Quiz for you non-footie

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You are working in a building and have a problem. On the top floor are three standing lights. On the ground floor are three switches, which control the lights, presently all in the "Off" position. You don't know which switch controls, which light, except that there is a one-to-one correspondence. You're down on the ground floor and want to label the switches. But you want to do it in as few trips up stairs as possible.

The room the lights are in can only be seen from the top floor (it has no windows and its at the end of a long corridor.) There's no one around to help you; you must do it alone. What are the fewest trips you can make to determine which switch turns on which light? You may assume that the bulbs have just been replaced, all the wiring is good, etc.

What is the least number of trips upstairs required and why?

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

Answers

2....

turn on switches 1&2, go upstairs and note which lights are on, go downstairs and then turn on switches 2&3, go upstairs and note which lights are on. The light which was on on your previous trip up the stairs corresponds to switch 2, the light which was off on your previous trip up the stairs is 3 and the other is 1.

Go downstairs, get a beer out of the fridge and watch a porn movie to congratulate yourself on your cleverness....

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


Errrrr wrong :o)

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

0 trips is the answer - unless there's a trick in there somewhere.

You want to label the switches ? Fine, just label them. No need to go anywhere. Are they labelled correctly ? Who cares. It's an unused room. As and when anyone actually occupies the room, let them worry about labelling the bloody switches.

Next question Jay ... ??

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


Loony 'lighten up'!! :o)

That's wrong too BYW

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


btw even doh!!!

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


One trip Jay.

Turn on a light for a minute then turn it off and turn another one on. Go upstairs. The lamp on is the second switch. The hot (off) lightbulb is the first switch, the cold lightbulb is the switch you haven't pressed. :o))

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


Yep nice one P

Or do you remember it from the RTG board too???

We will have to start up battleships again. I have been practicing on Open :o)

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


Pilgrim - neeone likes a teacher's pet ! ;o))

Jay - I always was the 'sparky' one in my class !!

I still think my answer was the right one - and it just came to me like a flash ...... !!

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


I never read the RTG board Jay. The puzzle was vaguely familiar to me. I was sure the answer was one and had to work out how. I'm chuffed with meself!

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

Bliddy Swot!! thinks like a woman!! ;))

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


Pat on the back for P

Jay removes Gav's sour grapes before he poisons himself! :o)

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


Loony from now on I will always think of you as Sparky :o)

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

Jay - from now on I will always think of you as Jay ....

;o}

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


Sparky your killing me with you wit here!!! ;o))

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

OK. Got this from a lateral thinking puzzle site. No cheating!

You can ask me questions with yes or no answers.

Deep in the forest was found the body of a man who was wearing only swimming trunks, snorkel and facemask. The nearest lake was 8 miles away and the sea was 100 miles away. How had he died? This is supposedly based on a true incident. Does this make it an urban legend? Many urban legends can be restated as lateral thinking puzzles. This is a very good one of this type.

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000



We go to the same site P ! :o)

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

He was picked up by a firefighting aeroplane that was loading up with water in a giant bucket and dumped on a forest fire.....

Sorry I read about it when it happened...

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


Pil - was he wearing the swimming trunks on his head ?

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

OK Jay,

You pick one. I won't play.

(I'd heard about it too Gav. Now that's Unlucky!)

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


Gav you are supposed to wait a while let evryone struggle with the answer. Then leap in with the answer, pretending that the time you waited was spent working it all out.

Thats what I was planning to do any way!! Here have your grapes back, that's the last time I try to save you!! :o)

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


The thing that gets me about these lateral-thinking shaggy red herring things is that the 'correct' answer is always totally bizarre, yet if you come up with an equally improbable scenario you're told it's 'wrong'. How does that work then ??

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

Here's an easy one....

A man has a house with all four walls south facing, a bear walks past the window, what colour is the bear?

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


I dunno Gav, but is the bear sitting on a POLE ??

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

What is the name of the ship in Mutiny on the Bounty ?

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

OK - here's another more practical problem. Probably well known to some of you.
You all know the ending of one of the Spaghetti westerns, three grubby guys each with a pistol in a face(s)-off.
El Loco is a dead-shot, 100% chance of killing his opponent.
Lee, a worse shot, has a 78.92% chance of killing whomever he aims at.
TMWNN has an even worse record, 48.75% probability of killing.
Rationality rears its ugly head, and art is sacrificed (as well as that brilliant final scene) as it is agreed that the worst shot TMWNN should fire first, followed by (if alive) Lee and then (if alive) El Loco.
What should TMWNN do apart from sh#tting his pants?

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

Jay - eh ??? Have you lost it or something ?

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

Trick question Loony...lots of people don't get it.

Like the one. Whats the name of the dog in Lassie :o)

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


True,

I suppose the answer is forfeit his turn or deliberately miss.

If they only have one shot each he should be quite safe.

Lee will aim for El Loco, 'cos El Loco has 100% chance of killing him. If He misses El Loco will kill him.

TMWNN won't be a target 'cos he's such a crap shot.

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000


Spot on Pilgrim!

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

Numbering was a bit shite

-- Anonymous, July 13, 2000

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