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Puzzle : The Password Challenge by Evil Troll

A bridge was guarded by an evil troll. The troll was very intelligent, but he was also a coward. He was afraid of anyone smarter than him. So every time anyone tried to cross the bridge, the troll would set up a test. If the traveler passed the test, he would be allowed to cross. Otherwise, the troll would eat him.

Three travelers, Al, Ben and Carl, came across the bridge. 

The troll told them, "You may only cross my bridge if you know the password." 
He wrote five three-letter words on a rock. The five words were HOE, OAR, PAD, TOE, and VAT.

He then said, "I will tell each of you a different letter from the password. If you know what the password is, I will let you pass. But don't tell anyone else your letter." 

He then whispered a letter from the password to each traveler so that neither of the other two could hear him.

Then the troll asked Al, "Do you know what the password is?" "Yes," said Al, and the troll let him pass.


Then the troll asked Ben, "Do you know what the password is?" "Yes," said Ben, and the troll let him pass.

 
Then the troll asked Carl, "Do you know what the password is?" "Yes," said Carl, and the troll let him pass.


So, what is the password?


THIS is the correct password! 

One more such challenge by an evil troll! 



Solution : Intelligent Response to an Evil Troll


What was the challenge?

The list of words given by evil troll is - 

HOE, OAR, PAD, TOE, and VAT

Remember, all travelers i.e. Al, Ben and Carl knew the correct password straightaway as soon as evil troll whispered a letter from the password to each traveler.

STEPS : 

1] The unique letters (i.e. letters appearing only once) in above list of words are D, H, P, R and V. The evil troll must have one of these letters to Al, as Al could guess the correct password straightaway. 

The word TOE doesn't have any unique letter, hence, TOE is eliminated straightaway. 

Had Evil troll whispered any letter from TOE (i.e. T, O or E), then Al wouldn't have an idea whether the correct password is TOE or VAT, HOE or TOE or OAR,  HOE or TOE.

2] Now, Ben is smart enough to know that TOE is eliminated from the race after Al's response. He has to think about only four words i.e. about HOE, OAR, PAD, VAT.

The unique letters appearing in rest of words list are D, E, H, P, R, T, and V. One of these letters must be with Al and other must be with Ben. 

But the word OAR has only one unique letter i.e. R. If OAR was the password then only 1 of 3 travelers would have guessed the password correctly while other 2 would have been confused.

Therefore, OAR can't be the password.

3] Carl too smart enough to recognize that OAR and TOE are not the correct passwords. So, he has to think of only 3 words -  HOE, PAD, VAT.

Here, unique letters from the list of words are - D, E, H, O, P, T, and V.

Every traveler must have one unique letter from the above list. In fact, the password itself must be formed by only unique letters from the above list.

Words PAD and VAT has only 2 unique letters ( P & D, V & T respectively).

So, if PAD or VAT was the correct password then the one with letter A wouldn't have been able to guess the correct password.

Hence, HOE must be the correct password. 

4] The letter H must be with Al as T, O, E can't be with him. Similarly, Ben can't have letter O, so he must had letter E and he knows TOE is not the password after hearing Al's response. And the letter O must be with Carl and he knows TOE or OAR are not the passwords.

Intelligent Response to an Evil Troll

Puzzle : An Evil Troll on A Bridge

A bridge was guarded by an evil troll. The troll was very intelligent, but he was also a coward. He was afraid of anyone smarter than him. So every time anyone tried to cross the bridge, the troll would set up a test. If the traveler passed the test, he would be allowed to cross. Otherwise, the troll would eat him.

A traveler came across the bridge. 


The troll said, "You may only cross my bridge if you know the password." 

He then wrote thirteen pairs of letters on a rock:

A-V
B-W
C-Q
D-M
E-K
F-U
G-N
H-P
I-O
J-R
L-X
S-T
Y-Z


"These thirteen pairs consist of all 26 letters of the alphabet," said the troll. 


