What are some examples of challenging logical puzzles and questions?

[DeaconJohn]

Considered one of the best of today's times:

A man tries to buy poison to kill his wife. The pharmacist figures out what he's up to and finds a way to ensure that he can't kill his wife.How does the pharmacist do it?

Only one answer possible.

Sugar is indistinguishable from arsnic unless you taste it.

BTW, it seems to me that your boomerang answer has the disadvantage that one must assume that the woman is an Australian aborigine. They are the only women with enough skill to throw a boomerang so that it will come back to exactly where you threw it from. The rest of us (men and women) run madly to the place the boomerang decided to "return" to. The things seem to have a mind of their own.

 

[physixguru]

For Jordanjoab , the pharmacist cannot just call the cops without evidence.He cannot just ring the police and say "hey I think this man plans to kill his wife"! He has no evidence.

For DeaconJohn , Again you assume that the pharmacist came to know about the man's plan before he gave the poison.Also you never know whether the man bought arsenic, rat poison, or cyanide.It is the strategy of the pharmacist after the poison has been given,that counts.

Again , for your contradiction of the boomerang solution, the answer mentions the word "unexpectedly".I am myself no expert in throwing boomerangs but once or twice it has come back pretty nicely for me.Again a very general assumption which can always happen in daily life.

Question open for all.

 

[Jordan Joab]

Considered one of the best of today's times:

A man tries to buy poison to kill his wife. The pharmacist figures out what he's up to and finds a way to ensure that he can't kill his wife.How does the pharmacist do it?

Only one answer possible.

The husband tried to buy the poison to kill his wife. The pharmacist figures out what he's up to. If the pharmacist was able to conclude a murder would take place he has more than enough reason to call the cops.



Jordan Joab.

 

[physixguru]

But law does not take a man's intuition into account.He must have a proof to show to the police, as how he figured out the murder.Also, when he goes out to call the cops, the man may escape and murder his wife and flee.Moreover,when the cops come in, the man may say that he bought the poison to kill rats or pests.The pharmacist may then be jailed for putting false allegations on a man.
Everything now depends on the pharmacist's abilities and his own skill to trap the man in his own game.This statement is itself a hint!

Think logically.

 

[Jordan Joab]

But law does not take a man's intuition into account.He must have a proof to show to the police, as how he figured out the murder.Also, when he goes out to call the cops, the man may escape and murder his wife and flee.Moreover,when the cops come in, the man may say that he bought the poison to kill rats or pests.The pharmacist may then be jailed for putting false allegations on a man.

Think logically.

Alright. Eventually, the husband will kill the wife. The pharmacist just delayed the outcome.
Jordan Joab.

Edit: I apologize if I come off as confrontational. I'm not trying to. I'll go back to my lair now.

 

[physixguru]

Nice try Jordan,
But the point is that the '' pharmacist prevents the murder, not delays it".

No need to apologize, the questions you raised were inevitable in anybody's mind.

Anybody there?

 

[Borek]

It is getting more and more stupid. It has nothing to do with logic, and the only reason for some assumptions to hold and for others to not is "because I said so".

 

[physixguru]

It is getting more and more stupid. It has nothing to do with logic, and the only reason for some assumptions to hold and for others to not is "because I said so".

My dear friend Borek,
these questions are situational logic i.e. questions depending on the practicality of a person,
it is how well you react to a situation.
Moreover , if i had to post the so called "logical" questions according to you, then i don't need to do it coz millions of them are available on the internet.
And one more think it is not becoz i said so, it is becoz the "answer said so".
These questions have not been picked up from stray and posted on PF.These are world class questions asked at various competitive tests and interviews.I am no moron.

Hope you understand.This thread tests your thinking and logical reasoning.The points put up by me are perfectly true and just.

 

[Gokul43201]

Pharmacist: Buddy, here's your bottle of poison, sorry for the delay. I know you're trying to kill your wife. So I've just mailed a letter, a copy of the receipt and the bill with your prints on it to a secret locker and instructed a friend to open it if anything happens to me. If your wife dies anytime soon, I will talk to the cops and make sure they nail your @$$. If anything happens to me, my friend will pass on the contents of my locker to the police. Have a nice day.

