Howabout a real riddle?

Tokaji Kyoden · Post by **Tokaji Kyoden** » 2005-12-22 11:33pm

There is a room with no windows, no openings except for one door. The door is solid, no windows nor cracks around it. In this room, there is one light. 20 feet away from the door, on the outside of the room, is a panel with three lightswitches, only one turns on the light.

Here are the rules:
1) You may only open the door once, and you may not leave it open.
2) You have no tools, no powers, nothing but you.

How do you figure out which lightswitch turns on the light?

*if you know the answer, don't give it away*

Kuroneko · Post by **Kuroneko** » 2005-12-23 12:00am

In addition to on/off, one can add one bit of information by waiting: warm/cold. Two bits for this--turn on two, wait, turn off one, then go in and check the status of the lamp.

bilateralrope · Post by **bilateralrope** » 2005-12-23 12:10am

What do the other 2 switches do ?

Unless the other switches do something nasty you haven;t told us I would open the door, go out and flick each switch in turn, then close the door.

But this feels like you have failed to tell me something

Deathstalker · Post by **Deathstalker** » 2005-12-23 12:38am

bilateralrope:

1) You may only open the door once, and you may not leave it open.

Tasoth · Post by **Tasoth** » 2005-12-23 12:41am

Does this door have an old fashioned keyhole or peephole?

Straha · Post by **Straha** » 2005-12-23 02:04am

You turn on the first switch for ten or twenty minutes, turn it off, flip on the second switch and open the door and go see if the light is warm. If it's on switch numbah 2 is the culprit, if it's hot switch number 1 is the bunny. And if neither of those two conditions exist as such 'tis switch 3.

Instant Sunrise · Post by **Instant Sunrise** » 2005-12-23 02:30am

Slowly push the lightswitch and listen for the spark the switch of completing a circuit.

Crown · Post by **Crown** » 2005-12-23 07:30am

Switch on the first light switch wait a period of time, say five minutes, then switch off the first light switch and switch on the second. Enter the opposite room. If the light is on, then it is the second switch, if the light is off, feel the globe with your fingers. If it is warm to the touch then the first light switch, however if the globe is cold, then it is the third light switch.

bilateralrope · Post by **bilateralrope** » 2005-12-23 01:23pm

Deathstalker wrote:bilateralrope:
1) You may only open the door once, and you may not leave it open.

Ok, sorry bout that then.

Still, all the other suggestions so far would work, since they are all the same idea

tumbletom · Post by **tumbletom** » 2005-12-23 01:36pm

Ha that is a good riddle. Instead of starting a new thread, I'll put my riddle here...

There once was a plane crash and every single person on the plane died but there were still survivors. Who survived?

lol I know, its a stupidly simple riddle to solve

drachefly · Post by **drachefly** » 2005-12-23 02:11pm

As for the first: Turn on one of the switches for a long time so the bulb would get hot. Then turn on the second of the switches for a short time so the bulb would get warm. Then run in to the room and feel the bulb (gingerly).

As for the second: everyone else in the world? Assuming you meant survivors of the crash event, then it would be people who were in/on whatever the plane crashed into. Or, in a more macabre vein, perhaps two babies taken by C-section from their dead mother. Or some pets survived. Or, you're doing dumb wordplay when you say 'every single person', and all the married people survived.

drachefly · Post by **drachefly** » 2005-12-23 02:12pm

skyman8081 wrote:Slowly push the lightswitch and listen for the spark the switch of completing a circuit.

Doesn't work... suppose that the other two switches controlled something else -- a lightbulb in a different room, say.

Akhlut · Post by **Akhlut** » 2005-12-23 02:16pm

tumbletom wrote:Ha that is a good riddle. Instead of starting a new thread, I'll put my riddle here...

There once was a plane crash and every single person on the plane died but there were still survivors. Who survived?

lol I know, its a stupidly simple riddle to solve

The married people.

Kuroneko · Post by **Kuroneko** » 2005-12-23 06:02pm

drachefly wrote:As for the first: Turn on one of the switches for a long time so the bulb would get hot. Then turn on the second of the switches for a short time so the bulb would get warm. Then run in to the room and feel the bulb (gingerly).

