Brain Teasers
The Necklace
Situation
Situation puzzles (sometimes called lateral thinking puzzles) are ones where you need to ask lots of yes or no questions to figure out what happened in the situation. These are good puzzles for groups where one person knows the puzzle and answers the questions.Situation
Mr. Whatshisface owns a jewellery store downtown. His prized possession is his 10-carat diamond necklace that he so lovingly cares for. Everyone downtown knows that he keeps a glass replica in the small case on his counter so people can view this exquisite piece of jewellery. On December 24, 9 PM Eastern Standard Time, two tall, skinny men wearing black ski masks barged their way into the shop and stole the code to the safe. Mr. Whatshisface was not at the shop and the robbers decided to take his prized necklace. For fake blackmail, they took the one on the counter too. In case they had to give him back one, they would give him the fake one. The robbers tiptoed across the marble floor and out of nowhere, a loud siren went off. They slipped what they thought was the real one in their pocket and dropped the other one as they skittered out the lock-picked door. Mr. Whatshisface came into his shop in a hurry. He picked up the necklace and examined it. Police sirens rang in the distance and soon the cops arrived to examine the scene. "Don't worry," Mr. Whatshisface said as he closed the open safe. "They didn't get away with anything." What did Mr. Whatshisface figure out, and how?
Answer
The robbers took the glass necklace, not the real one. If they dropped the glass one, it would've shattered. But the necklace Mr. Whatshisface found was intact and didn't have a scratch on it, so it must've been made out of diamonds.Hide Answer Show Answer
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Comments
Aug 17, 2002
thats pretty cool
I thought the answer was that he actually had the real diamond necklace in the case and just let everyone think it was in the safe. That way, if anyone tried to steal it, they would go for the safe and take the wrong one unknowingly. I liked the real answer too though.
Aug 19, 2002
So I guess you were lying when you said, "They slipped the real one in their pocket and dropped the fake one as they skittered out the lock picked door."
I would have to say that the given solution is bogus. Ever drop a marble? They're solid glass just like the false diamond- they don't just shatter if you drop them- even the ones that are bigger than a ten carat diamond.
I agree with noctividus u said they slipped the real one in their pocket and dropped the fake one thats impossible if they acctually dropped the real one.
I thought the official answer was absurd. Even if a glass necklace were
dropped on a ceramic tile floor it probably would not break. The answer of Mr Whatsis....putting the good necklace in the showcase to fool everyone was the most logical. So there!
dropped on a ceramic tile floor it probably would not break. The answer of Mr Whatsis....putting the good necklace in the showcase to fool everyone was the most logical. So there!
I think that teaser was very good. Everyone else is thinking too hard. Though I must also say I thought the real was on display, and the fake in the safe. But that answer is much better.
Too easy man!!!
I thought it would have something to do with the diamonds scratching the marble floor. I agree that a glass necklace wouldn't shatter, but it would probably get chipped falling on a marble floor (as would a marble).
I thought the real one was in the glass case to fake people.
Have you been reading Encyclopedia Brown the very mistery was in there the police cheif was testing other policemen.
I liked this teaser
I liked this teaser
Feb 22, 2006
Found this one a bit misleading, and I agree that something that big of solid glass wouldn't necessarily shatter. But oh well! It was fun to puzzle at for a while.
Dec 07, 2007
I got this one This is the first time i've posted/been on the site and this one is the only i've got right so far
I got it right. Really easy but I still like it
ONE: The glass necklace would certainly not shatter 100% of the time upon being dropped. Mr. Whatshisface doesn't even know from how high it was dropped.
TWO: You specifically, factually state that the crook put the real necklace in his pocket, and dropped the fake one.
THREE: "Karat" (kt) is the term used in measuring the purity of gold. "Carat" (ct) is the term used in measuring the weight of a diamond.
Three strikes, you're out.
TWO: You specifically, factually state that the crook put the real necklace in his pocket, and dropped the fake one.
THREE: "Karat" (kt) is the term used in measuring the purity of gold. "Carat" (ct) is the term used in measuring the weight of a diamond.
Three strikes, you're out.
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