Shorty's unofficial and quite lame Puzzle Thread.

[shortylickens]

If you dont like it, you can go stuff yourself up a chimney.


Umm, anyway.

IF you know the answer please dont spoil it for everyone else here. Or at least use the Spoiler tags.


#1 thru #4:

1. The Martian Rub
After his spaceship landed on Mars, astronaut Jonathan Mark disembarked and approached the first Martian he saw. 'Am I headed for the geological dig?" he asked. The Martian rubbed his stomach.
Mark knew that Martians could understand some Earth-talk, but were not able to speak it. And astronaut Mark, like so many Earthlings, could neither speak nor understand Martian gestures. He didn't know whether rubbing the stomach meant yes or no. But by asking one additional question, Mark was able to find out.
What was that question?

2. Stone Stew
After astronaut Mark got to the dig, he collected rock specimens to take back to the Earth scientists. He
packed the rocks into three sacks: one for igneous rocks, one for sedimentary and one for metamorphic.
But, rushing to return to the aircraft before his portable oxygen ran out, he mislabelled all the sacks.
How many rocks did he have to take out of how many sacks in order to find out what was in each one?

3. Friend or Foe?
Among the inhabitants of Mars were various kinds of creatures. One type was friendly to visitors from Earth and always told the truth. Another was hostile and always lied to Earthlings. But the astronauts couldn't tell the difference between them.
'Are you a truth-teller?" astronaut John Armstrong asked a striped Martian he met on the way to the dig.
"He'll say, 'Yes,' " commented a spotted Martian who was nearby. "But he'll be lying."
Who was the truth-teller, the striped Martian or the spotted one?

4. How Many Liars?
Molly Ride, pilot of the spacecraft, knew that some Martians were truth-tellers and some were not. So when she came face to face with three of them, she asked, 'Are you truth-tellers?"
The finned Martian answered her by rubbing his stomach. His friend, a tall Martian with feathered ears, told her that the finned Martian had said he was a truth-teller. However, the other Martian, who had horns, said that the finned Martian was lying.
How many of these Martians were liars?

 

[shortylickens]

Spoiler: Answers

1. The Martian Rub:
Mark rubbed his stomach and asked, "Did you do this?" Whatever the Martian did in reply would mean yes.

2. Stone Stew:
One rock from one sack. If he were to open the sack labelled "igneous," for instance, and the rock turned out to be sedimentary, then he would know that the other two sacks could not contain sedimentary rocks. The other sacks then would have either igneous or metamorphic rocks in them. Since all the sacks were mislabelled, the one labelled "sedimentary" must then contain metamorphic and the one labelled "metamorphic" must contain igneous rocks.

3. Friend or Foe:
The spotted Martian. Truth-teller or not, the striped Martian would answer yes. Why? If he were a truth-teller, obviously he would tell the truth and say yes. If he were a liar, he would lie and say yes. Therefore, since the spotted Martian said that the striped Martian would say yes, he must be the truth-teller, and the striped Martian must be the liar.

4. How Many Liars?
One. Since the finned Martian did indicate that he was a truth-teller, then the Martian with feathered ears was obviously telling the truth and must be a truth-teller. If the finned Martian was lying, then the horned Martian was a truth-teller. If the finned Martian was a truth-teller, then the horned Martian was a liar. So, no matter how you look at it, two of the three Martians were truth-tellers and one was a liar.