Good riddles

SpitfireAce

Here's a surprisingly subtle and rich logic puzzle, based on one that you can find in various places:
Imagine a tribe of people who are legendary logicians, but who have a curious religious commitment that if they are ever able to determine the color of their own eyes, they must commit ritual suicide in front of the whole tribe at the tribe's daily meeting. The tribe lives on an island with virtually no contact with the outside world, they have no mirrors or reflecting surfaces (for obvious reasons), and they never discuss eye color in any way because they all know what great logical brains they have and so are very hesitant to give away any clues about eye color.

One day, a well-meaning anthropologist visits the tribe, and at their morning meeting, gets up and makes an effort at good relations by saying "Your people and mine are not so different. For example, I see that you have both brown-eyed and blue-eyed people in your tribe, just like I do in my own family". A gasp goes out in the crowd, and the expressions of these logical thinkers rapidly becomes as dark as a grave. The curse of the tribe's commitment is explained to the observer, and he says, "sorry, I didn't realize, but you can all see that what I said is true. So why is everyone acting so crestfallen?"

Let's say the tribe has 20 members, and 5 have blue eyes. The puzzle has two parts:
1) what is going to happen to this tribe that is so awful?
2) what information did the visitor give that the tribe did not already know?

Jimmy Snyder

They just heard there's going to be a Wal-Mart in their village. They won't live till the next daily meeting.


That he had a family. (and that there were only two colors, but he never actually said that.)

Ladytoshiro

nothing will happen to the tribe because the riddle says that if THEY were ever to discover thier own eye color. THEY did not discover it the anthropologist did. the information he gave was about his own families eye colors. however the anthropologist is going to be allowed to live because he is not a member of the tribe.

bel

Okay, SD, sorry for having taken such a long time to think of a good riddle, but here it is:

mass production

guess a six lettered word.

Schrodinger's Dog

Any chance of a clue, I bet it's really obscure? Not in an online thesaurus anyway that's for sure.

K.J.Healey

Maybe they just realized they're all colorblind? (the tribes one)



Proton?
Church?
Cinema?
Dollar?

SnipedYou

Well seeing that they are good logicians then maybe they could determine their own eye color based on the color of the tribes and through their families eyes.

The new information the anthropologist told them was that he had a family.

Here's one riddle I especially like...its better said than written though.

What is the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginning of every end, and the end of every place.

Jimmy Snyder

Answer: w?. eom

dontdisturbmycircles

Ah, good call jimmy, but I think you pressed the wrong key.

Jimmy Snyder

Thanks. Answer: q?.eom

Schrodinger's Dog

Close another typo it's s

dramababe1555

This Is A Good One: Tim, Whereas John had had had, had had had had, had had had had the better affect on the examiner.

who got the better affect on the examiner.

Answer: Tim. because he wrote had had and john only wrote had.

Jimmy Snyder

jimmysnyder, while dramababe had had had had had, had had had had, had had had had, had had had had had had, had had had, had had had had, had had had had had the better sound upon the ear.

John37

Light bulb

timjmatt

this riddle is awesome ok here we go the poor have it the rich need it and u will die if u eat it

timjmatt

the answer is nothing no seriously its not nothing but the poor have nothing the rich need nothing and u will die if u eat nothing

protonchain

A shoe?