Best Riddles of August 2011

'Great Job You Got It'

This type of code is known as a Caesar Box (Julius Caesar was the first to write codes this way.) To decipher the message, simply divide the code into four groups of four (you can also divide them into groups such as 5 groups of 5 or 6 groups of 6 depending on the number of letters in the phrase), and rearrange them vertically like this...
G T Y O
R J O T
E O U I
A B G T

Then you read vertically column by column.

Set the first switches on for abt 10min, and then switch on the second switch and then enter the room.
Three cases are possible
1.Bulb is on => second switch is the ans
2.Bulb is off and on touching bulb , you will find bulb to be warm
=>1st switch is the ans.
3.Bulb is off and on touching second bulb , you will find bulb to be normal(not warm)
=>3rd bulb is the ans.

Popular Number Sequence Puzzle
3 1 2 2 1 1
1 3 1 1 2 2 2 1

Line 1 is 'Two ones' (2 1)
Line 2 then becomes 'One two, and one one' (1 2 1 1)
Line 3 therefore is 'One one, one two and two ones' (1 1 1 2 2 1)
Line 4 is 'Three ones, two twos and one one' (3 1 2 2 1 1)
Line 5 is 'One three, one one, two twos and two ones' (1 3 1 1 2 2 1 1)

The answer is 2. First, divide the coins into 3 equal piles. Place a pile on each side of the scale, leaving the remaining pile of 3 coins off the scale. If the scale does not tip, you know that the 6 coins on the scale are legitimate, and the counterfeit is in the pile in front of you. If the scale does tip, you know the counterfeit is in the pile on the side of the scale that raised up. Either way, put the 6 legitimate coins aside. Having only 3 coins left, put a coin on each side of the scale, leaving the third in front of you. The same process of elimination will find the counterfeit coin.

10 prisoners must sample the wine. Bonus points if you worked out a way to ensure than no more than 8 prisoners die.

Number all bottles using binary digits. Assign each prisoner to one of the binary flags. Prisoners must take a sip from each bottle where their binary flag is set.

Here is how you would find one poisoned bottle out of eight total bottles of wine.

Bottle 1 Bottle 2 Bottle 3 Bottle 4 Bottle 5 Bottle 6 Bottle 7 Bottle 8
Prisoner A X X X X
Prisoner B X X X X
Prisoner C X X X X
In the above example, if all prisoners die, bottle 8 is bad. If none die, bottle 1 is bad. If A & B dies, bottle 4 is bad.

With ten people there are 1024 unique combinations so you could test up to 1024 bottles of wine.

Each of the ten prisoners will take a small sip from about 500 bottles. Each sip should take no longer than 30 seconds and should be a very small amount. Small sips not only leave more wine for guests. Small sips also avoid death by alcohol poisoning. As long as each prisoner is administered about a millilitre from each bottle, they will only consume the equivalent of about one bottle of wine each.

Each prisoner will have at least a fifty percent chance of living. There is only one binary combination where all prisoners must sip from the wine. If there are ten prisoners then there are ten more combinations where all but one prisoner must sip from the wine. By avoiding these two types of combinations you can ensure no more than 8 prisoners die.

One viewer felt that this solution was in flagrant contempt of restaurant etiquette. The emperor paid for this wine, so there should be no need to prove to the guests that wine is the same as the label. I am not even sure if ancient wine even came with labels affixed. However, it is true that after leaving the wine open for a day, that this medieval wine will taste more like vinegar than it ever did. C'est la vie.

Dozens

Just 2
Day One: You make your first cut at the 1/7th mark and give that to the worker.
Day Two: You cut 2/7ths and pay that to the worker and receive the original 1/7th in change.
Day three: You give the worker the 1/7th you received as change on the previous day.
Day four: You give the worker 4/7ths and he returns his 1/7th cut and his 2/7th cut as change.
Day Five: You give the worker back the 1/7th cut of gold.
Day Six: You give the worker the 2/7th cut and receive the 1/7th cut back in change.
Day Seven: You pay the worker his final 1/7th.

Pages 19, 20, 23, 37, 38, & 42 will also be missing

1. Fill 5 quarter pill ( 5p - 5, 3p - 0)
2. Transfer to 3 quart pail (5p - 2, 3p - 3)
3. Empty 3 quarter pill ( 5p - 2, 3p - 0)
4. Transfer 2q from 5 pail to 3 pail (5p - 0, 3p - 2)
5. Fill 5 quarter pail(5p - 5, 3p - 2)
6. Transfer 1q from 5 pail to 3 pail(5p - 4, 3p - 3)

5*(X+6) = (X+6)+21
4*(X+6) = 21
X+6 = 5.25
X = -0.75

So daddy is at top of mom