Prisoner to be freed

The warden meets with 23 new prisoners when they arrive. He tells them, "You may meet today and plan a strategy. But after today, you will be in isolated cells and will have no communication with one another.

"In the prison is a switch room, which contains two light switches labeled 1 and 2, each of which can be in either up or the down position. I am not telling you their present positions. The switches are not connected to anything.

"After today, from time to time whenever I feel so inclined, I will select one prisoner at random and escort him to the switch room. This prisoner will select one of the two switches and reverse its position. He must flip one switch when he visits the switch room, and may only flip one of the switches. Then he'll be led back to his cell.

"No one else will be allowed to alter the switches until I lead the next prisoner into the switch room. I'm going to choose prisoners at random. I may choose the same guy three times in a row, or I may jump around and come back. I will not touch the switches, if I wanted you dead you would already be dead.

"Given enough time, everyone will eventually visit the switch room the same number of times as everyone else. At any time, anyone may declare to me, 'We have all visited the switch room.'

"If it is true, then you will all be set free. If it is false, and somebody has not yet visited the switch room, you will all die horribly. You will be carefully monitored, and any attempt to break any of these rules will result in instant death to all of you"

What is the strategy they come up with so that they can be free?




Similar Riddles

What question can you never answer yes to?

Asked by Neha on 09 May 2022


Which part of London exists in France as well ?

Asked by Neha on 17 Feb 2021

Two guards were on duty outside a barracks. One faced up the road to watch for anyone approaching from the North. The other looked down the road to see if anyone approached from the South. Suddenly one of them said to the other, "Why are you smiling?"

How did he know his companion was smiling?

Asked by Neha on 24 Apr 2022


I have branches, but no fruit, trunk or leaves. What am I?

Asked by Neha on 13 Feb 2022

I am working in a bus company. The company recently went under expansion and therefore there was not enough room for all the buses. As a result, twelve buses had to be stored outside.

If the company decides to expand the garage space by forty percent, enough space to accommodate the current buses will be created leaving enough space for twelve more buses if the need arises in future.

Can you calculate the number of buses that the company owns at present?

Asked by Neha on 18 Dec 2020

Below toothpicks/matchsticks indicate the group of fishes moving from west to east direction. Can you make them move from east to west by just moving three toothpicks/matchsticks?


Floating Fish

Asked by Neha on 14 May 2021


How many points are there on the globe where, by walking one mile south, then one mile east and then one mile north, you would reach the place where you started?

Asked by Neha on 21 Apr 2022

In a town, there are over 100 flats.
Flat-1 is named first flat.
Flat-2 is named second flat.
Flat-3 is named third flat.

A visitors 'Victor' decides to walk through all the flats, he finds all the flats except flat-62.
Victor later founds that the local of the town have given it another name.

What is the name of the Flat?

Asked by Neha on 05 May 2021

You can win me and lose me but never buy me
You can not eat me and never want to part with me
I can make you cry or bring you joy
I am not a machine and definitely not a toy
You keep me but i am not forever just yours
You might find me in a case or on a shelf next to a vase
I am hard and i am tall if you bump me i am sure to fall
I am made of different materials and am at many events
If your lucky and fight hard I might be yours
What am I ?

Asked by Neha on 11 May 2021


Two Twins Jack and Jill were standing back to back and suddenly they started running in opposite direction for 4 kilometres and then turn to left and run for another 3 kilometres.

what is the distance between the Baggio twins when they stop ?

Asked by Neha on 31 Jul 2021

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Gamers

In 2011, people playing Foldit, an online puzzle game about protein folding, resolved the structure of an enzyme that causes an Aids-like disease in monkeys. Researchers had been working on the problem for 13 years. The gamers solved it in three weeks.