Brain Teasers
Wicked Witch
Trick
Trick brain teasers appear difficult at first, but they have a trick that makes them really easy.Trick
A witch owns a field containing many gold mines. She hires one man at a time to mine this gold for her. She promises 10% of what a man mines in a day, and he gives her the rest. Because she is blind, she has three magic bags who can talk. They report how much gold they held each day, and this is how she finds out if men are cheating her. Upon getting the job, each man agrees that if he isn't honest, then he will be turned into stone. So around the witch's mines, many statues lay!
Now comes an honest man named Garry. He accepts the job gladly. The witch, who didn't trust him said, "If I wrongly accuse you of cheating me, then I'll be turned into stone."
That night, Garry, having honestly done his first day's job, overheard the bags talking to the witch. He then formulated a plan...
The next night, he submitted his gold, and kept 1.6 pounds of gold.
Later, the witch talked with her bags. The first bag said it held 16 pounds that day. The second one said it held 5 pounds. The third one said it held 2 pounds. Beaming, the witch confronted Garry. "You scoundrel, you think you could fool me. Now you shall turn into stone!" the witch cried. One second later, the witch was hard as a rock, and very grey-looking. How did Garry brilliantly deceive the witch?
Now comes an honest man named Garry. He accepts the job gladly. The witch, who didn't trust him said, "If I wrongly accuse you of cheating me, then I'll be turned into stone."
That night, Garry, having honestly done his first day's job, overheard the bags talking to the witch. He then formulated a plan...
The next night, he submitted his gold, and kept 1.6 pounds of gold.
Later, the witch talked with her bags. The first bag said it held 16 pounds that day. The second one said it held 5 pounds. The third one said it held 2 pounds. Beaming, the witch confronted Garry. "You scoundrel, you think you could fool me. Now you shall turn into stone!" the witch cried. One second later, the witch was hard as a rock, and very grey-looking. How did Garry brilliantly deceive the witch?
Hint
Think about the relation of weight and gravity.Answer
Garry put 2 lbs. in bag #1. 3 lbs. were put in bag #2. 11 lbs. were put into bag #3. He then put bag #2 into bag #3, and bag #1 into bag #2. The bags only felt the weight of the gold above it. Thus they inadvertently gave the message that 23 lbs. were taken. Clever, eh?Hide Hint Show Hint Hide Answer Show Answer
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Comments
This is my first. Hope you enjoyed it.
Waahhh, I hate when I miss one I could've gotten with a bit of thought.
This teaser is excellent, and would be whether it was your first or 100th!
This teaser is excellent, and would be whether it was your first or 100th!
Congratulations on your first teaser! It is very creative and well thought out.
Clever miner and clever writer! Well written and involves some trickery .. superb first! .. if this isn't a classic, it should be!
Awesome!
it was a very good teaser great work
Alright, I must be confused.
The teaser states two things.
1) the witch will turn to stone if she WRONGLY accuses the miner of stealing.
2) the miner steals 1.6 pounds.
Why did the witch turn to stone?
Yes, the bag-in-a- bag trick confuses the witch, but he still stole 1.6 pounds of gold. The teaser does not say the witch had to correctly know how much he stole.
The teaser states two things.
1) the witch will turn to stone if she WRONGLY accuses the miner of stealing.
2) the miner steals 1.6 pounds.
Why did the witch turn to stone?
Yes, the bag-in-a- bag trick confuses the witch, but he still stole 1.6 pounds of gold. The teaser does not say the witch had to correctly know how much he stole.
love this teaser, it is refreashingly different and very witty. execellent job.
Vickingboy he didnt steal it. the 1.6 pounds is 10% of 16. Great teaser by the way.
WEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! VICTORY FOR MY FIRST TEASER!!!!!! You'll be seeing more from me.
most excellent!
I always enjoy the teasers that you have to work out in your head instead of on paper
I always enjoy the teasers that you have to work out in your head instead of on paper
no nikapoo, the teaser clearly says he kept 1.6 pounds. Maybe in your world that means he didn't steal it, but in mine it does.
The witch did not incorrectly accuse him of stealing.