"The password contains thirteen letters, no two of which are the same. Each pair consists of one letter that is in the password and one other letter. If you wrote out the "other" letters in alphabetical order and then wrote each "password" letter under each one's corresponding "other" letter, you would have the correct spelling of the password."

Then the troll wrote five short words on the rock: FACE, QUEST, QUICK, SWITCH, and WORLD. 


"Each short word contains exactly the same number of letters with the password," he said.

So, what is the password? 

Solution : An Evil Troll on A Bridge Puzzle : Solution


The thirteen pairs of letters given by an evil troll are -

A-V
B-W
C-Q
D-M
E-K
F-U
G-N
H-P
I-O
J-R
L-X
S-T
Y-Z


And 5 short words given by troll are -  FACE, QUEST, QUICK, SWITCH, and WORLD.  

As described in the given details, we'll refer letter from password as PASSWORD letter & other as OTHER letter.

As per troll, those short words are having same number of PASSWORD letters.

STEPS :

1] Both S & T are appearing in the pair with each other. Hence, either S or T must be a PASSWORD letter but not both. Since, both letters are appearing in short word QUEST, that is QUEST having at least 1 PASSWORD letter for sure hence, all 5 must have at least 1 PASSWORD letter.

2] Suppose every short word has 1 PASSWORD letter. With S or T as 1 PASSWORD letter from QUEST, other letters Q, U, E can't be PASSWORD letters. 

If Q, U, E are not PASSWORD letters then C (from C-Q pair), F (from F-U pair) and K (from E-K pair) must be PASSWORD letters. 

In that case, FACE will have 2 PASSWORD letters viz. C & E which goes against our assumption of having exactly 1 PASSWORD letter in each short word. 

3] Let's assume along with S or T the second PASSWORD letter is E i.e each short word has 2 PASSWORD letters. Again, Q, U can't be PASSWORD letters but C (from C-Q pair) & F (from F-U pair) must be. Still then FACE will have 3 PASSWORD letters which goes against our assumption of exactly 2 PASSWORD letter in each short word. 

4] Now, let's assume along with S or T the second PASSWORD letter is U. Again, Q, E can't be PASSWORD letters but C (from C-Q pair) & K (from E-K pair) must be. Still then QUICK will have 3 PASSWORD letters which goes against our assumption of exactly 2 PASSWORD letter in each short word. 

5] Let's assume there are 4 PASSWORD letters in each short word. So apart from S or T, the letters Q, U, E of short word QUEST must be PASSWORD letters. 

If Q, U, E are PASSWORD letters then C (from C-Q pair), F (from F-U pair) and K (from E-K pair) must NOT be the PASSWORD letters. 

In the case, the short word FACE will have maximum only 2 PASSWORD letters (not sure about A from A-V pair) which again goes against our assumption of exactly 4 PASSWORD letter in each short word. 

6] Hence, each short word must be having 3 PASSWORD letters. 

If Q, E are the PASSWORD letters with S or T in QUEST, then C & K can't be PASSWORD letters. With that, Q, U, I will be 3 PASSWORD letters in QUICK. And if U too is the PASSWORD letter then QUEST will have 4 PASSWORD letters. 

If Q, U are the PASSWORD letters with S or T in QUEST, then C & F can't be PASSWORD letters. With that, FACE can have maximum of only 1 PASSWORD letter. 

7] Hence, U & E must be other 2 PASSWORD letters apart from S or T in short word QUEST. So Q must not be the PASSWORD letter but C must be. Also, F and K can't be the PASSWORD letters.  Hence, FACE will have E, C and A as PASSWORD letters. 

If A is PASSWORD letter then V (from A-V pair) can't be the PASSWORD letter.

8] Next, from QUICK we will have, C, U and obviously I as 3 PASSWORD letters after Q, K are ruled out. If I is PASSWORD letter then O (from I-O pair) can't be the PASSWORD letter.

