Tom, Dick, and Harry are in a room. They are sitting in 3 chairs, front to back, so that Tom can see Dick and Harry, Dick can see Harry, and Harry can't see anybody.
Enter the kidnapper, a bad bad man by the name of Angry Mark. Angry Mark is a little crazy.Sayeth Angry Mark:
"You have one chance of being set free, otherwise you will die. If you get up from your seat, you will be killed. If you turn around, you will be killed. If you talk to each other, you will be killed. The only way I will let you go is if one of you answers my question"
Angry Mark then cackles, crazy-like.
The room goes pitch-black, and Angry Mark puts a hat on the head of each of his captives. When the lights come back on, he says:
"I have put hats on your heads. There were 5 hats from which I chose - 3 red, 2 blue. The other two are now hidden and won't help you at all. My question to you is, what color hat did I put on your head?
"If one of you can tell me what color hat he is wearing, you will all be set free. Otherwise, you will be killed.
"No guessing, either. You have to tell me how you knew.
"You have 5 minutes!"
Angry Mark, after cackling again, flips the switch on a giant digital clock, which begins to count down from 5:00
The minutes go by, and the three captives are stumped. Nobody says anything. Suddenly, when the clock reads 0:10, Harry shouts "I've got it, I've got it!"
What color hat is Harry wearing, and how does he know?
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2 comments:
First, the Permutations
HDT
RRR
RRB
RBR
BRR
RBB
BBR
BRB
If Tom sees two blues, he speaks up right away since he knows he is red. Since Tom does not speak up, either Harry or Dick has a blue or are both red. Leaving
RRR
RRB
RBR
BRR
RBB
BRB
If Dick sees blue, he knows he himself is not blue, since Tom did not speak up. Dick would then know he is Red and save everyone.
RRR
RRB
RBR
RBB
Harry says Red with 10 seconds, since neither Tom or Dick spoke up.
I will ignore the many Rs and Bs of Will's answer and proceed with my own.
Harry laments his loss of any data regarding the situation for 3 minutes. Upon remembering that his friends, Dick and Tom, are idiots, Harry realizes it must be up to him to solve this madman's riddle.
"If Dick and I both were wearing blue, how easy this would be! But since Tom has not spoken up, one (or both) of us must be wearing red. Aha! If Dick realizes what I have just realized, he will speak up if he sees that I have a blue hat, for it must be he that is wearing a red hat that so prevents Tom from speaking. Aha! Since Dick has said nothing, I must be wearing the red hat."
In conclusion, go Cards!
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