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The Riddle
There are 5 houses in five different colours.

In each house lives a person with a different nationality.

These five owners drink a certain type of beverage, eat a different food and keep a certain pet.

No owners have the same pet, eat the same food or drink the same beverage.

The Clues
the Brit eats KFC
the Kiwi drinks DB Export
the Aussie lives in the Grey house
the Red house is on the immediate left of the Brown house
the person who eats Burger King rears birds
the man who eats Burger Fuel lives next to the one who drinks Stella
the man living in the center house drinks VB
the man who eats Burger Fuel lives next to the one who keeps cats
the German lives in the first house
the man who keeps horses lives next to the man who eats McDonalds
the American keeps dogs as pets
the owner who eats Wendys drinks Heineken
the Red house's owner drinks Lion Red
the owner of the Green house eats McDonalds
the German lives next to the Yellow house

The question
Who owns the fish?
Can you find it fast enough?

Sorry man but her now 10.30.pm. and I jast don't want to think.

I'll give you all of the sorted out nationalities, houses, etc., etc., etc.


House number one is owned by the German, it is painted Green. He owns a Cat. His favorite food comes from McDonald's, while his favorite beverage is a Stella.

House number two is owned by the Kiwi, it is painted Yellow. He owns a Horse. His favorite food comes from Burger Fuel, while his favorite beverage is a DB Export.

House number three (center) is owned by an Aussie, it is painted Grey. He owns a Bird. His favorite food comes from Burger King, while his favorite beverage is a VB.

House number four is owned by a Brit, it is painted Red. He owns a FISH. His favorite food comes from KFC, while his favorite beverage is a Lion Red.

House number five is owned by an American, it is painted Brown. He owns a Dog. His favorite food comes from Wendy's, while his favorite beverage is a Heineken.


So yerss, tell me how I did.

Too much for me to handle right now.

It took me about an hour and 5 sheets of paper to come up with that answer, so I hope it right.

you are right lance, according to the solution I have

I could spend all day contributing more to this one... ok, see how you guys do with this rather more quick one:

I have a glass of milk and a glass of water. I take a spoonful of the milk and mix it with the water. I then take a spoonful of the milk/water solution and mix it back in with the milk.

Do I now have more mixed milk in with the water, or more mixed water in with the milk? And if some logic can be applied to answers rather than just guesses it would be nice...

equal amounts. you insert one whole spoonful of milk into the water, then take away half a spoonful of the milk, with half a spoonful of the water, to the milk-glass. ending up with half a spoonful of water in the milk and the same amount of milk in the water.

Are you saying I HAVE to take a half and half amount back?

if its mixed..oops only a spoon of milk in the water..you'd get more water then..damn

that logic thingie was given by a friend of mine (michael . nijs of the forum here) who needed the answer for a test, I came up with the Brit too, but I wanted to doublecheck

Yup, and also assume that I mix the mixture thoroughly for a more fair result.

females cant think logically

Errr... very possibly...

Still looking for an answer, though, and now the gauntlet is laid down for a female to get it!

well after adding milk to the water you bring some milk back to the milkglass so I would say it would be equal. Cause there aint an entire spoon of Milk/water in either glasses. So then we get to clear if this is a reasonable or a logical reply

I saw that there is more milk mixed in with the water.

You're totally right!

dont guess give a reason

Because you give away one spoon of milk, and add it to the water. But then you pretty much take that milk bac, plus some water.

Meaning there's more milk than water.

Ooh, I don't know whether to declare if either of you are right or wrong now or let the answers run for a bit longer...

Just tell please.

There would be the same amount of water in the milk as milk in the water, the percentages would be dependant upon the amount of liquid in the glasses and the size of the spoons. example glass holds 60ml, the big spoon hold 30ml. You put 30ml of milk into the water so that the mixture is now 1/3 milk (60ml water 30ml milk), when you transfer back 30ml if liquid this will be 10ml milk and 20ml water, leaving 20ml milk in the 40ml water. So now you have 40ml milk with 20ml water and vice versa.

I chose these amounts because they are simple, please feel free to try with small spoons and/or bigger glasses.

My calculations lead me to the following solution:-

Total Sum (U posters) need to get out > you already are = A REAL LIFE

Simple really.

Methinks that post itself makes you out to be what you hate most, Mech...

I find it easier to assume 100 unit glasses and a 20 unit spoon, Corran.

Um... any females want to have a crack at this?

Hate is a strong word Ush, I don't think there's anything I really hate................ oh wait, repair men calling themselves "engineers", I suppose I do hate them.

Have I become one of those!?!?

Using your figures Ush, my answer stands, just do the math.

Err.. you don't need to ask ME to do the math, Corran! I was just making it easier for others!

You have become which that you mock then, Mech.

You're gonna have to narrow it down for me Ush, I do a lot of mocking thoughout my day.

A baggies Fan?

