******* The Car Talk Puzzler Psychic Friends Network******* A note from Car Talk Plaza: While the Puzzler enjoys a well-earned (okay, that's debatable) vacation, we'll be featuring a few of our especially scintillating, challenging and brain-achingly confounding classic puzzlers. We hope you enjoy them!
>From the Desk of Maury Maille Puzzler Tower Car Talk Plaza Hahvahd Squayah Our Fair City This Week's Classic Puzzler: Evil King Berman and the Fair Maiden RAY: The fair maiden Rowena wishes to wed. Her father, the Evil King Berman, has devised a way to drive off suitors. He has a little quiz for them, and here it is. It's very simple. There are three boxes on the table. One is made of gold, one is made of silver and the third is made of... TOM: Tofu? RAY: No, lead. Inside one of these boxes is a picture of the fair Rowena. It is the job of the White Knight to figure out which one has her picture. Now, to assist him in this endeavor there is an inscription on each of the boxes. The gold box says, "Rowena's picture is in this box." The silver box says, "The picture ain't in this box." The lead box says, "The picture ain't in the gold box." TOM: So the question is: Where's the picture? RAY: Good question, because if he opens the box with the picture, he gets the girl. TOM: But he also gives him a hint, right? RAY: You got it. The hint is this: One of the statements, and only one, is true. RAY: The question is, where's the picture? Think you know? Drop us a note via http://www.cartalk.com/email/email.html Want to listen to Ray obfuscate the puzzler in person? Listen anytime, at http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/ ************ Remember last week's puzzler? The Magic Hat RAY: Imagine there is a hat sitting on the table. And there are two contestants. You, Tommy, will be one of the contestants, and we'll call the other one Vinnie. You reach into the hat, Tommy, and pull out a number. Then, Vinnie does the same. Now, the reason this hat is magical is that, no matter what number you pull out, Vinnie will always pull out a number that is either one above or one below your number. For example, if you pull out a two, Tommy, you know Vinnie has pulled out either a one or a three. TOM: I'm with you man! Keep going. I like it. RAY: To make it simple, we'll limit the numbers to between one... and infinity. So, each of you pulls out a number. Let's say you pick three and Vinnie picks two. I'm the moderator, and I ask Tommy, "Do you know what number Vinnie has?" Tommy looks at his number, which is 3, and says, "No, I don't." I then ask Vinnie, "Do you know what number Tommy has?" He looks at his number two and says, "Yes." He knows Tommy has to have a 3. TOM: Really? RAY: Now, here's the tricky part: Regardless of the numbers that are picked, and assuming that both contestants answer truthfully, if I keep asking the question of both of them, eventually one contestant will know what number the other contestant has. In other words, if I ask Tommy, then ask Vinnie, then Tommy again... then Vinnie again... eventually one of them will know the other's number. Why's that? Here's why: http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/ So, did you figure it out? Yours in weekly puzzler torment, Maury Maille Puzzler Dissemination Specialist Car Talk Plaza *************** Write Tom and Ray--Please! Been meaning to write us a witty, brilliant, evocative, insightful letter? Excellent! We're not getting any of those things from the chumps hanging around Car Talk Plaza. For that matter, we'd settle for anything better than the usual schlock Tommy reads on the air. So, what are you waiting for? Write Tom and Ray right now at http://www.cartalk.com/email/email.html ******************* Useful information alert: How to Get a Free Car Talk CD or Booklet Tired of paying auto club dues to an outfit that lobbies against environmental causes? Check out Better World Club--and in the process get a Car Talk booklet or CD for free! Better World is an auto club with genuinely decent values-- unlike some others we could name... Whose initials happen to be AAA. Better World Club cares about... *Your environmental interests -- it gives 1% of its revenue to environmental clean up and advocacy. *Your consumer interests -- it even offers discounts on hybrid rental cars. *And it has the nation's only bicycle roadside assistance program. Dump your AAA membership and join Better World! If you join via the Car Talk web site now, you'll get a free Car Talk CD, or a copy of our booklet, 10 Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car without Even Knowing It. Check out Better World Club now at Http://www.cartalk.com *********************************** Got more time to kill? This past weekend's new, lousy Car Talk show is now on the web site, at http://www.cartalk.com/radio/show/ ******************** Help Ray lose the night sweats he's been getting, trying to come up with a decent puzzler each week. E-mail him your suggestion any time, via http://www.cartalk.com/email/email.html ******************** Puzzled out? You can unsubscribe to the Car Talk Puzzler Psychic Friends Network anytime at http://www.cartalk.com/ct/maillist.jsp?Puzzler_list=subscribe#psychic We'll forgive you.