 

[Borek]

I don't buy it. Call it test of creative thinking, it'll be OK. But - like in the boomerang case - you need several assumptions for the boomerang answer to be correct. One, she has to have a boomerang (how many people with boomerangs at home do you know?), second she has to be able to throw it correctly and precisely (as it was already pointed by DeaconJohn it is not that easy), third she has to have quite a strong hand so that boomerang kills her on return (and remember, how many people survives blows, hits, crashes and so on). You need three unlikely assumptions for the boomerang answer to be correct.

Let me put it another way. Ask me "How likely it is that the random women died after throwing boomerang through the window". Hmm, I don't know a single person that owns boomerang, so it is doubtfull. But even if, to get killed you need to throw it very strong. Most of the women I know won't be strong enough, so it is doubtfull. And then you need not only a lot a strength, but also a lot of skill. Again, I don't know anyone with that skill, which makes things even more doubtfull. This is logic at work.

In a real life situation heart attack looks much more likely. Heck, it is much more likely that she was throwing her housband sandwitch he forgot to take, she slipped and hit window sill with her head.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

The pharmacist is his wife. She commits suicide.

 

[physixguru]

Jimmy i have got to say, you are damn intelligent.
Kudos to you for your wonderful presence of mind: 8 points.

Gokul does it in style.Love your response.Amazingly executed answer: 6 points.

As for Borek,I do not wish to argue with such a senior member.If you don't want to test your skills, don't criticize this thread for no reason.

STILL LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT ANSWER.

 

[Gear300]

pharmacist kills man?

 

[Borek]

Hey, I am not a kid eater! And one third of my seniority comes for $15, you can afford it

 

[physixguru]

pharmacist kills man?

Brilliant try.The experts do not accept this solution as they do not want the pharmacist to become a criminal and save the wife.

But as i have told ,the members of PF are more than smart and these innovative answers , truly force me to believe that innovation has a new dimension.

Gear300 gets 5 points.

STILL LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT ANSWER.

CURRENT STANDINGS:

1.Jimmy-13 points
2.Andre-10 points
3.Moonbear-5 points
4.Gokul-6 points
5.Gear300-5 points
6.DyslexicHobo-10 points
7.Kurdt-5 points

 

[physixguru]

Hey, I am not a kid eater! And one third of my seniority comes for $15, you can afford it

Seniority does not come with a price tag and if it does,I spit on it.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

A man tries to buy poison to kill his wife. The pharmacist figures out what he's up to and finds a way to ensure that he can't kill his wife.How does the pharmacist do it?
Only one answer possible.

The pharmacist is his wife. She commits suicide.

8 points.

Why only 8? When you shout that you are looking for a perfect answer, I think you mean 'can we guess what your answer is.'

 

[neu]

RE: the boomerang answer to the last conudrum:

If she throws the boomerang OUT of the window then upon its return it will enter INTO the room. Of course someone can fall in any direction when hit by something it is somewhat unlikely that a woman who was expecting a boomerang to return through the window to get hit by it then fall in the direction from whence it came?

Better solution: she throws the boomerang but it doesn't quite reach her on its return so she stretches to try and catch it and falls to her death.

Anyway, for the current conudrum my first answer is the obvious one:

The pharmacist sabotages the husband's plot by replacing the drug asked for with a some substance that will not harm his wife but cause her to ill health sufficient to goto A & E where it would become apparent to the doctors that something shifty was going on, the police are called and the husband reveals all as he can't take the pressure.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

She was a burglar. She was inside someone's house throwing valuables out the window to her accomplice. A neighbor shot her.

 

[neu]

AHH no! She WAS a burglar, and she was stealing a boomerang. Only things didn't pan out how she'd liked them too.

 

[DaveC426913]

Take this, a perfectly daily life question.

A woman throws something out a window and dies.
What causes her death? (Not more than 2 answers are possible).

In my world, the answers to these kinds of riddles are meant to be teased out 20 questions-style, not simply scattershot guesses. So I'm going to start that. I'll ask 5, otherwise this will take forever.

Would she have died if the thing had not gone out the window?
Did she know that her action would result in her injury or death?
Did she die immediately after the thing went out the window (say, less than 30 seconds)?
Was there anyone else in the room?
Did she die directly by another person's action?