So this isnt about logic any more it is math

way over your head then, finti?

no but there I thought this should be about logic, not mathematical problems

almost the same

It IS a logic problem; the maths is entirely secondary. Well, if no female takes a stab soon I'll just reveal it all.

well you mixed in some numbers Ush about size of spoon and glass, so then they became mathemathic

No, that is just a means of DEMONSTRATING the answer. The puzzle IS a logic problem- clearly there were no numbers in the question as asked.

Okay, I used the same methodology as Corran (except that you obviously can't fit 90ml liquid into a 60ml glass).

I used fractions throughout, so no absolute values, and worked out the concentration each of milk and water in each mixture at the end of the puzzle.

I first tried it with a spoon 1/3 the volume of the glass and each glass starting 2/3 full. You put half of the milk in the water, resulting in a mixture of 2/3 water, 1/3 milk. You take 1/3 of this mixture and put it back in the milk (bringing it back to its original volume), resulting in a mixture of 2/3 milk, 1/3 water. Suggests Corran was right.

Tried it with a spoon 1/4 volume of glass and glasses starting 3/4 full, ended up with 3/4 water, 1/4 milk in what was originally water, and 3/4 milk, 1/4 water in what was originally milk. So it doesn't actually matter what size glass or spoon you use, or what the ratio of sizes is, as long as you thoroughly mix the solutions and use the same size spoon for each transfer. You will end up with the same concentration of "impurity" in each solution.

Does this qualify as a logical answer from a female? (I could be completely wrong of course.... I'm not very good at these things.)

Woo hoo, check out the big brains on Darla.

You know smart is so sexy.

Yup, you are absolutely right; the logical deduction is that the amounts mirror; the mix makes no different so no matter what the mix will be the same.

This is one that a person either gets right at once or totally wrong...

"I buy a painting for $70, sell it for $80, buy it for $90 and then sell it
for $100. How much profit do I make?"

And despite how it looks it is not a maths problem!

$10

$20

A-ha! Two different answers already... well, I'll let people argue it out...

BTW, obviously some COUNTING is involved here, but it is basic enough for it not to really be a maths problem.

no, you lose the first $10 the second time you buy it, so you only make $10 overall. right, ush?

have to go to 2 rehearsals now, sees ya tomorrow!

Bye Darla! Thanks for playing!

Well, I'd better let others guess before I blow it all...

You buy it so you are -$70, you sell for $80 so +$10,
You buy for $90 so are -$80, you sell for $100 so +$20.

oh crap, just ignore me, i told you i was no good at these. dunno what i was thinking, sorry corran.

This could all take a while... there is a third commonly given answer, btw (that I got from Julie when I mailed her this one the oither day)

I could never ignore you, I like Vampires - especially female ones.

No wait, please don't run away I don't want to hurt you, I only want to be your friend.

I'll just see if any others want to take a stab tonight...

it's 10..

Ah! Another vote for 10! The fun continues!

Any other guesses?

this one was sent to me by michael again:

you have 1 000,
you add 40
you add 1 000
you add 30
you add 1 000
you add 20
you add 1 000
you add 10

what's your result?

and this is maths, finti, I know

EDIT: it's a stupid one, but this was actually asked in a game, where you had to answer quick, she (hehehe, guess "you stupid woman!" is true) got it wrong

Errr... one at a time I think, yerss.

"I buy a painting for $70"

-$70

"sell it for $80"

+$10

"buy it for $90"

-$80

"then sell it for $100"

+$20

"How much profit do I make?"

+$20

"And despite how it looks it is not a maths problem!"

Are you sure?

Yes, Raz, because it is only adding very basic numbers! Which i thought was pretty obvious. People that get it wrong get it wrong due to logical flaws; solving it has almost nothing to do with mathematical ability. No-one who gets it wrong has their maths at fault.

I've always associated mathematical ability with logic ability. You can't really do a maths course without good logic, although crap arthimetic will probably not hinder you. *puts hand up*

Yes, maths IS logical; I would have no problem associating maths problems with logic. But logic is not necessarily maths, and though my question involves basic addition and subtraction the logic involved is different.

You are right, of course, and the reason you didn;t see the seperation is because you got it right at once- as I said when I set it, some people do that and never see the problem.

The question tricks you if you go through it step by step- or it CAN trick you, if you start thinking about profit and loss rather than pure numbers. Darla and Mah- intelligent people both- both made the same error of thinking of it like this:

I make $10 when I first sell it, lose $10 when I buy it back, and then make $10 when I sell it again, for ten dollars profit.

This way of thinking means you have accidentally used the same number twice.

Likewise Julie's reasoning (she said break even), which is that you make $10 in selling for $80 what you bought for $70, then you lose $20 buying for $90 what you originally played $70 for, and then make ten back on the final sale for an even break.

Both ways seem very logical for anyone thinking of it that way but invovle the same errors of using the numbers more than once.

The simplest way for anyone to do it is simply to add the money paid- $160- versus the money made- $180. So no matter what the process in between you have to have made twenty dollars!

