This the hardest riddle ever!

[wir3d 2]

Ok this is probaly the hardest riddle ever (for me). If you can solve this you are smart  x1000. Ok now to the riddle:


You are the ruler of a medieval empire and you are about to have a celebration tomorrow. The celebration is the most important party you have ever hosted. You've got 1000 bottles of wine you were planning to open for the celebration, but you find out that one of them is poisoned.

The poison exhibits no symptoms until death. Death occurs within ten to twenty hours after consuming even the minutest amount of poison.

You have over a thousand slaves at your disposal and just under 24 hours to determine which single bottle is poisoned.

You have a handful of prisoners about to be executed, and it would mar your celebration to have anyone else killed.

What is the smallest number of prisoners you must have to drink from the bottles to be absolutely sure to find the poisoned bottle within 24 hours?

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

One if you're lucky.

[hamsterTK 93]

find the bottle that was tampered with? I bet that's the simple sort of answer this riddle wants?

EDIT:

Each tester just takes a sip from a bottle and whatever bottles the tester sipped from get trashed. If there are 10 prisoners then 100 bottles go in the trash.

Who knows, I aint too smart....

[screamingman12 30]

Each tester (NOT slave) takes a minute sample from each bottle, you record the bottles each one drinks from, and keep going until someone dies. Then you give each of the prisoners glasses from the poisoned bottle.

Edit: one

Give each slave a drink from each bottle, one dies, you invent some story about how he was a political prisoner and throw him in the moat, then you give the prisoners the poisoned bottle.

Edit 2: exactly how many prisoners do we have to deal with?

[hummer0328 6]

Answer in white text below:

think binary

10 prisoners

2(dear or alive)^10(number of prisoners)=1024(possible combinations)

any fewer and you won't have enough possible combinations (2^9=512)

-Have each prisoner represent 1 digit in a 10 digit binary sequence

-Number each bottle (in binary) from 1 (0000000001) to 1000 (1111101000)

-For each bottle, if their digit is a 1 then they drink, if it is a 0 they don't drink

-Afterwards if the prisoner dies give their digit a value of 1, if they live give their digit a 0 and the 10 digit binary sequence that results is same as the poisoned bottle of wine.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Math hurts.

How bout pour all the bottles in a barrel and give it to the prisioners.

Buy beer for your party.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: screamingman12

Give each slave a drink from each bottle, one dies, you invent some story about how he was a political prisoner and throw him in the moat, then you give the prisoners the poisoned bottle.quote>

Note that asks what the minimum number of prisoners you have to have drink is, not what the minimum number you have to kill is. If that was the case, then yes, one would be the obvious answer (making it a tricky riddle because it looks harder than it is and unless you pay careful attention to the wording you'll end up overthinking it).

And "one, if you're lucky" isn't a viable answer either since you wouldn't know whether the bottle he drank was the one until the celebration was ready to start. No, you need to test them all right now.

hummer0328 has the right answer. It's 10. Binary makes the explanation and experimentation the easiest, though you can number them in any base you want and the answer's the same.

The problem with this riddle, though, is that if you were to propose this in the medieval era no one would understand you or be sure of the results. And if it worked you might just end up dead- executed for practicing witchcraft (which many would believe must have been involved for it to work).

...though that's just nitpicking.

'twas a good riddle. In the future, though, it would be prudent to post the solution in white text if you figure it out so as not to spoil it for those who haven't yet and want to attempt to.

Seriously, I was thinking about it and then I (perhaps stupidly) went and read the rest of the thread. You ruined it!

[ilikehotdogsalot 307]

Just reading these posts is giving me a headache.

I hate you mathematics!

[hym 358]

Okay, since that riddle was so easily solved, I offer a different one.  It's more well known, but still difficult if you don't know the answer already.

"What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?"

Answer: Man

If you figure it out/know the answer, please post it in white text.

And remember:  If you use Google to find the answer, the evil minions of Microsoft will spirit you away!

[hummer0328 6]

Originally posted by: Duke87

Originally posted by: screamingman12

Give each slave a drink from each bottle, one dies, you invent some story about how he was a political prisoner and throw him in the moat, then you give the prisoners the poisoned bottle.quote>

Note that asks what the minimum number of prisoners you have to have drink is, not what the minimum number you have to kill is. If that was the case, then yes, one would be the obvious answer (making it a tricky riddle because it looks harder than it is and unless you pay careful attention to the wording you'll end up overthinking it).

And "one, if you're lucky" isn't a viable answer either since you wouldn't know whether the bottle he drank was the one until the celebration was ready to start. No, you need to test them all right now.

hummer0328 has the right answer. It's 10. Binary makes the explanation and experimentation the easiest, though you can number them in any base you want and the answer's the same.

The problem with this riddle, though, is that if you were to propose this in the medieval era no one would understand you or be sure of the results. And if it worked you might just end up dead- executed for practicing witchcraft (which many would believe must have been involved for it to work).

...though that's just nitpicking.

'twas a good riddle. In the future, though, it would be prudent to post the solution in white text if you figure it out so as not to spoil it for those who haven't yet and want to attempt to.

Seriously, I was thinking about it and then I (perhaps stupidly) went and read the rest of the thread. You ruined it!quote>

lol... Sorry to spoil it for you.  Anyways changed the answer to white text so others can have a try at it.

[2nerdy4u 1]

Originally posted by: hym

"What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?"quote>

Man. Crawls on 4 legs as a baby, walks upright on two as an adult, and uses a cane as an old man.

This was in some Greek myth, but I forgot which one.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: 2nerdy4u

Originally posted by: hym

"What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?"quote>

Man. Crawls on 4 legs as a baby, walks upright on two as an adult, and uses a cane as an old man.

This was in some Greek myth, but I forgot which one.quote>

 

That was an easy one.

Mabey you should  start a forum  riddle game unless there already is one.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: hym

"What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?"

quote>

Yeah, that one's old as dirt. Heard it a million times. It was in one of the Megaman Battle Network games, even.

Anyways, here's some more (answers in white underneath each):

You have a heavy sack full of rocks. What can you put in the sack to make it lighter?

A hole.

A mother has two children who were born on the same day, yet they are not twins. How is this possible?

They're two of a set of triplets.

Alternate answer: they weren't born in the same year.

A 170 pound man carrying three 2 pound balls is walking along when he comes to a bridge which will collapse if more than 175 pounds are put on it, yet he manages to cross the bridge safely. How?

He juggles the balls, keeping at least one in the air at all times, and thus never exceeds 174 pounds total on the bridge.

A man's suit accidentally tears while he's at work, and he dies. What was his job and how did he die?

He was an astronaut. He died from lack of external air pressure.

[your_adress_here 11]

Originally posted by: Duke87

A 170 pound man carrying three 2 pound balls is walking along when he comes to a bridge which will collapse if more than 175 pounds are put on it, yet he manages to cross the bridge safely. How?

He juggles the balls, keeping at least one in the air at all times, and thus never exceeds 174 pounds total on the bridge.

A man's suit accidentally tears while he's at work, and he dies. What was his job and how did he die?

He was an astronaut. He died from lack of external air pressure.quote>

A 170 pound man carrying three 2 pound balls is walking along when he comes to a bridge which will collapse if more than 175 pounds are put on it, yet he manages to cross the bridge safely. How?

He could have left one ball at the start of the bridge, crossed, left the two other balls at the end, then go back to the start to cross with the last ball.

A man's suit accidentally tears while he's at work, and he dies. What was his job and how did he die?

He could have also been working with dangerous chemicals or radiation when his biohazard suit ripped.

(My alternate answers written in white)

[Easy Bakes 253]

You have a heavy sack full of rocks. What can you put in the sack to make it lighter?

Nothing

A mother has two children who were born on the same day, yet they are not twins. How is this possible?

They were born in a different year.

A 170 pound man carrying three 2 pound balls is walking along when he comes to a bridge which will collapse if more than 175 pounds are put on it, yet he manages to cross the bridge safely. How?

He rolls the balls across the bridge 1st.

A man's suit accidentally tears while he's at work, and he dies. What was his job and how did he die?

Could be several things Radiation or biohazard ect......

Radiation posioning or Disease reseach facility

 we are just so smart

[Evil Weasel 88]

Technically the first response is correct.

One, if the first happens to get the poisoned one, then that's the lowest number possible. Question finished.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Evil Weasel Technically the first response is correct.

One, if the first happens to get the poisoned one, then that's the lowest number possible. Question finished.quote>

No it's not. Because that wouldn't be "absolutely sure". You have a 1 in 1000 chance that the first one is it and that that will work, but then you also have a 999 out of 1000 chance that it's not it and now all you've done is learn that one bottle is safe, with 999 potential tainted ones instead of 1000.

Remember, death takes 10 to 20 hours (let's say 15 as an average) and you need to find the poison within 24 hours. Sure, you could have one person try the bottles one at a time and find the poison, but that could end up taking anywhere from 15 hours to 15000 hours (625 days, or almost 21 months)- and you don't have that kind of time. That's why the celebration being tomorrow part of the riddle is key.

[Evil Weasel 88]

Read my response again, then think about it, then respond.

Thank you.

[hummer0328 6]

Originally posted by: Evil Weasel Read my response again, then think about it, then respond.

Thank you.quote>

The answer of 1 would be correct except the riddle specifically asks:

What is the smallest number of prisoners you must have to drink from the bottles to be absolutely sure to find the poisoned bottle within 24 hours?

With only allowing 1 prisoner to drink you would only have a 1/1000 chance of finding the poisoned bottle and 1/1000 is not absolutely sure.  Therefore one cannot be the correct answer.

[wir3d 2]

Yeah that is true. I wonder if I can get Duke to do this....

[Joe 90 358]

So...

New Riddle?

No math. I promise

---

The three wisest sages in the land were brought before the king to see which of them were worthy to become the king's advisor. After passing many tests of cunning and invention, they were pitted against each other in a final battle of the wits.

Led blind-folded into a small room, the sages were seated around a small wooden table as the king described the test for them.

"Upon each of your heads I have placed a hat. Now you are either wearing a blue hat or a white hat. All I will tell you is this- at least one of you is wearing a blue hat. There may be only one blue hat and two white hats, there may be two blue hats and one white hat, or there may be three blue hats. But you may be certain that there are not three white hats."

"I will shortly remove your blind folds, and the test will begin. The first to correctly announce the color of his hat shall be my advisor. Be warned however, he who guesses wrongly shall be beheaded. If not one of you answers within the hour, you will be sent home and I will seek elsewhere for wisdom."

With that, the king uncovered the sages' eyes and sat in the corner and waited. One sage looked around and saw that his competitors each were wearing blue hats.

For what seemed like hours no one spoke. Finally he stood up and said, "The color of the hat I am wearing is..."

Don't just guess - tell us WHY.

[simsider 4]

This is giving me a headach just go on with the party and hope and pray that who ever drinks the poison is not you and leaves befor he/she dies. Or inlist the help of 1000 citizens with a cash reward to who ever finds the posion after a 24 hour waiting period.



lookie Lookie my 100th postie!!!

[hummer0328 6]

Originally posted by: Joe 90 So...

New Riddle?

No math. I promise

---

The three wisest sages in the land were brought before the king to see which of them were worthy to become the king's advisor. After passing many tests of cunning and invention, they were pitted against each other in a final battle of the wits.

Led blind-folded into a small room, the sages were seated around a small wooden table as the king described the test for them.

"Upon each of your heads I have placed a hat. Now you are either wearing a blue hat or a white hat. All I will tell you is this- at least one of you is wearing a blue hat. There may be only one blue hat and two white hats, there may be two blue hats and one white hat, or there may be three blue hats. But you may be certain that there are not three white hats."

"I will shortly remove your blind folds, and the test will begin. The first to correctly announce the color of his hat shall be my advisor. Be warned however, he who guesses wrongly shall be beheaded. If not one of you answers within the hour, you will be sent home and I will seek elsewhere for wisdom."

With that, the king uncovered the sages' eyes and sat in the corner and waited. One sage looked around and saw that his competitors each were wearing blue hats.

For what seemed like hours no one spoke. Finally he stood up and said, "The color of the hat I am wearing is..."

Don't just guess - tell us WHY.

quote>

Answer:

It's blue

The sage is able to answer this because he is able to figure out what the other 2 sages are thinking and that they are both confused too.

If the winning sage was wearing a white hat the other 2 would see one white and one blue hat.  Because of the others silence one of those 2 sages would be able to figure out that there isn't just one blue hat.

