James Posted March 6, 2014 The riddle game turned morbid fast.Morbid and stupid. (I'd heard the second stupid/morbid riddle before.) I quite like riddles that don't require the characters within to be completely off their trolleys. (Not having a go at any riddle-setters in this thread. I can't think of any good ones either. I just think that perhaps when people devise these riddles they should work out some way for them not to involve people immediately resorting to deadly force as soon as they're confronted with a moment of confusion or adversity.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted March 6, 2014 If I'm up, I'll need to think about a good one (or probably just find one on Google). If anyone else wants to jump in with one in the meantime feel free. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
melmer Posted March 6, 2014 What's brown and sticky? caramel I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky. I can swim in the ocean and yet remain dry. What am I? a shadow Dead people eat it always; live people who eat it die slowly? nothing What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a head but never weeps? a river Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted March 6, 2014 What's brown and sticky? I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky. I can swim in the ocean and yet remain dry. What am I? Dead people eat it always; live people who eat it die slowly? What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a head but never weeps? I've heard the answer for the first one before so I won't answer that. Nothing for the third one. River for the fourth one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted March 6, 2014 I'll throw this one out there: 3 people are at a hotel and order a pizza. The front desk says it will be $30, so each person puts in $10. When it's delivered, the delivery guy tells them that it is only $25, so he gives each person back $1 and keeps $2 for a tip. If each person got a dollar back, they only spent $9 each. $9 * 3= $27 + $2 that the delivery guy kept =$29. What happened to the other dollar? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twig Posted March 6, 2014 Nothing. oh embarrassing next-page post pce i'm out Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gormongous Posted March 6, 2014 I'll throw this one out there: 3 people are at a hotel and order a pizza. The front desk says it will be $30, so each person puts in $10. When it's delivered, the delivery guy tells them that it is only $25, so he gives each person back $1 and keeps $2 for a tip. If each person got a dollar back, they only spent $9 each. $9 * 3= $27 + $2 that the delivery guy kept =$29. What happened to the other dollar? I'm sure I'm falling for something here, but isn't your math just wrong? Three people spent nine dollars, which equals twenty-seven dollars, that is, twenty-five dollars for the pizza plus a two-dollar tip. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted March 6, 2014 I'm sure I'm falling for something here, but isn't your math just wrong? Three people spent nine dollars, which equals twenty-seven dollars, that is, twenty-five dollars for the pizza plus a two-dollar tip. Well that was fast. Yes, the math in the riddle is wrong and your explanation is correct. Edit: Most people really struggle with this for some reason but I guess it's harder to trick people on these forums. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SecretAsianMan Posted March 7, 2014 I guess we're abandoning the game premise I came up with, which is fine by me. A traveller arrives in a village. He has with him a chain made of gold with 23 links. The innkeeper agrees to let him stay at a rate of one link per day. Because the traveller does not know how long he will stay, he must cut the chain into smaller chains in order to pay one day at a time. What is the least number of cuts required to allow him to stay for any number of days between 1 and 23? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted March 7, 2014 Zero, assuming the traveller can opt to overpay if he stays less than 23 days. (and I say this because you said "what is the least number of cuts required to allow him to stay for any number of days between 1 and 23" and don't specify that he can't overpay) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SecretAsianMan Posted March 7, 2014 I suppose that's technically true but not in the spirit of the riddle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted March 7, 2014 Okay, I got it. It's 4. 1 2 4 8 8 You can make every number up to 23 with that combination of segments. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SecretAsianMan Posted March 7, 2014 It can be done in fewer cuts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted March 7, 2014 Okay, well if you fold the chain up just right I guess you can get what you need in just one cut. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Merus Posted March 7, 2014 Have we had Monty Hall in here yet? Let's have Monty Hall. You're on a game show, and for the bonus round the host puts you in front of three doors. Behind one door is a BRAND NEW CARRRRR and behind the other two are booby prizes, and contest regulations prevent the producers from moving around prizes after the bonus round starts. When you pick a door, the host will smile and make you feel a little nervous and then go and open one of the other doors, showing the audience the booby prize behind it. Two doors left, one of which has the BRAND NEW CARRRRR, one of which has another booby prize. Then the host will come back up to you, and say, "Well, __________, are you confident with your guess? Are you going to stick with the door you picked, or do you want to change your mind? "What will it be? "STICK or SWITCH?" Should you switch? Does it matter? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SecretAsianMan Posted March 7, 2014 Okay, well if you fold the chain up just right I guess you can get what you need in just one cut. Also not quite what I mean. There's no trickery involved, it's basically just logic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeusthecat Posted March 7, 2014 Do we have to assume 1 link has to be paid each day or can we assume payment is only made on the last day? If we can assume the latter then he would only need to cut it once. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SecretAsianMan Posted March 7, 2014 You need to pay each day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Berzee Posted March 7, 2014 When you cut a link, you get to remove it from both halves of the chain. I got it in three, not sure if there's a better way. 23 8 (1) 14 8 (1) 8 (1) 5 8 (1) 8 (1) 4 (1) with the (1)'s being the cut links Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Berzee Posted March 7, 2014 Ahh, 2 cutz 3 (1) 6 (1) 12 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted March 7, 2014 Have we had Monty Hall in here yet? Let's have Monty Hall. You're on a game show, and for the bonus round the host puts you in front of three doors. Behind one door is a BRAND NEW CARRRRR and behind the other two are booby prizes, and contest regulations prevent the producers from moving around prizes after the bonus round starts. When you pick a door, the host will smile and make you feel a little nervous and then go and open one of the other doors, showing the audience the booby prize behind it. Two doors left, one of which has the BRAND NEW CARRRRR, one of which has another booby prize. Then the host will come back up to you, and say, "Well, __________, are you confident with your guess? Are you going to stick with the door you picked, or do you want to change your mind? "What will it be? "STICK or SWITCH?" Should you switch? Does it matter? I love that question, but know it from having read about it multiple times. So I'll leave it to other people to argue about if they wish to reason it out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aperson Posted March 7, 2014 I won't comment on the answer, as I am familiar with the problem, but it's interesting how counter-intuitive statistics and probability can be. "Common sense" basically doesn't mean anything in those domains. (Or many domains, but that's a wider discussion) Similar question: say you want to stay at the best hotel out of 3, with the caveat that once you leave a hotel you can't go back to it. You go to the first hotel on your list. Then you go the second hotel and it's better than the first. (We'll assume no hotels are exactly equal) Given that should you now continue on to the third hotel, or stay at this second one? In some ways I think this is even more devious that Monty Hall (although the solution is basically the same) in that it's not interactive at all. Nobody actively does anything, there's not even the potential for any sort of trickery. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites