Brain Teasers

[CelticsWhat35]

Those who make it, don't want it.
Those who buy it, don't use it.
And those who use it, don't know it.

What is it?

A Coffin.

Well played.

[bdm860]

What would the other guard say if I asked him what is behind his door? The good one knows that the liar will say heaven, the bad one knows that the good one will say heaven, but lie about it and say hell.

Their answers reveal what's behind them.

Not quite, it's a very good guess though. And on the right track I guess, and as I said, it's a yes or no question.

P.S. your answer is incorrect, I'm not saying it's wrong because it's not what I'm looking for.

"Would the other guard tell me that this door leads to heaven?"

Both the angel and devil would give the same answer, so that wouldn't work.

Doesn't matter who answers it or which door they are guarding. If they say 'yes' then the door behind him is to heaven, if 'no', then it's to hell, in which case the other door would be taken.

See I don't get it (but maybe I'm just slow), I don't think this works.

This guy doesn't know who the angel is and who the devil is, also he doesn't know which door each is guarding.
If the guy asks the devil "would the other guard tell me that this door leads to heaven" and it does, then the devil would say no (it still doens't reveal if that is the truth or if that is a lie).
If the guy asks the angel "would the other guard tell me that this door leads to heaven" and it does, then the angel would say no (it still doens't reveal if that is the truth or if that is a lie).

You still don't know what door to go through.

And btw the answer I was looking for was 'Does the devil guard the way to hell?'

But no matter who you ask, or what the answer is, you don't know if it is the truth or a lie.  You don't know who the devil is or who the angel is, or who guards which door, based on that question.

If the devil does guard the way to hell, and the man asks the devil, the devil would say no. (but you still don't know if you asked the angel or the devil because you don't know which is which, so if you don't know if this the truth or a lie, so you still don't know what door to go through).
If the devil doesn't guard the way to hell, and the man asks the devil, the devil would say yes.(but you still don't know if you asked the angel or the devil because you don't know which is which) so either answer (of the answers given so far have no credibility because you don't know which is which or which door they're guarding.  Or maybe if I think about this later while I'm not at work it would make more sense 

[bdm860]

During the war, an enemy soldier was captured and was given the choice as to how he would be executed.  His captors said he would be allowed to make one statement; if it was a lie he would be shot, if it was the truth he would be hanged.  The captors were very honest people and always stayed true to their word, so the enemy soldier's only hope of survival would be to make a statement that would not allow him to be excuted by his captors standards.  So what statement could the captured soldier say to get him out of either situation? 

(It's not some cheesy statement like "I will reveal my armies secrets" or "if you kill me I won't tell you where the bomb is" or something stupid like that, also it's not some ambiguous statement that can't be proved right or wrong, or a statement that has to do with opinion.  It's just a clever statement that would not allow him to be excuted based on the guidelines set forth by his captors).

"You are going to shoot me."

Bingo.  TP for the right answer!

[Robb]

During the war, an enemy soldier was captured and was given the choice as to how he would be executed.  His captors said he would be allowed to make one statement; if it was a lie he would be shot, if it was the truth he would be hanged.  The captors were very honest people and always stayed true to their word, so the enemy soldier's only hope of survival would be to make a statement that would not allow him to be excuted by his captors standards.  So what statement could the captured soldier say to get him out of either situation? 

(It's not some cheesy statement like "I will reveal my armies secrets" or "if you kill me I won't tell you where the bomb is" or something stupid like that, also it's not some ambiguous statement that can't be proved right or wrong, or a statement that has to do with opinion.  It's just a clever statement that would not allow him to be excuted based on the guidelines set forth by his captors).

"You are going to shoot me."

Bingo.  TP for the right answer!

Can you explain that one?  I'm in the same boat as you on both yours and the Devil and the Angel one.

[FatKidsDad]

An archeologist discovers a sealed cave.

Upon opening it, he looks in, shines his flashlight around and sees two perfectly preserved unclothed bodies...one male and one female.

He then re-seals the cave and publishes a paper, describing his findings, in a scientific journal.

He claims that he has discovered the bodies of Adam and Eve, and that his brief look inside the cave yielded indisputable proof of their identity.

What is the proof?

They didn't have belly buttons!

A TP for you, sir!

[CelticsWhat35]

During the war, an enemy soldier was captured and was given the choice as to how he would be executed.  His captors said he would be allowed to make one statement; if it was a lie he would be shot, if it was the truth he would be hanged.  The captors were very honest people and always stayed true to their word, so the enemy soldier's only hope of survival would be to make a statement that would not allow him to be excuted by his captors standards.  So what statement could the captured soldier say to get him out of either situation? 

(It's not some cheesy statement like "I will reveal my armies secrets" or "if you kill me I won't tell you where the bomb is" or something stupid like that, also it's not some ambiguous statement that can't be proved right or wrong, or a statement that has to do with opinion.  It's just a clever statement that would not allow him to be excuted based on the guidelines set forth by his captors).

"You are going to shoot me."

Bingo.  TP for the right answer!

Can you explain that one?  I'm in the same boat as you on both yours and the Devil and the Angel one.

They said they would shoot him if he lied and hang him if he told the truth.  He says "You are going to shoot me."  So they can't shoot him, because if they did, he would have been telling the truth, and they can only shoot him if he lied.  And they can't hang him, because if they did, he would've lied, and they can only hang him if he tells the truth.  So in this case, they can do neither.

[SShoreFan 2.0]

During the war, an enemy soldier was captured and was given the choice as to how he would be executed.  His captors said he would be allowed to make one statement; if it was a lie he would be shot, if it was the truth he would be hanged.  The captors were very honest people and always stayed true to their word, so the enemy soldier's only hope of survival would be to make a statement that would not allow him to be excuted by his captors standards.  So what statement could the captured soldier say to get him out of either situation? 

(It's not some cheesy statement like "I will reveal my armies secrets" or "if you kill me I won't tell you where the bomb is" or something stupid like that, also it's not some ambiguous statement that can't be proved right or wrong, or a statement that has to do with opinion.  It's just a clever statement that would not allow him to be excuted based on the guidelines set forth by his captors).

"You are going to shoot me."

Bingo.  TP for the right answer!

Can you explain that one?  I'm in the same boat as you on both yours and the Devil and the Angel one.

They said they would shoot him if he lied and hang him if he told the truth.  He says "You are going to shoot me."  So they can't shoot him, because if they did, he would have been telling the truth, and they can only shoot him if he lied.  And they can't hang him, because if they did, he would've lied, and they can only hang him if he tells the truth.  So in this case, they can do neither.

I love this one!!

[wdleehi]

I use these things in the class room to teach problem solving and note taking.


The first one, I use a different version.

"Broken glass, a liquid and Romeo and Juliet dead on the ground."


For the hanging one, I use

"A man goes into a room to change a light bulb.  He walks in with just a light bulb and out with just a used light bulb.  The room is sealed until a few hours later another man enters the room.  He finds a room that is 20 feet by 20 feet.  The ceiling is 20 feet high.  There are no windows.  The only thing in the room is the light bulb, in the socket dead center of the ceiling."
(Uses dry ice instead of ice)

It is all about asking me yes/no questions to figure out the answer.


Here is another one we haven't seem

"57 bicycles and a dead man on the ground."  What happened?

[ChampKind]

Here is another one we haven't seem

"57 bicycles and a dead man on the ground."  What happened?

Are you sure you don't mean 51?  That's how I've heard it.

[wdleehi]

Here is another one we haven't seem

"57 bicycles and a dead man on the ground."  What happened?

Are you sure you don't mean 51?  That's how I've heard it.

Actually, 53.


"53 bicycles and a dead man on the ground."  What happened?




See, this is why I need my notes when I do this. 

[FatKidsDad]

Here is another one we haven't seem

"57 bicycles and a dead man on the ground."  What happened?

Are you sure you don't mean 51?  That's how I've heard it.

Actually, 53.


"53 bicycles and a dead man on the ground."  What happened?




See, this is why I need my notes when I do this. 

I'm thinking someone dropped a deck of cards

[CelticsWhat35]

Here is another one we haven't seem

"57 bicycles and a dead man on the ground."  What happened?

Are you sure you don't mean 51?  That's how I've heard it.

Actually, 53.


"53 bicycles and a dead man on the ground."  What happened?




See, this is why I need my notes when I do this. 

53 Bicycle playing cards, and the guy is dead because he was cheating and was holding an extra card.

I had no idea when you said 57 at first, and I was actually picturing bikes, but as soon as someone hinted to the other number, I got it.  Good one.

[wdleehi]

Here is another one we haven't seem

"57 bicycles and a dead man on the ground."  What happened?

Are you sure you don't mean 51?  That's how I've heard it.

Actually, 53.


"53 bicycles and a dead man on the ground."  What happened?




See, this is why I need my notes when I do this. 

53 Bicycle playing cards, and the guy is dead because he was cheating and was holding an extra card.

I had no idea when you said 57 at first, and I was actually picturing bikes, but as soon as someone hinted to the other number, I got it.  Good one.

I had 4 to many cards. 

[wdleehi]

How about the easy one?



" A man lives on the 20th floor.  Everyday, he takes the elevator down to the ground.  When he returns, he takes the elevator to the 11th floor, and walks up the other 9 floors, except when it rains.  Then he takes the elevator up to the 2oth floor"

[popeyejones]

During the war, an enemy soldier was captured and was given the choice as to how he would be executed.  His captors said he would be allowed to make one statement; if it was a lie he would be shot, if it was the truth he would be hanged.  The captors were very honest people and always stayed true to their word, so the enemy soldier's only hope of survival would be to make a statement that would not allow him to be excuted by his captors standards.  So what statement could the captured soldier say to get him out of either situation? 

(It's not some cheesy statement like "I will reveal my armies secrets" or "if you kill me I won't tell you where the bomb is" or something stupid like that, also it's not some ambiguous statement that can't be proved right or wrong, or a statement that has to do with opinion.  It's just a clever statement that would not allow him to be excuted based on the guidelines set forth by his captors).

"You are going to shoot me."

Bingo.  TP for the right answer!

Can you explain that one?  I'm in the same boat as you on both yours and the Devil and the Angel one.

They said they would shoot him if he lied and hang him if he told the truth.  He says "You are going to shoot me."  So they can't shoot him, because if they did, he would have been telling the truth, and they can only shoot him if he lied.  And they can't hang him, because if they did, he would've lied, and they can only hang him if he tells the truth.  So in this case, they can do neither.

Of course, they could shoot him in the foot and then hang him.  It seems that the promise to shoot if he lied relates to a method of execution.  A  non-lethal shooting seems well outside their promise of only two ways to kill him.  I know it is a technicality, but these captors you speak of seem like sadistic jerks and just the sort to use it. 

If it were me, I would choose a more indefinite statement, something the truth of which couldn't be determined for a while.  Such as, "the Boston Celtics will have won exactly 150 NBA championships by the year 2300."