Here is another riddle:

'Twas whispered in Heaven, 'twas muttered in Hell,

And echo caught faintly the sound as it fell;

On the confines of Earth, 'twas permitted to rest,

And in the depths of the ocean its presence confessed;

'Twill be found in the sphere when 'tis riven asunder,

Be seen in the lightning and heard in the thunder;

'Twas allotted to man with his earliest breath,

Attends him at birth and awaits him at death,

Presides o'er his happiness, honor and health,

Is the prop of his house and the end of his wealth.

In the heaps of the miser, 'tis hoarded with care,

But is sure to be lost on his prodigal heir;

It begins every hope, every wish it must bound;

With the husbandman toils, and with monarchs is crowned;

Without it the soldier and seaman may roam,

But woe to the wretch who expels it from home!

In the whispers of conscience its voice will be found,

Nor e'er in the whirlwind of passion be drowned;

'Twill soften the heart; but though deaf be the ear,

It will make him acutely and instantly hear.

Set in shade, let it r

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: hummer0328

'Twas whispered in Heaven, 'twas muttered in Hell,

And echo caught faintly the sound as it fell;

On the confines of Earth, 'twas permitted to rest,

And in the depths of the ocean its presence confessed;

'Twill be found in the sphere when 'tis riven asunder,

Be seen in the lightning and heard in the thunder;

'Twas allotted to man with his earliest breath,

Attends him at birth and awaits him at death,

Presides o'er his happiness, honor and health,

Is the prop of his house and the end of his wealth.

In the heaps of the miser, 'tis hoarded with care,

But is sure to be lost on his prodigal heir;

It begins every hope, every wish it must bound;

With the husbandman toils, and with monarchs is crowned;

Without it the soldier and seaman may roam,

But woe to the wretch who expels it from home!

In the whispers of conscience its voice will be found,

Nor e'er in the whirlwind of passion be drowned;

'Twill soften the heart; but though deaf be the ear,

It will make him acutely and instantly hear.

Set in shade, let it rest like a delicate flower;

Ah! Breath on it softly, it dies in an hour. quote>

Life, perhaps?

Tom and his younger sister were fighting. Their mother was tired of the fighting, and decided to punish them by making them stand on the same piece of newspaper in such a way that they couldn't touch each other.  How did she accomplish this?  And no she did not tear it in half.quote>

The newspaper is under a door, sticking out on each side.

Paul’s height is six feet, he’s an assistant at a butcher’s shop, and wears size 9 shoes. What does he weigh?quote>

He weighs meat.

The person who makes it has no need for it. The person who purchases it does not use it. The person who does use it does not know he or she is. What is it?quote>

Not 100% sure, but is it time?

[screamingman12 30]

Originally posted by: hummer0328

The person who makes it has no need for it. The person who purchases it does not use it. The person who does use it does not know he or she is. What is it?

quote>

A coffin.

[hummer0328 6]

All correct so far except the 1st one.

What comes next:

o, t, t, f, f, s, s, __, __, __

?

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: hummer0328

All correct so far except the 1st one.

What comes next:

o, t, t, f, f, s, s, __, __, __

?quote>

e, n, t

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: hummer0328 All correct so far except the 1st one.

What comes next:

o, t, t, f, f, s, s, __, __, __

?quote>

Haha. Another one that's been in Megaman Battle Network. Specifically, in the fourth game this is one of several questions potentially posed to you by the lady in the Den City Tournament prelims who needs her PET fixed. And here I thought Capcom made that one up.

The proper answer is indeed "ENT", but for the longest time I couldn't figure out why. It's the first letter of the word form of numbers one through ten. Heh. Sneaky. I was going crazy trying to find a pattern in the letters and coming up with nothing. The repeating nature of the given letters fools you into that.

And furthermore, hoooooooonk! hoooooooooooonk!

Very clever indeed.

Okay, I've lost it. dgkdflknsblkjnbknsgbksbl. Invisible text is teh phun!!!

[yoshikoroyimara 5]

I remember my sixth grade teacher...long long time ago...tell us this one...and I haven't forgotten it...nor heard it since...but now...the answer is:

the letter 'H'

Now I shall forget it... 

[Joetropian1 1]

What's peculiar about these numbers: 8, 4, 5, 1, 9, 7, 6, 3, 2?

Think about it!

JT1