9] Just like QUEST, SWITCH too have either S or T as PASSWORD letter. Moreover, it has I & C as PASSWORD letters. Hence, H & W must not be the PASSWORD letters.

10] So, if W & O are not the PASSWORD letters then other 3 letters of WORLD i.e. R, L, D must be PASSWORD letters. With that M (from D-M pair), J (from J-R pair) and X (from L-X pair) are ruled out.

11] So far we have got - 

PASSWORD letters - U, E, C, A, I, R, L, D, Either S or T.

OTHER letters - Q, F, K, V, O, H, W, M, J, X  

12] Arranging every OTHER letter in alphabetical order & writing down corresponding PASSWORD letter below it -

OTHER :  F   H   J   K   M   O   Q   V   W   X
PASS.  :  U   P   R   E   D   I    C   A    B   L 

13] Now, S-T, G-N, Y-Z are the only 3 pairs left. And correct placement for these pairs must be like.

OTHER :  F   G   H   J   K   M   O   Q   S   V   W   X   Z
PASS.  :  U   N   P   R   E   D   I    C   T   A    B    L   Y

CONCLUSION : 

The PASSWORD that an evil troll has set must be UNPREDICTABLY

An Evil Troll on A Bridge Puzzle : Solution
 
 

Story of Distiribution of 100 Coins Loot

Five ship’s pirates have obtained 100 gold coins and have to divide up the loot. The pirates are all extremely intelligent, treacherous and selfish (especially the captain).

The captain always proposes a distribution of the loot. All pirates vote on the proposal, and if half the crew or more go “Aye”, the loot is divided as proposed, as no pirate would be willing to take on the captain without superior force on their side.

If the captain fails to obtain support of at least half his crew (which includes himself), he faces a mutiny, and all pirates will turn against him and make him walk the plank. The pirates start over again with the next senior pirate as captain.




5 Pirates and 100 Gold Coins

What is the maximum number of coins the captain can keep without risking his life?


He can take away 98 coins! How? Read here! 


The Captain's Undeniable Proposal


What was the situation?  

He can keep 98 coins! Surprised? Read how.




Let's number 5 pirates as Pirate 5, Pirate 4.....Pirate 1 as per their descending order of seniority.

Pirate 5 keeps 98 coins with him and gives 1 coin each to Pirate 3 and Pirate 1.

Now Pirate 5 i.e Captain explains his decision -

CASE 1:


 If there were only 2 pirates then Pirate 2 would have taken all 100 coins after obtaining his own vote which accounts to 50% votes (50 % of 2 = 1).

CASE 2: 


 In case of 3 pirates, the Pirate 3 would have offered 1 coin to Pirate 1 & would have kept 99 coins with him. Now Pirate 1 wouldn't have any option other than agreeing on deal with Pirate 3. That's because if he doesn't agree then Pirate 3 would be eliminated & all coins would be with Pirate 2 as explained in above (case 1) of only 2 pirates. So votes of Pirate 1 and Pirate 3 which account to 66% (2 out of 3) votes of group locks this deal and Pirate 2 would be left without any coin.

CASE 3: 


 Now in case of 4 pirates, Pirate 4 would offer coin to Pirate 2 & would keep 99 coins with him. Now, Pirate 2 know what happens if Pirate 4 gets eliminated. Pirate 3 would offer 1 coin to Pirate 1 & will take away 99 coins. So Pirate 2 would definitely accept this deal. That's how votes of Pirate 4 and Pirate 2 makes 50% (2 out of 4) votes of group to pass the proposal. Pirate 3 and Pirate 1 can't do anything in this case.

By now, Pirate 3 and Pirate 1 realizes what happens of Pirate 5 gets eliminated. They won't be getting any coin if Pirate 4 becomes captain as explained above (case 3). So they have no option other than to vote for the proposal of Pirate 5. 


This way, Pirate 5, Pirate 3 and Pirate 1 (3/5 = 60% of crew) agree on proposal of Pirate 5 where he takes away 98 coins with 1 coin each to Pirate 3 and Pirate 1. 

