Anyone like riddles? I heard this really good riddle recently

The 'rules' (according to the sign: "Under each of these boxes is either a tool for escaping the maze, or certain death. Choose carefully, for only 3 of the boxes contain a tool for escape."

Each box does in fact abide by the rules above, except for one, which contains nothing underneath it.

Each box abides by the 'rules,' except for one 'rule,' which contains nothing underneath it.

Pertaining to the BOXES are but two rules:

1: Under each box is either a tool to escape, or

2: Certain death.

We know that only one rule can apply and that nothing is underneath the other, so... since there are no rules to erase after Rule #2, then only Rule #1 can have something following that requires erasure.

Thus only the first rule applies: Under each of these boxes is a tool for escaping the maze.

It matters not what box is chosen.

Pandora's box(es)?

LDOPA wrote:

No one has gotten it yet. After 100 posts I will post the answer if no one has gotten it by then.

Any maze riddle is dumb as you don't actually need any "tool", map etc. to get out, just patience. The way to escape any maze is just pick a side, left or right, and keep following that side and you will eventually get out. You will end up back tracking, but stick to the side and you will get out. So he doesn't need to pick any box, he just needs to leave the room, pick a side and follow it until he's out.

You do his mother and everybody is happy. Problem solved.

Sounds like a winner to me

Or, and I think someone said this, in order for ONE of the boxes to have "nothing" underneath it, it would need to be over a tunnel.

(P.S. re: close reading of the "rules" above: the "choose carefully" directive applies to the man, and even if the claim is that the second part does as well, how can ONE box adhere to the rule that "only three" have such and so? It's a mismatch.)

OR, THREE of the boxes cover the pictoral information of a map (i.e., it takes three boxes to hide one large maps' information); SIX have death; ONE has nothing, but the man can see the map's border, just not it's information.

OR Three boxes have some sort of live animal that, if the man listens carefully, he can hear... He then follows the animal out of the dungeon.

He does not know WHAT is under the box, he just knows that *something* is under the box.

Does this mean that if he lifts any of the 6 wrong boxes he will instantly die?

wrecktangle wrote:

Any maze riddle is dumb as you don't actually need any "tool", map etc. to get out, just patience. The way to escape any maze is just pick a side, left or right, and keep following that side and you will eventually get out. You will end up back tracking, but stick to the side and you will get out. So he doesn't need to pick any box, he just needs to leave the room, pick a side and follow it until he's out.

Unless he is in a section of the maze which is surrounded by a constant passage. In which case he would need to leave the wall to cross the passage. I like this idea though.

Some offbeat prizes wrote:

OR Three boxes have some sort of live animal that, if the man listens carefully, he can hear... He then follows the animal out of the dungeon.

He does not know WHAT is under the box, he just knows that *something* is under the box.

The rules say the only way to determine what is under the box is to lift it - so presumably listening, knocking on the box etc. should not reveal any clues as to whether the box contains either death (6), a tool (3) or nothing (1).

rules suck wrote:

Some offbeat prizes wrote:

OR Three boxes have some sort of live animal that, if the man listens carefully, he can hear... He then follows the animal out of the dungeon.

He does not know WHAT is under the box, he just knows that *something* is under the box.

The rules say the only way to determine what is under the box is to lift it - so presumably listening, knocking on the box etc. should not reveal any clues as to whether the box contains either death (6), a tool (3) or nothing (1).

The RULE is "Lifting a box is the only way to determine what is under the box."

He cannot determine WHAT is under the box by listening (or sniffing, for that matter), only that SOMETHING is under the box.

Instruction to participants was "REALLY think about what EACH [emphasis mine] of the words in the riddle means..."

As noted, neither listening nor sniffing can determine WHAT is under the box, only that SOMETHING is under the box.

Isn't the "riddle" already solved with this last sentence the answer? You already wrote that "he lifts a box, takes the tool and uses the said tool to escape the maze", so he's out already?

step 3: have her open the box.

and that's the way you do it.

Similarly, "Under each of these boxes is either a tool for escaping the maze, or certain death. Choose carefully, for only 3 of the boxes contain a tool for escape."

Under each of these boxes is either a tool for:

A: escaping the maze

B: escaping certain death

(Or C: nothing)

Choose carefully, because only three boxes contain A (single) tool for escape; the others must contain MORE than one tool. Only the box with nothing GUARANTEES death (because now he can't escape). Except that, in choosing the box with nothing, he can now choose another, and thus escape.

answered already wrote:

Isn't the "riddle" already solved with this last sentence the answer? You already wrote that "he lifts a box, takes the tool and uses the said tool to escape the maze", so he's out already?

Yah, its wicked bad written (sic)

If it's actually any good, I'll clean up the language. This was not written by an SAT test writer... but I withhold judgment otherwise.

OR "under each of these boxes is tool for escaping the maze"

What is under the boxes? The table.

The table is the tool for escaping the maze. He doesn't need to lift *any* box, well, except for the one where he needs to put his foot.

So, table is against the wall, maybe only three boxes are above a table leg (three-legged table), which would give the strongest support. Step anywhere else = table flip/break/minotaur/death.

answered already wrote:

Isn't the "riddle" already solved with this last sentence the answer? You already wrote that "he lifts a box, takes the tool and uses the said tool to escape the maze", so he's out already?

You have to figure out the logic the man used to escape.

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention, the man was placed in the maze as punishment for a crime he didn't commit.