 

[Gokul43201]

Would she have died if the thing had not gone out the window?
Did she know that her action would result in her injury or death?
Did she die immediately after the thing went out the window (say, less than 30 seconds)?
Was there anyone else in the room?
Did she die directly by another person's action?

Dave, physix posted the "answer" in an earlier post (20-ish, I think). You can look it up and answer your own questions!

 

[Ms Music]

Is the pharmacist question still open?

Immediately after the man leaves the pharmacy, the pharmacist calls the wife and tells her to pass on the message to the husband that the "____" he sold him was the wrong stuff, and he needs to bring it back. The wife is then aware of the situation...

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Immediately after the man leaves the pharmacy, the pharmacist calls the wife and tells her to pass on the message to the husband that the "____" he sold him was the wrong stuff, and he needs to bring it back. The wife is then aware of the situation...

That might make it more difficult for him to kill his wife, but it doesn't ensure that he can't as stated in the puzzle.

 

[Ms Music]

Actually, I was rather vague because I thought the question was rather vague. The pharmacist tells the wife that he accidentally filled the prescription with the wrong meds/stuff, and to bring it back because it could kill her by interacting with her current meds. I assumed he picked up a prescription for the wife, instead of rat poison... But if the pharmacist thinks it will interact with her current meds, she will need to talk to her doctor. But I am assuming a lot of things! ;)

Sorry, I didn't want to be TOO specific. But if she is aware that what is being brought home will kill her, she won't take it. (well, unless it was her best friend that just died by being hit by a boomerang...)

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Sorry, I didn't want to be TOO specific. But if she is aware that what is being brought home will kill her, she won't take it. (well, unless it was her best friend that just died by being hit by a boomerang...)

The husband could shoot his wife. The puzzle says that the pharmacist finds a way to ensure that he can't kill his wife.

 

[Kurdt]

The pharmacist kills the guys wife.

 

[physixguru]

Why only 8? When you shout that you are looking for a perfect answer, I think you mean 'can we guess what your answer is.'

Thanks a lot for misinterpreting me.It seems you have not read my first post and my response to the honorable members.If you again ask me, i stress again, that the answers and these riddles have been collected from various sources with deep hard labor.I do not make up my own answers.I never posted my own answer and said that this is my reply, and it came out to be true.I am not playing this game.I am just getting all of you involved.If i wanted no one to win, i would not have awarded Andre,You,Jimmy,Kurdt , with points.I do not give you 10 points because the answer that the experts regard as the smartest one, is something else.I could have given you 2 points also, but i respect your intelligence friend, never take me otherwise.

Hope you understand.

 

[physixguru]

Actually, I was rather vague because I thought the question was rather vague. The pharmacist tells the wife that he accidentally filled the prescription with the wrong meds/stuff, and to bring it back because it could kill her by interacting with her current meds. I assumed he picked up a prescription for the wife, instead of rat poison... But if the pharmacist thinks it will interact with her current meds, she will need to talk to her doctor. But I am assuming a lot of things! ;)

Sorry, I didn't want to be TOO specific. But if she is aware that what is being brought home will kill her, she won't take it. (well, unless it was her best friend that just died by being hit by a boomerang...)

The pharmacist is no astrologer.He can't just guess the man's wife telephone number.This prediction of fact by the pharmacist is just impossible.Of course you can sense something wrong, But you can't determine facts.Also the wife may not believe the pharmacist at all because she may have complete faith on her husband , not realising what her husband's intentions were.
Nevertheless, nice try, stay along.

 

[physixguru]

In my world, the answers to these kinds of riddles are meant to be teased out 20 questions-style, not simply scattershot guesses. So I'm going to start that. I'll ask 5, otherwise this will take forever.

Would she have died if the thing had not gone out the window?
Did she know that her action would result in her injury or death?
Did she die immediately after the thing went out the window (say, less than 30 seconds)?
Was there anyone else in the room?
Did she die directly by another person's action?

Answer me this:

Would be alive had you not be breathing?,who knows , you may be invincible ;p
Did you ever know your future?
Do you ever control things which are in controllable?, same is the case with the boomerang,
finer details make the puzzle unrealistic, my friend.
Would the Presence of any other person have prevented the murder?
Can another man ever fly suddenly to catch a boomerang and throw it back at her, as if he was watching her all day and waiting for her to perform this action.?

Hope you are answered friend.Logic takes no questions.