The Puzzle Thread

[Neo]

There are 2 gates, one leading to hell and the other to heaven. Each is guarded by a gatekeeper, one always lies and the other always speaks the truth.
You are allowed only 1 question, using that 1 question you must find out which gate leads to heaven.
What question will you ask? and to whom?

[CESS.tk]

How do you mean "to whom"? That implies that you know which gatekeeper tell the truth and which one lies, right? In that case, just ask the one that tells the truth which gate leads to heaven.

[Lester D. Funct]

There are 2 gates, one leading to hell and the other to heaven. Each is guarded by a gatekeeper, one always lies and the other always speaks the truth.
You are allowed only 1 question, using that 1 question you must find out which gate leads to heaven.
What question will you ask? and to whom?

Well, easy. I'd ask any of them if the other one would tell me that this gate (the one with the guardian I'm asking) takes me to heaven. If he says yes, I know that the other gate would lead to heaven. If he says No, the gate I'm standing in front of leads to heaven.

"Labyrinth" was a bloody good movie, though ...

[cloudee1]

Good luck with that one Lester,

I'd ask a question that I knew the answer to.

"Am I wearing shoes?" heaven here I come

[CESS.tk]

I'd ask a question that I knew the answer to.

"Am I wearing shoes?" heaven here I come

Good luck with that one cloudee1,
How exactly will the answer to this question bring you closer to heaven?

On the subject of tricking people by asking the right question, here's a great technique to get girls to sleep with you:
Just ask "If I were to ask you to have sex with me, would your answer be the same as your answer to this question?"

[Lester D. Funct]

OK, here's another one:

Two hunters leave their camp, then they walk ten miles south, then ten miles east. Then they kill a bear. After that, they walk ten miles north and arrive back at their camp. What colour was the bear?

[Candy]

OK, here's another one:

Two hunters leave their camp, then they walk ten miles south, then ten miles east. Then they kill a bear. After that, they walk ten miles north and arrive back at their camp. What colour was the bear?

White. They're at either the north pole or the south pole. Since even polar bears can't survive on the south pole, their base camp is on the place where the north-pole-flag used to be

[rwfromxenon]

Three men decided to split the cost of a hotel room. The hotel manager gave them a price of $30. The men split the bill evenly, each paying $10, and retired to their room.

However, the manager realized that it was a Wednesday night, which meant the hotel had a special: rooms were only $25. He had overcharged them $5!

He promptly called the bellboy, gave him five one-dollar bills and told him to return it to the men. When the bellboy explained the situation to the men, they were so pleased at the honesty of the establishment that they promptly tipped the bellboy $2 of the $5 he had returned and each kept $1 for himself.

The Problem: Each of the three men ended up paying $9 (their original $10, minus $1 back) totalling $27, plus $2 for the bellboy makes $29. Where did the extra dollar go?

This one'll hurt your head if you don't know how it's done.

[Candy]

Three men decided to split the cost of a hotel room. The hotel manager gave them a price of $30. The men split the bill evenly, each paying $10, and retired to their room.

However, the manager realized that it was a Wednesday night, which meant the hotel had a special: rooms were only $25. He had overcharged them $5!

He promptly called the bellboy, gave him five one-dollar bills and told him to return it to the men. When the bellboy explained the situation to the men, they were so pleased at the honesty of the establishment that they promptly tipped the bellboy $2 of the $5 he had returned and each kept $1 for himself.

The Problem: Each of the three men ended up paying $9 (their original $10, minus $1 back) totalling $27, plus $2 for the bellboy makes $29. Where did the extra dollar go?

This one'll hurt your head if you don't know how it's done.

I know how freaking hard this one is if you don't see it...

may I answer it?

[Lester D. Funct]

Strange. I knew the answer to that one years ago, but now that I'm looking at it again, I can't reconstruct it.
My brain hurts...

[rwfromxenon]

Three men decided to split the cost of a hotel room. The hotel manager gave them a price of $30. The men split the bill evenly, each paying $10, and retired to their room.

However, the manager realized that it was a Wednesday night, which meant the hotel had a special: rooms were only $25. He had overcharged them $5!

He promptly called the bellboy, gave him five one-dollar bills and told him to return it to the men. When the bellboy explained the situation to the men, they were so pleased at the honesty of the establishment that they promptly tipped the bellboy $2 of the $5 he had returned and each kept $1 for himself.

The Problem: Each of the three men ended up paying $9 (their original $10, minus $1 back) totalling $27, plus $2 for the bellboy makes $29. Where did the extra dollar go?

This one'll hurt your head if you don't know how it's done.

I know how freaking hard this one is if you don't see it...

may I answer it?

Naa, let's give everyone a headache first

[Neo]

It didn't go anywhere

[Candy]

It didn't go anywhere

Then where did the $1 difference come from?

[Kon-Tiki]

Ah no, not that one again >_< Third time I've seen this one on forums, and always the same thing comes up. It's just a bug in maths, that thing. Don't break your head over it. As for the one with the gates... I won a movie ticket for solving that one when I was 12. Read it in a book the week before I read question and sent in the answer. It's famous, but not as famous as the Sphinx' riddles.

[Neo]

What about this one?

Ali Baba had four sons, to whom he bequeathed his 39 camels, with the proviso that the legacy be divided in the following way :

The oldest son was to receive one half the property, the next a quarter, the third an eighth and the youngest one tenth. The four brothers were at a loss as how to divide the inheritance among themselves without cutting up a camel, until a stranger appeared upon the scene.
Dismounting from his camel, he asked if he might help, for he knew just what to do. The brothers gratefully accepted his offer.

Adding his own camel to Ali Baba's 39, he divided the 40 as per the will. The oldest son received 20, the next 10, the third 5 and the youngest 4. One camel remained : this was his, which he mounted and rode away.

Scratching their heads in amazement, they started calculating. The oldest thought : is not 20 greater than the half of 39? Someone must have received less than his proper share ! But each brother discovered that he had received more than his due. How is it possible?