The witch did not incorrectly accuse him of stealing.
sorry, the durgs have take effect...got it.
Nice teaser but it confused me. It seems to me the witch should not have accused him of cheating her at all but only himself for only taking 1.6 lbs when he apparently found 23 lbs and was entitled to 2.3 lbs.
I agree with addm. I thought he didn't take his entire 10%. 1.6 is 10% of 16 lbs. That would've meant he didn't even take his full 10%, if all the bags together were 23 lbs. Which is why I had no idea why the witch was upset, unless she was completely stupid. Sigh...it's very late.
Enjoyable to read and try! Love the answer too, even though I'm still stuck on the 1.6 being 10% of bag #1.
Enjoyable to read and try! Love the answer too, even though I'm still stuck on the 1.6 being 10% of bag #1.
That is exactly what I thought when I read the teaser. Garry didn't take his entire share, he didn't cheat her!
Yah, that's what I meant.
The witch never accuses him of stealing...she just asks him if he thinks she's a fool.
And, didn't he steal in a way?
He "cooks the books" so to speak, to make the witch believe there was 23 pounds of gold, when there was really only 16.
That's accounting fraud, and people go to jail for that.
I say we turn the witch back into herself!
The witch never accuses him of stealing...she just asks him if he thinks she's a fool.
And, didn't he steal in a way?
He "cooks the books" so to speak, to make the witch believe there was 23 pounds of gold, when there was really only 16.
That's accounting fraud, and people go to jail for that.
I say we turn the witch back into herself!
i agree! lol.
Good teaser - almost belongs in math! Loved the bag in a bag in a bag twist. (Actually even figured it out.)
I had a problem with Garry creating the appearance of greater weight than his 10% required, though. He only kept what he was due at a truthful weight.
Perhaps the witch was a fool.
I had a problem with Garry creating the appearance of greater weight than his 10% required, though. He only kept what he was due at a truthful weight.
Perhaps the witch was a fool.
Garry took exactly his share. He took 1.6 lbs of the 16 lbs total. The witch, however, thought he took 8.6 lbs because there were only 14.4 lbs left, and she thought there should have been 20.7 left (90% of 23).
I didn't get it either, but think it was pretty clever. I was thinking along the right lines, but got confused with the hint (note to self: don't look at hints!).
I didn't get it either, but think it was pretty clever. I was thinking along the right lines, but got confused with the hint (note to self: don't look at hints!).
nice
Excellent teaser, I missed it but it was well done. Thanx scihead for the explanation. lol
this is still my favorite teaser/
I have sent it to all my friends
I have sent it to all my friends
Wow! Very clever! I know this has all been said but that was a very well thought out, well written, intelligent teaser. Good Job
send us more lunarlight
Excellent teaser...i didn't figure it out...and after reading the answer my head began to hurt...but Good Job!!
WHOAH!!! blew me away i am confused he stole it maybe u need to explain it better...
very good ..i can't believe it is your first but it is not much of a mystery should be in math or other i dono! GOOD JOB!
very good ..i can't believe it is your first but it is not much of a mystery should be in math or other i dono! GOOD JOB!
Awesome teaser.....Fooled me until I read the comments.....nice help on the explanation as to why she FALSELY accused him.....made it make a lot more sense....
This was REALLY well thought out I would have never taken that much time for it i applaud you another answer though, is that he only got 16 lbs and then took 2 out and put that in the other bag and then took 5 out and put that in the other-other bag, then the first bag would still say it held 16 lbs. And by the way the earlier comments about how he took less of his share...those are true but i still think it was an awesome teaser. just next time put that the witch was stupid!
not to out anything against u but this teaser was retarded sry but it was BYE!!
i dont think it was retarded/ i think that you possibly just dont understsnd it.....maybe?
Okay, it doesn't take a genius to understand the answer. 1.6 lbs was his share- he was intitled to that- so he didn't steal it. Now the first bag is going to say it felt 16 lbs because that is the total of all the gold Garry gave to her. However, even if you take some gold out of the bag and put it into the other two bags, the first bag will still say 16 lbs and that is why the witch added up 23 lbs instead of 16 lbs. Great job on this teaser, no matter what any one else says. They just didn't understand it and this teaser is totally over their head.
