A little riddle...
Posted: April 27, 2004, 7:21 pm
Got this from a friend.
In a high-class, white-collar prison, a new warden has arrived. He decides to give every prisoner a hat, either red or white. However, all mirrors and reflective surfaces will be removed from the prison and the prisoners will not be allowed to communicate about the colour of their hats.
On the first day, the prisoners line up to recieve their hats. Each one recieves a hat, yet they do not see it as it goes onto their head. Hence, every prisoner has either a red or white hat, but they don't know their own colour. They can, however, see the colour of the hats on other prisoners' heads (they cannot commmunicate this information).
The warden states that any prisoner with a red hat may leave - they will be set free. Anyone wearing a white hat will be shot if they try to leave. By the end of the first day, five white hatted prisoners are dead from trying to escape.
On the second day, the warden brings all prisoners into the common area for ten minutes. He allows them to look around and survey the other prisoners - but they cannot communicate in any way. When the ten minutes is up, he asks if anybody would like to leave. Nobody moves.
On the third day, he repeats the process - brings everyone into a common room for ten minutes with no communication. When the ten minutes has expired, he again asks if anyone would like to leave. Again, nobody moves.
On the fourth day the process is repeated again. They are brought into the common room and allowed to look around for ten minutes. Again he asks if anyone would like to leave. This time, every prisoner with a red hat gets up and leaves.
The question: How many prisoners had red hats, and how did they know?
If you find the answer, make sure you put *ANSWER BELOW* in big bold letters so you dont spoil it for the people who need some self satisfaction.
In a high-class, white-collar prison, a new warden has arrived. He decides to give every prisoner a hat, either red or white. However, all mirrors and reflective surfaces will be removed from the prison and the prisoners will not be allowed to communicate about the colour of their hats.
On the first day, the prisoners line up to recieve their hats. Each one recieves a hat, yet they do not see it as it goes onto their head. Hence, every prisoner has either a red or white hat, but they don't know their own colour. They can, however, see the colour of the hats on other prisoners' heads (they cannot commmunicate this information).
The warden states that any prisoner with a red hat may leave - they will be set free. Anyone wearing a white hat will be shot if they try to leave. By the end of the first day, five white hatted prisoners are dead from trying to escape.
On the second day, the warden brings all prisoners into the common area for ten minutes. He allows them to look around and survey the other prisoners - but they cannot communicate in any way. When the ten minutes is up, he asks if anybody would like to leave. Nobody moves.
On the third day, he repeats the process - brings everyone into a common room for ten minutes with no communication. When the ten minutes has expired, he again asks if anyone would like to leave. Again, nobody moves.
On the fourth day the process is repeated again. They are brought into the common room and allowed to look around for ten minutes. Again he asks if anyone would like to leave. This time, every prisoner with a red hat gets up and leaves.
The question: How many prisoners had red hats, and how did they know?
If you find the answer, make sure you put *ANSWER BELOW* in big bold letters so you dont spoil it for the people who need some self satisfaction.