
Beth, Anne, and Susan are the three finalists in a logic competition. A final test will now be given to
decide the winner. The three girls are sitting together at a round table and are blindfolded. The
moderator informs them that he will either put a red or green hat on each girl's head. Once he instructs
them to remove the blindfold, they must raise their hand immediately if they see a red hat. Based on who
raised their hand and what color hats they see, the first girl who can determine the color of her own hat
will win.
The game then begins and the moderator decides to put a red hat on each girl's head and informs them
they can remove their blindfold. All three girls immediately raise their hand (as each of them sees at
least one red hat). After a long pause, Susan tells the moderator that her hat is red and explains why.
Her logic is correct and she wins. How did she do it?
ANSWER:
Susan realizes that her hat can't be green because if it was, the two other
girls would known right away that their own hat was red.
EXPLANATION: If Susan's hat was green, Beth and Anne would each have known right
away that their own hat was red. Why? Because both Beth and Anne raised their hand indicating that they
saw a red hat. If Susan's hat had been green, Beth would have had to have seen a red hat on Anne and Anne
would have to have seen a red hat on Beth and both Beth and Anne would have figured this out without much
thought. So Susan realizes that her hat must be red.
Do you have a
suggestion for this puzzle (e.g. something that should
be mentioned/clarified in the question or solution, bug, typo, etc.)?