Super Teaser.
I got it! Not bad!
i loved it!
tricky tricky bonitaLa Luna!
well written a little easy but still fun.
Nov 10, 2005
Ok everyone that doesn't understand....the bags tell the witch that originally there were 23 lbs of gold...but there was really only 16...since he kept 1.6 (the ammount he was entitled to) it left the weight of the gold at 14.4 lbs...now since the witch thought that there was originally 23 lbs..and now there is only 14.4...she believed that he kept 8.6 lbs which would mean he stole 6.3 lbs of it. It all makes since if you look at it correctly...it is just a little tricky at first...i was stumped until reading the comments.
Kasanova & Everyone Else:
Ok, here's the problem with this teaser. Many people keep trying to explain this teaser & fail to do so. You folks keep saying stuff like "now since the witch thought that there was originally 23 lbs..and now there is only 14.4....". Now, since the witch is blind & only knows how much gold she has based on what the bags tell her, she would NEVER EVER EVER know she only had 14.4 lbs of gold. The bags believe they had 23 lbs of gold &, for this reason, the witch also believes she has 23 lbs of gold, whether, in reality, she does or doesn't. The teaser does NOT mention that there is ANY OTHER WAY for the witch to know the amount of gold she has in her posession. So, in conclusion, this teaser makes no sense. The miner took exactly 10% of the gold he mined; the witch should have been honored (only knowing what the bags had told her) that the miner took less than 10%, when in actuality he did take up to the maximum of 10%. The miner could have taken up to 2.3 lbs and the witch would have never known; but, then again, he wouldn't have been as honest as the teaser implies. Thank you.
Ok, here's the problem with this teaser. Many people keep trying to explain this teaser & fail to do so. You folks keep saying stuff like "now since the witch thought that there was originally 23 lbs..and now there is only 14.4....". Now, since the witch is blind & only knows how much gold she has based on what the bags tell her, she would NEVER EVER EVER know she only had 14.4 lbs of gold. The bags believe they had 23 lbs of gold &, for this reason, the witch also believes she has 23 lbs of gold, whether, in reality, she does or doesn't. The teaser does NOT mention that there is ANY OTHER WAY for the witch to know the amount of gold she has in her posession. So, in conclusion, this teaser makes no sense. The miner took exactly 10% of the gold he mined; the witch should have been honored (only knowing what the bags had told her) that the miner took less than 10%, when in actuality he did take up to the maximum of 10%. The miner could have taken up to 2.3 lbs and the witch would have never known; but, then again, he wouldn't have been as honest as the teaser implies. Thank you.
I've read this one before you stole it from a book, the exact text too!
Ah, the old bag in the big trick...used before in Arabic tales and in an old move, but still a clever ruse.
Either way you look at it, Mr. Honesty was pretty devious in his plan to "fool" the witch and turn her to stone (does'nt that leave ALL the gold to HIM???).
Uhh Hawkinsunc, your comment is kind of weird. Do you really think the witch had no way of measuring her gold? If she didn't she couldn't know if the others took too much gold. I think the other explanations make sense. Good teaser!
Wait, I'm kind of confused. The teaser, although a good teaser, IMO is pretty badly written.
I'm assuming that Garry took 1.6 lb of gold, and gave the rest to the witch. The ammount he gave to the witch was 16 lbs, even though the witch thought it was 23 lbs.
Either way, Garry was lying. If, after he took his 10%, there were 16 lbs left, that means that there were about 17.6 lbs in the first place. Take away Garry's 10% (which should be 1.76 lbs), and you're left with a bit under 16 lbs. That means that Garry didn't take his full 10%, so the witch was correct in her assumption that Garry was lying.
I'm assuming that Garry took 1.6 lb of gold, and gave the rest to the witch. The ammount he gave to the witch was 16 lbs, even though the witch thought it was 23 lbs.
Either way, Garry was lying. If, after he took his 10%, there were 16 lbs left, that means that there were about 17.6 lbs in the first place. Take away Garry's 10% (which should be 1.76 lbs), and you're left with a bit under 16 lbs. That means that Garry didn't take his full 10%, so the witch was correct in her assumption that Garry was lying.
wow!
it makes no sense! 10% of 23lbs is 2.3lbs. but he only took 1.6lbs. shouldnt the witch be happier?
I have to question the honesty of this "honest" man who intentionally misleads the witch into turning herself into stone.
Hmmm... left me wondering. I liked Hawkinsunc's explanation.
interesting!... evil!uhhh.... if i could fing the evil laffing face i would put it up... but i cant... good teaser. its more of a math teaser though...
the riddle was ridiculously easy, but also makes no sense.. as explained above somewhere
I agree. The witch should be revised to say that she wants each man to take no more or less than what they are entitled to. Then this would work out well. Nevertheless, I think it's a great solution.
I agree with hawk. The teaser doesn't say if the witch can estimate the weight of the gold by herself as well. We are lead to assume she can't tell how much gold she has without the talking bags, which leads to another problem...
She would NEVER know if someone took more than their fair share. She would never know exactly how much gold was mined in a day, therefore the miners could take more than their share. For example, if a miner dug up 20 lbs worth, and takes 10 lbs before he puts it in the bags, she would NEVER know 20 lbs was dug up that day.
I think, at the very least, there should be some part in the riddle where it says "Overnight she checks the bags and realizes there's less gold in the bags than stated previously." Or something like that.
It's an interesting idea anyway though. Good job.
She would NEVER know if someone took more than their fair share. She would never know exactly how much gold was mined in a day, therefore the miners could take more than their share. For example, if a miner dug up 20 lbs worth, and takes 10 lbs before he puts it in the bags, she would NEVER know 20 lbs was dug up that day.
I think, at the very least, there should be some part in the riddle where it says "Overnight she checks the bags and realizes there's less gold in the bags than stated previously." Or something like that.
It's an interesting idea anyway though. Good job.
what about the weight of the bags themselves lol
nice teaser! b^^
nice teaser! b^^
May 13, 2010
Yes I'm sorry, this teaser does not make sense, or is poorly worded at best. It clearly states that the miner kept 1.6 pounds of gold, so as long as he mined 16 pounds or more he would not have cheated the witch. Since he certainly did not mine LESS than 16 pounds then he did not cheat the witch. If he made the witch believe that he had mined 23lbs, and only kept 1.6lbs, then he still didn't cheat her, and she would not have accused him of doing so. Anyone who doesn't agree is simply confused.
May 13, 2010
And just to clarify my above wording, yes the miner did not cheat her, and that's the point, 16lbs, or 23 lbs, THE WITCH WOULDN'T HAVE ACCUSED HIM EITHER WAY.
This trick is wrong in many ways,
1) He took less than 10% so he still lied about getting 10%
2) The way the bags were placed is like this :
bag 1 : 2 = 2
↓
bag 2 : 3 = 5
↓
bag 3 : 11 = 16
Since bag 1 was placed IN bag 2, and bag 2 in bag 3 then bag 3 should be the one saying 16 lbs not bag 1.
3) It did not say that the bags are weightless so bag 2 and bag 3 should have said more since the weight of the bags inside them should have added to the weight of the golds
1) He took less than 10% so he still lied about getting 10%
2) The way the bags were placed is like this :
bag 1 : 2 = 2
↓
bag 2 : 3 = 5
↓
bag 3 : 11 = 16
Since bag 1 was placed IN bag 2, and bag 2 in bag 3 then bag 3 should be the one saying 16 lbs not bag 1.
3) It did not say that the bags are weightless so bag 2 and bag 3 should have said more since the weight of the bags inside them should have added to the weight of the golds
That teaser makes me kind of angry. That guy is definitely NOT honest! He tricked the witch, that's not a honest thing to do. Just because she's a witch she's called wicked and they want to cheat her out of her Gold, even if the Agreement they had with her states, that they can have only 10% and they accepted that, jet they still try. If she weren't a witch but a sad old blind granny, then everyone would hunt that man down as a murderer. Kinda makes me angry that People seem to think that it's all right, since she's a witch
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