ask you "Is that the random god," would your answer be "ja?" (This questions, no matter the answer, will enable you to tell which god is not random i.e. the god who is either False or True)
Question 2: (To either the True or False god) If I asked you "are you false," would your answer be "ja?"
Question 3: (To the same god you asked the second question) If I asked you "whether the first god I spoke to is random," would your answer be "ja?" Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Question 2: (To either the True or False god) If I asked you "are you false," would your answer be "ja?"
Question 3: (To the same god you asked the second question) If I asked you "whether the first god I spoke to is random," would your answer be "ja?" Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Unwilling To Kiss
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 Quietest Whimper
I talk, but I do not speak my mind
I hear words, but I do not listen to thoughts
When I wake, all see me
When I sleep, all hear me
Many heads are on my shoulders
Many hands are at my feet
The strongest steel cannot break my visage
But the softest whisper can destroy me
The quietest whimper can be heard.
What am I?
I hear words, but I do not listen to thoughts
When I wake, all see me
When I sleep, all hear me
Many heads are on my shoulders
Many hands are at my feet
The strongest steel cannot break my visage
But the softest whisper can destroy me
The quietest whimper can be heard.
What am I?
Hint:
Fueling Up
Hint:
Cinderella Playing Soccer
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?
YES NO
YES NO
Fat And Flat Riddle
I'm flat when I'm new. I'm fat when you use me. I release my gas when something sharp touches me. What am I?
Hint:
A Type Of Fruit Riddle
This is a type of fruit
But it is not a lime
There are no other words
With which this word can rhyme
What fruit is it?
But it is not a lime
There are no other words
With which this word can rhyme
What fruit is it?
Hint:
Trapdoor, Water, Wolf
Hint:
Three Gods Riddle
Three gods A, B, and C are called, in no particular order, True, False, and Random. True always speaks truly, False always speaks falsely, but whether Random speaks truly or falsely is a completely random matter. Your task is to determine the identities of A, B, and C by asking three yes-no questions; each question must be put to exactly one god. The gods understand English, but will answer all questions in their own language, in which the words for yes and no are da and ja, in some order. You do not know which word means which.
What three questions can you ask?
What three questions can you ask?
Hint:
A possible solution is:
Q1: Ask god B, "If I asked you 'Is A Random?', would you say ja?". If B answers ja, either B is Random (and is answering randomly), or B is not Random and the answer indicates that A is indeed Random. Either way, C is not Random. If B answers da, either B is Random (and is answering randomly), or B is not Random and the answer indicates that A is not Random. Either way, you know the identity of a god who is not Random.
Q2: Go to the god who was identified as not being Random by the previous question (either A or C), and ask him: "If I asked you 'Are you False?', would you say ja?". Since he is not Random, an answer of da indicates that he is True and an answer of ja indicates that he is False.
Q3: Ask the same god the question: "If I asked you 'Is B Random?', would you say ja?". If the answer is ja, B is Random; if the answer is da, the god you have not yet spoken to is Random. The remaining god can be identified by elimination. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Q1: Ask god B, "If I asked you 'Is A Random?', would you say ja?". If B answers ja, either B is Random (and is answering randomly), or B is not Random and the answer indicates that A is indeed Random. Either way, C is not Random. If B answers da, either B is Random (and is answering randomly), or B is not Random and the answer indicates that A is not Random. Either way, you know the identity of a god who is not Random.
Q2: Go to the god who was identified as not being Random by the previous question (either A or C), and ask him: "If I asked you 'Are you False?', would you say ja?". Since he is not Random, an answer of da indicates that he is True and an answer of ja indicates that he is False.
Q3: Ask the same god the question: "If I asked you 'Is B Random?', would you say ja?". If the answer is ja, B is Random; if the answer is da, the god you have not yet spoken to is Random. The remaining god can be identified by elimination. Did you answer this riddle correctly?
YES NO
Keep The Kids Safe Riddle
There is a school shooting, to keep the kids safe the teachers gather the kids in the corner and turned off the lights. What did the teacher forget to do?
Hint:
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