FWD: puzzles - Nice ones
Time Zone
Two people are talking long distance on the phone, one is in an East coast state of the US, the other is in a West coast state of the US. The first asks the other "What time is it?", he hears the answer and says, "That's funny. It's the same time here!"
Happening in 1961
What happened in 1961 that will not happen again for over 4000 years?
The club password
A man wanted to enter an exclusive club but did not know the password that was required. He waited by the door and listened. A club member knocked on the door and the doorman said, "twelve." The member replied, "six" and was let in. A second member came to the door and the doorman said, "six" The member replied, "three" and was let in. The man thought he had heard enough and walked up to the door. The doorman said "ten" and the man replied "five". But he was not let in. What should have he said?
Mind Teaser 1
There are no tricks, this is a straight forward problem.
Alledgedly, this is one the of the questions for potential Microsoft employees. I must warn you, you can really get caught up trying to solve this problem. Reportedly, one guy solved it by writing a C program, although that took him 37 minutes to develop (compiled and ran on the 1st try though). Another guy solved it in three minutes. A group of 50, at Motorola, couldn't figure it out at all. See how long it takes you.
Here we go ..
"U2" has a concert that starts in 17 minutes and they must all cross a bridge to get there. All four men begin on the same side of the bridge. You must help them across to the other side. It's night. There is one flashlight. A maximum of two people can cross at one time. Any party who crosses, either 1 or 2 people, must have the flashlight with them.
The flashlight must be walked back and forth, it cannot be thrown, etc. Each band member walks at a different speed. A pair must walk together at the rate of the slower man's pace:
* bono: 1 min. to cross
* Edge: 2 min. to cross
* Adam: 5 min. to cross
* Larry: 10 min. to cross
For example: If Bono and Larry walk across first, 10 min. have elapsed when they get to the other side of the bridge. If Larry then returns with the flashlight, a total of 20 min. have passed and you have failed the mission.
Notes: There is no trick behind this. It is the simple movement of resources in the appropriate order. There are two known answers to this problem. This is based on a question that Microsoft gives to all prospective employees. And Microsoft expects you to answer this question in under 5 min!
The Man in the Bar
A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says "thank you" and walks out. This puzzle has claims to be the best of the genre. It's simple in its statement, absolutely baffling and yet with a completely satisfying solution. Most people struggle very hard to solve this one yet they like the answer when they hear it or have the satisfaction of figuring it out.
The Funny Man
There is a man that lives on the top floor of a very tall building. Everyday he gets the elevator down to the grounds floor to leave the building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only travel half way up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way unless it's raining! WHY?
This is probably the best known and most celebrated of all lateral thinking puzzles. It's a true classic. Although there are many possible solutions which fit the initial conditions, only the canonical answer is truly satisfying.
Two people are talking long distance on the phone, one is in an East coast state of the US, the other is in a West coast state of the US. The first asks the other "What time is it?", he hears the answer and says, "That's funny. It's the same time here!"
Happening in 1961
What happened in 1961 that will not happen again for over 4000 years?
The club password
A man wanted to enter an exclusive club but did not know the password that was required. He waited by the door and listened. A club member knocked on the door and the doorman said, "twelve." The member replied, "six" and was let in. A second member came to the door and the doorman said, "six" The member replied, "three" and was let in. The man thought he had heard enough and walked up to the door. The doorman said "ten" and the man replied "five". But he was not let in. What should have he said?
Mind Teaser 1
There are no tricks, this is a straight forward problem.
Alledgedly, this is one the of the questions for potential Microsoft employees. I must warn you, you can really get caught up trying to solve this problem. Reportedly, one guy solved it by writing a C program, although that took him 37 minutes to develop (compiled and ran on the 1st try though). Another guy solved it in three minutes. A group of 50, at Motorola, couldn't figure it out at all. See how long it takes you.
Here we go ..
"U2" has a concert that starts in 17 minutes and they must all cross a bridge to get there. All four men begin on the same side of the bridge. You must help them across to the other side. It's night. There is one flashlight. A maximum of two people can cross at one time. Any party who crosses, either 1 or 2 people, must have the flashlight with them.
The flashlight must be walked back and forth, it cannot be thrown, etc. Each band member walks at a different speed. A pair must walk together at the rate of the slower man's pace:
* bono: 1 min. to cross
* Edge: 2 min. to cross
* Adam: 5 min. to cross
* Larry: 10 min. to cross
For example: If Bono and Larry walk across first, 10 min. have elapsed when they get to the other side of the bridge. If Larry then returns with the flashlight, a total of 20 min. have passed and you have failed the mission.
Notes: There is no trick behind this. It is the simple movement of resources in the appropriate order. There are two known answers to this problem. This is based on a question that Microsoft gives to all prospective employees. And Microsoft expects you to answer this question in under 5 min!
The Man in the Bar
A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says "thank you" and walks out. This puzzle has claims to be the best of the genre. It's simple in its statement, absolutely baffling and yet with a completely satisfying solution. Most people struggle very hard to solve this one yet they like the answer when they hear it or have the satisfaction of figuring it out.
The Funny Man
There is a man that lives on the top floor of a very tall building. Everyday he gets the elevator down to the grounds floor to leave the building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only travel half way up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way unless it's raining! WHY?
This is probably the best known and most celebrated of all lateral thinking puzzles. It's a true classic. Although there are many possible solutions which fit the initial conditions, only the canonical answer is truly satisfying.
-- posted by Pooh Bear @
5/11/2008 01:35:00 PM
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