Will the Sheep Survive?

Hundred tigers and one sheep are put on a magic island that only has grass. Tigers can live on grass, but they want to eat sheep. If a Tiger bites the Sheep then it will become a sheep itself. If 2 tigers attack a sheep, only the first tiger to bite converts into a sheep. Tigers don’t mind being a sheep, but they have a risk of getting eaten by another tiger.

All tigers are intelligent and want to survive. 

Will the sheep survive?

Will the Sheep Survive?

Survival chances of the sheep are - Click Here! 

Survival Chances of the Sheep


Why sheep is in danger?

First let's see what happens when there are different number of tigers present on 
the island. Remember we are talking about survival of the sheep that is initially present n the island and not sheep converted from tiger.

1. Suppose there are only 1 tiger and 1 sheep on the island. Then, the tiger will eat 
    the sheep and won't have fear of being eaten up after transformation into sheep 
    as there is not tiger left. 

    The sheep will not survive.

2. Let's suppose there are 2 tigers and 1 sheep present. Each intelligent tiger can think - 

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   "If I eat a sheep then I will be converted into sheep and other tiger would eat me
    as it would result into '1 tiger and 1 sheep' scenario above in (1). 

    So, I should not take risk"
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

    The sheep will be survived.


3. Now suppose there are 3 tigers and 1 sheep are on the island. Each tiger would think-  
     ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    "If I target the sheep and get converted into sheep itself then on the island there
     would be 2 tigers and 1 sheep as above case (2)

     As per that, none of other 2 tiger would dare to attack me and I would be 
     survived as a sheep in the end. 

     So better I should attack the sheep and anyhow I will be survived in the end as a
     sheep"
     ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      The sheep will not survive.

4. Finally, suppose there are 4 tigers and 1 sheep. Now, each tiger can put logic like -       ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    "If I attack the only sheep and get myself converted to sheep then this case 
     will be reduced to '3 tigers and 1 sheep' as in case (3). 

     In that case, the sheep has 0 chance of survival in the end. 

     That means, my life will be in danger as in above case (3), if I attack 
     this sheep toget converted into sheep. Better, I shouldn't attack"
     ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     The sheep will be survived.

Conclusion : 

If observed carefully, it can be concluded that the sheep will be survived when there are EVEN number of tigers (Case 2 and Case 4) are present. And obviously, will be in danger when there are ODD number of tigers present on the island.

In the given situation, there are 100 tigers on the island which is EVEN number. That means, as per above conclusion the only sheep on the island will be survived.

Survival Chances of the Sheep
 

Birbal The Wise!

Emperor Akbar once ruled over India. He was a wise and intelligent ruler, and he had in his court the Nine Gems, his nine advisors, who were each known for a particular skill. One of these Gems was Birbal, known for his wit and wisdom. 

The story below is one of the examples of his wit. Do you have it for you to find out the answer? 

A farmer and his neighbor once went to Emperor Akbar"s court with a complaint. "Your Majesty, I bought a well from him," said the farmer pointing to his neighbor, "and now he wants me to pay for the water." "That"s right, your Majesty," said the neighbor. "I sold him the well but not the water!" The Emperor asked Birbal to settle the dispute. 

Now it's very difficult to think what Birbal had in his mind at that time. Still you can give a try. How did Birbal solve the dispute? 

Birbal's argument in support of farmer

Read here how Birbal rescued the farmer! 

Source 

Justice WIth The Farmer


What's the story behind the title? 

"So you have sold the well to the farmer but not the water?" Birbal asked the neighbor. 

"Do you agree that owner of well is the farmer & you are owner of water?" Birbal asks further.

"Exactly!", neighbor replied.

Birbal now points towards the valid question - "So you need to pay rent for keeping your water in his well, or take out all of the water out of well. Don't you?"

By now the neighbor realized that he was outwitted. He had no option other than to apologize & take back his claim.


Birbal's Argument Gave Justice To The Farmer
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