Puzzles

The Coin
• John is on a raft, adrift in the ocean with several other
survivors of a shipwreck. The others are too weak, so he
or Mike will swim to a nearby island to look for help. It is
almost certainly suicidal, due to the circling sharks, but
they have little else to hope for. Mike takes the lose
change from his pocket and puts two pennies in a hat.
He tells John that one is a 2005 penny, and the other
1975. If John picks the newer penny he can stay on the
raft, and Mike will risk his life. If John picks the older
penny, he must go. John has seen that both pennies
were actually dated 1975, but he doesn't want to say
anything, because Mike is a big guy. How does he win,
and get Mike to go, without exposing him as a fraud in
front of the others?
 The Speech
• A politician wrote a long speech. How did
it help his career even before he gave the
speech?
• Shown above are 4 men buried up to their
necks in the ground. They cannot move so can
only look forward. Between A and B is a brick
wall which cannot be seen through. They all
know that between them they are wearing 4
hats, 2 x black and 2 x white, but they do not
know what colour they are wearing. In order to
avoid being shot one of them must call out to
the executioner the colour of their hat. If they
get it wrong, everyone will be shot. They are
not allowed to talk to each other and have 10
minutes to fathom it out.
• After 1 minute, one of them calls out.
• Question: Which one of them calls out?
• Question: Why is he 100% certain of the colour
of his hat?
• This is not a trick question. There are no
outside influences nor other ways of
communicating. They cannot move and are
buried in a straight line. So A & B can only see
their respective sides of the wall, C can see B,
and D can see B & C
 Raining Night
You are driving down the road in your car on a
wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop
and you see three people waiting for the bus
• An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
• An old friend who once saved your life.
• The perfect partner you have been dreaming
about.
Knowing that there can only be one passenger
in your car, whom would you choose?
 Cross the Bridge
• A troop of four members, 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 is 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 minute to cross
• Edge:- 2 minutes to cross
• Adam:- 5 minutes to cross
• Larry:-10 minutes to cross
• For example: if Bono and Larry walk
across first, 10 minutes have elapsed
when they get to the other side of the
bridge. If Larry then returns with the
flashlight, a total of 20 minutes have
passed and you have failed the mission.
 Drinking Glasses
• Six drinking glasses stand in a row, with
the first three full of water and the next
three empty. By handling and moving only
one glass at a time, how can you arrange
the six glasses so that no full glass stands
next to another full glass, and no empty
glass stands next to another empty glass.
What is the minimum number of moves to
solve this puzzle.
 Brothers and Sisters
 A boy has as many sisters as he has
brothers, but each of his sisters has twice
as many brothers as she has sisters. How
many boys and girls are there in the
family?
 Who are they?
 Two Russians walk down a street in
Moscow. One Russian is the father of the
other Russian’s son. How are they
related?
 Stamps
• If it takes twelve 1p stamps to make a
dozen, how many 3p stamps are needed?
 Light Switches
• Three switches outside a windowless
room are connected to three Incandescent
light bulbs inside the room. How can you
determine which switch is connected to
which bulb if you are only allowed to enter
the room once?
 Manhole Covers
• Why is it better to have round manhole
covers than square ones?
• Your task is to join all nine dots using only
four (or less) straight lines, without lifting
your pencil from the paper and without
retracing the lines.
 Basket with Eggs
• There are six eggs in the basket. Six
people each take one of the eggs. How
can it be that one egg is left in the basket?