Brain Teasers
Knightly Love
A poor, young knight wants to marry a beautiful princess and she wants to marry him. But the king doesn't want the marriage. He offers the knight a choice. He can draw one of two slips of paper out of a golden urn. One will say "marriage" and one will say "death". The princess is able to whisper to the knight that both slips of paper really say "death". The knight and the princess end up being wed. How does the knight accomplish this?
Answer
The knight picks a slip of paper and immediately tears it up. He then takes out the other slip and hands it to the king. Since the untorn slip of paper says "death", the knight says that obviously the one he tore up said "marriage".Hide Answer Show Answer
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Since were can go and destroy thing without looking at them, then the king could easily burn the untorn slip , not needing to read it he knows both answers (it really doesn't matter if the knight knows that both answer are death, he's the king) and call the knight on his arrogance and make hin read reassemble the slip and read it, thus saying Death. NOw if the Knight was to tell the king (since he knows that both slips are death) taht he fears th king dealt treacherously and for the both of them to draw and see their answers if the knight is wrong he dies if he is not, he gets the maidens hand.
GOOD JOB I LIKED IT
i like your thinking, goblah.
If I were the prince.. I would get the princess to draw for me and tuck the piece of paper in her bosom as a keepsake...and then tip out the urn and show the king the remaining piece of paper...
No king would allow his belovéd daughter's honour to be sullied by having someone fish about in her cleavage to prove what the other piece of paper said.
No king would allow his belovéd daughter's honour to be sullied by having someone fish about in her cleavage to prove what the other piece of paper said.
surely the king would have been the one to write the two slips of paper out?
my solution was that the knight took the other option (you said he had a choice, and then proceeded to outline one of them (that is drawing out the pieces of paper) - i just decided that the alternative was something much nicer, like being able to ask the princess if she wanted to marry him )
my solution was that the knight took the other option (you said he had a choice, and then proceeded to outline one of them (that is drawing out the pieces of paper) - i just decided that the alternative was something much nicer, like being able to ask the princess if she wanted to marry him )
heard this before but nice...
If the knight were to swallow the piece of paper he drew, it couldn't be re-built, and the king couldn't deny it said the same as the only slipog paper now existing
slip of
the king didn't want to admit that both slips said death because he wanted everyone to think that he was fair.
anyhow, this is really old. i've seen it about 12 different times.
anyhow, this is really old. i've seen it about 12 different times.
Heard it knew it its easy and its a good teaser.
Another possible scenario: The princess says, "Father, I love him so much that I'm willing take his place!! I will draw INSTEAD, and whichever piece I draw will be MY fate!!" The king, who loves his daughter very much, will of course have to admit to his deception. And seeing that she was willing to risk HER life for the love of her prince, he grudgingly allows the marriage!! (umm....and they all lived happily ever after.)
nice answer and nice teaser
Here, ill be the first one to give you a good comment: It was soooooooo awseome!!!!!!!!! Happy???
I didn't mean for my comment to sound negative. I'm sorry if it did! I just meant it in the spirit of fun!!.....coming up with other humorous scenarios!! I should have written that I liked this teaser!! Good job Phyllis!!
very interesting
i've heard this one before.. not in a question, but in a story
ive heard this one hundreds of times in hundreds of variations. no wonder its in the 200s section.
i don't get it
I first heard this one years ago in a book by Edward De Bono on Lateral Thinking. It's still a good teaser.
easy but fun
smart and much thought
Really a good one, Phyllis.
Accordin' to me, the knight could also set a condition before the king saying that as per the slip he draws, he should be punished oppositely i.e. the death-sentence would turn into a marriage-statement.
Accordin' to me, the knight could also set a condition before the king saying that as per the slip he draws, he should be punished oppositely i.e. the death-sentence would turn into a marriage-statement.
nice one!
Wonderful teaser, BUT it is missing one thing: "And they lived happily ever after"
Funny! Great job! It reminds of a story just like it, except the story drives everyone crazy since there's no answer!
good but OLD!
i like this one, but i've seen it a lot before....that's ok!!! good job phyllis
classic, but a good one. i had forgotten it... kudos.
Smart... u got me
I've heard it before but when I heard it he had swallowed it. I think i like tearing it up better though...
Clever!
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