That works, although it is not optimal--it is possible to do this with a hot/cold distinction only. There is the additional difficulty of estimated how much cooling the bulb would undergo while you wait the second time vs. how fast it heats up.

Post by **Surlethe** » 2005-12-23 06:04pm

Tokaji Kyoden wrote:There is a room with no windows, no openings except for one door. The door is solid, no windows nor cracks around it. In this room, there is one light. 20 feet away from the door, on the outside of the room, is a panel with three lightswitches, only one turns on the light.

Here are the rules:
1) You may only open the door once, and you may not leave it open.
2) You have no tools, no powers, nothing but you.

How do you figure out which lightswitch turns on the light?

*if you know the answer, don't give it away*

Do you start inside the room or outside it?

Kuroneko · Post by **Kuroneko** » 2005-12-23 06:12pm

Surlethe wrote:Do you start inside the room or outside it?

If inside is the starting point, the situation is clearly impossible if you're allowed to open the door only once and cannot leave it open inbetween crossings (I assume (1) covers this, although it is somewhat vague). Outside seems to be the only reasonable possibility.

wolveraptor · Post by **wolveraptor** » 2005-12-24 12:37am

For the first riddle: open the door, walk out of the room, flick all of the switches and go back in the room, closing the door. One of them should've turned on the light.

For the second: everyone else in the world.

Tokaji Kyoden · Post by **Tokaji Kyoden** » 2005-12-24 12:57pm

Some of you have gotten the answer, and others :points up: haven't. You can't leave the door open! The only period of time the door can be open is when you are walking through it, or when you are holding it, and then it must be closed.

Crown · Post by **Crown** » 2005-12-24 02:57pm

tumbletom wrote:There once was a plane crash and every single person on the plane died but there were still survivors. Who survived?

lol I know, its a stupidly simple riddle to solve

The people's relatives? You know; John Doe died X date, he was survived by his loving wife Jayne Doe.

Crown · Post by **Crown** » 2005-12-24 02:59pm

Kuroneko wrote:
drachefly wrote:As for the first: Turn on one of the switches for a long time so the bulb would get hot. Then turn on the second of the switches for a short time so the bulb would get warm. Then run in to the room and feel the bulb (gingerly).
That works, although it is not optimal--it is possible to do this with a hot/cold distinction only. There is the additional difficulty of estimated how much cooling the bulb would undergo while you wait the second time vs. how fast it heats up.

You two are both so close, that it's just too funny!

Simplify your answers!

Kuroneko · Post by **Kuroneko** » 2005-12-24 03:09pm

Crown wrote:You two are both so close, that it's just too funny! :lol: Simplify your answers!

Close to what? I don't believe there's anything with my solution--it is, in fact, identical to yours.

Crown · Post by **Crown** » 2005-12-24 03:15pm

Kuroneko wrote:
Crown wrote:You two are both so close, that it's just too funny! Simplify your answers!
Close to what? I don't believe there's anything with my solution--it is, in fact, identical to yours.

Ahhh, my apologies I didn't notice your post right at the top and was basing my reply on drachefly's post and the assumption that you two hadn't figured it out yet. My bad.

Raxmei · Post by **Raxmei** » 2005-12-24 04:28pm

It's a trap. You want me to walk into a room with no entrances or exits except for a door which I can only open once so I can get in but not out. If you think I will fall for it you are sadly mistaken.

The real answer has been posted enough times that I see no reason to post it again.

Tokaji Kyoden · Post by **Tokaji Kyoden** » 2005-12-24 06:33pm

It's a trap. You want me to walk into a room with no entrances or exits except for a door which I can only open once so I can get in but not out. If you think I will fall for it you are sadly mistaken.

Excellent, your paranoia has served you well!

wolveraptor · Post by **wolveraptor** » 2005-12-24 07:51pm

Tokaji Kyoden wrote:Some of you have gotten the answer, and others :points up: haven't. You can't leave the door open! The only period of time the door can be open is when you are walking through it, or when you are holding it, and then it must be closed.

How about flicking on all the switches before entering the room then?

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Howabout a real riddle?

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