And now we can do yerss' one, though as he says, it is meant to be a quickfire (and, I believe, oral) question to quickly confuse a brain. I have more I can do when that one is done... the answer is 4100. I believe the trick is that if you rush through it you will say 5000.

Yep 4100 I get too, so it must be correct.

yea..4100..how can anyone possibly get 5000 out of that??

They could be stupid.

true......then again, im not good at math

Might mean you are not stupid too.

but, i am stupid, i have no brain, and ive been put in the worst math class..

I have no idea why people got 5 000 out of that, but that one did at the quiz

this is true, but not all math is logical

damn I got 5000 at first try

and second try too?

See? Easily done, Mah. Ok, here is a new one.

"In an overcrowded country, the government decrees that families must stop having children as soon as they have a son, so some families have just a son, some have a son and daughter, some a son and two daughters etc., and some just daughters. In this country, will boys outnumber girls or vice versa?"

Please try not to be too clever about this one; obviously we want the most LIKELY outcome, not a range of variables.

I believe the boys would outnumber the girls.

I truly hate mathematical illusions, cos I got 5000 too. Hence, I am stupid.

Well, maybe ever so slightly... any luck with the other puzzle?

don't mind it, I'm sure you're not stupid but very nice

No, I really am very stupid. God only knows how I passed my first degree!

so, how did you passed?

I think persistence must be the term...

Though that said, I would ignore her claims to stupidity. Darla is like a certain other poster when it comes to putting herself down...

clearly girls outnumbering the boys is the answer, as there's a maximum of one boy per family, yet infinite numbers of girls

how's the name of that show again... er... 1 against 100

Well, I will let a few more guesses be made before the answer is revealed...

i think that girls would prolly outnumber the boys because anyone can have any number of duaghters as long as they dont have a son..and you have to stop having children when you have a son so each family is obviously going to have only one son..

So, one vote boys, two vote girls... Darla tells me she is too busy to worry about probabilities right now.. hmm...

Well, I'll just let this run for a LITTLE longer...

Oooh, that is TOO long. SHall I give the answer for the benefit of those who answered?

I already gave the answer.

Well, you gave AN answer.

ok, i think boys outnumber girls. for your first child your chances are 50/50 male. however, the chances of you having a girl followed by a boy are only 1/4. therefore the chances of there being lots of girls in this country are much smaller than the chances of there being just 1 boy in each family.

perhaps.....

Ok, time I gave the answer on this one...

The answer is that there would be no difference at all, the ratio would remain 50/50 boys and girls. It does not matter what laws and restrictions the government puts in place- unless it actually KILLS kids, the chances of the next baby born remain the same 50/50 for boy or girl as they always were!

You just end up with 50% of families having ome boy only, the others have a mix of girls and maybe one boy- the numbers end up the same.

fair enough. see, that's me trying to be clever again. i even had the correct answer in my incorrect solution!!

Well, that is better than nothing then...

Simple problem now!

A barge is in a lock ten metres long and five metres wide, flooded at two metres. A rope ladder is over the side, the bottom is 15cm over the water. Water pours into the lock at five hundred litres a second. How long before the water reaches the ladder?

Do you mean the water level is 2 metres?

Yes

Assuming the barge is already fully submerged....

The volume of water to be filled is 10x5x0.15 = 7.5m^3.
Rate of water fill is 500l/s = 500dm^3 s^-1 = 0.5m^3 s^-1
Rate = volume / time, time = volume / rate
Time = 7.5/0.5 = 15 s

15 seconds. 1 cm a second. Seems reasonable, that's a lot of water.

Thought people didn't like maths questions in the logic problem thread, Ush?

Now, Darla, you know I have great respect for your intelligence, yeah? You are at a good university doing a phd and are far more qualified than I will ever be and I very much appreciate what that says about you.

I don't want you to think that I am in any way trying to mock, ok?

right. i was willing to admit my mistake and that i am in fact the world's thickest person, but NO!

this is a shoddy question. teh reason i asked if the water was at 2m is because i wanted to be sure the barge was completely flooded. Turns out the question is ambiguous and it's not the barge that's flooded at all. Pah.

So the answer is that it is a trick question, the ladder in fact hangs over the barge not the side of the lock (which in my experience would be a good place to put it if the barge was sinking!) and so the water will never reach the ladder.

happy, Ush?

Okidokey, to clarify:

The barge is not flooded at all (as far as I know), it is the lock that is filled to two metres. The rope ladder is hanging from the top of the barge.

Oh, you answered. Well, it's always a dodgy thing just to attack the question; I have never had trouble with that one before...

Ok, a SMALL amount of maths in this one, but not much.

Two bridges on a straight river are a mile apart. A person rows upstream at a steady speed, passes the first bridge, and loses his hat under the second. Ten minutes later, he notices he's lost it. He turns around to go get it, rowing at the same steady speed, and catches up with it under the first bridge.

How fast is the river flowing?

Oh, this question needs justification because you can guess the right answer without actually having thought it through.