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[Manics]

There is a room with no windows and only one regular lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. Down the hall and around the corner from this room is a set of three light switches. One and only one of these switches is connected to the light (the other two are dummy switches). From the set of switches you can't see the room at all.

You can fiddle around with the three light switches as much as you want, but you can only go into the room ONCE. So how would you figure out which of the three light switches is responsible for turning the lightbulb off and on?

 

[Lucky Forward]

Take the cover plates off of the switches and pull the wires off. Try crossing the wires to get a short circuit. The dummy switches won't be hot, the real one will. And I don't even have to go into the room once.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

call the super and tell him to fix that shit.

 

[DJ_Tet]

You put your ear up to the switches and listen for the spark as you barely nudge each switch.

 

[themadcowtipper]

call the super and tell him to fix that shit.

+1

 

[SSGMUN10000]

You have a partner with you and as you go through each switch just scream if it shut off or not.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

Uh, flip them all once and then go back to the room.

 

[Matlock]

I'd just go to bed

 

[borghe]

Uh, flip them all once and then go back to the room.

this was one of my early thoughts also, however that doesn't determine which switch actually did it. Also if the light was on to begin with the light is now off.

I am with finding the hot wire. if all other switches are dummy switches, presumably there is only one hot wire. take the hot wire and a ground, attach it to a switch, and you now know which switch is the live one.

 

[Son of Godzilla]

Fiddle with each switch and go check to see if the light is on without entering the room.

 

[dem]

oldest riddle evar

THE HEAT MAN
THE HEAT

 

[Kobun Heat]

Older than dirt.

Spoiler

Flip switch A and leave it on for like five minutes. Then turn it off and flip switch B. Enter the room. If the light is on it's switch B. If the light is off, touch the bulb. If it's hot, it's A. If not, it's C.

 

[SpoonyBard]

oldest riddle evar

THE HEAT MAN
THE HEAT

Doh
That was a good one.

 

[Kobun Heat]

Okay, here's another stupid old riddle!

A guy goes to the hardware store to buy [something]. He checks the pricing and sees that it would be $1.20 for 1, $2.40 for 24, and $4.80 for 3600. He bought 6. What was he buying, and how much did it cost?

 

[Matlock]

House numbers $1.20

 

[Matlock]

before you have this, someone has to take it

what is it

 

[borghe]

Older than dirt.

Spoiler

Flip switch A and leave it on for like five minutes. Then turn it off and flip switch B. Enter the room. If the light is on it's switch B. If the light is off, touch the bulb. If it's hot, it's A. If not, it's C.

Spoiler

Spoiler

but what if the light was on to begin with? would pretty much kill that answer. futzing with the wiring you could say without certainty which switch it was.

I get that it is a riddle with a certain answer, just seems kind of silly (for the riddle) to automatically assume everyone will assume the light will start off and base their answer on that.

if the light starts on, assuming it is then hot, you turn it off and wait for five minutes (after which point it will have cooled off, flip the second switch which does nothing, you walk in and assume it is switch C but in reality you turned it off with switch A.

 

[Manics]

but what if the light was on to begin with? would pretty much kill that answer. futzing with the wiring you could say without certainty which switch it was.

The switches have an "on" and "off" position. The answer was correct although I will accept opening up the switches and playing around with the wiring for it's creativity.

 

[Kobun Heat]

It's not so much that my answer was wrong, it's that he didn't have all the information in the riddle. ^_-