There is a riddle, you see. I knew the answer, and I knew how to arrive at the answer, and yet even after roping in two other people it still took the guts of half an hour and at least three beermats to reverse engineer the riddle itself. So you are going to read it and you are going to enjoy it.
Three people are standing in a line, facing forward. Like so: A -> B -> C ->. Person A can see Person B and Person C. Person B can see Person C. Person C is kind of staring off into space, perhaps pondering the merits of dogs vs. cats as household pets, or idly doing some mental arithmetic.1
Now then: hats. Each of them is wearing a hat, which has been distributed from a pool of two white hats and three black hats. They don’t know what hat they’ve been given, although of course they can see the hats of those in front of them. They are asked to say, without guessing, what colour hat they’re wearing.
A says nothing. B says nothing. C says, “I know what colour hat I’m wearing.”
What colour hat does he have, and how does he know?
- They all do this. They’re very logical people, you understand, and that’s how they get their jollies. Even that bit about the dogs and cats is just a mental exercise. Do you think Person C would ever actually want to have a pet? You fool. [↩]
Oh, this is worse than that socks in the drawer in the dark one.
I need coffee. And a whiteboard.
I’m sure you could take over a meeting room. Just go on about incentivizing and actualizing and getting ducks in a row, no one will know the difference.
SHAZAM! i got it right. what do i win?
A very fetching zebra-print hat. It’s in the post.
Tell meeeeee. Is he wearing a black hat?
I don’t know, is he?
Nah I can’t get it
C is fibbing through his dickhole. B and C are either wearing different colours or bother are wearing black.
Right if ‘C is fibbing through his dickhole’ is the answer I aint ever coming back
I didn’t think I’d need to specify, but no, he is not lying through his dickhole.
Person C can see the rim of his hat.
Send the prize to 30 donnybrook..
No, he can’t.
Took me a few mins, but I got it. It’s a good un.
Dickhole.
Right thats my day down the toilet but I’ve got it, now to hit a punching bag.
[No, you haven't.]
As of right now, 18 people have Googled this riddle and landed on this post. Either it’s a surprisingly popular riddle, or people are very clumsily trying to cheat.
Yes I was early in my claiming to have got it, but you didn’t have to out me so coldly.
I aint cheating by the way and I have the answer in my inbox. I just aint looking
How do you do that Google thing? By that I mean, Colm please instruct me of how to find out what Googles lead to a site?
Also please tell me the answer
I use StatCounter. Gives you lotsa info. Alternatively, seeing as you’re on Blogspot, there might be some button you can click to turn on Google Analytics. Dig around a bit.
Also no
so i am still the cleverest of them all? this riddle has made my day twice over.
You and Landigan and Gaff’s brother (not pictured) have solved it so far.
CoooooOOOOooooolm. Is he looking in a mirror or something?
Hold on …no …no wait I haven’t got it.
Colm please explain
Yay! Got it. It took me a few minutes, but now I feel smart. What a deadly riddle. Thanks!
Got it. Nice.
Got it. Twice as deep as it seems at first.
– Jon
Someone feckin tell me.
Consider your bad self emailed.
This made my brain melt. Tell me…
Pfh I knew that …*cough*