Can you solve it? Two dead at the drink-off – a brilliant new lateral thinking puzzle

Deadly Drink-Off: A Mind-Bending Lateral Thinking Puzzle

The Queen's latest diplomatic endeavor has turned deadly, and we need your help to unravel the mystery behind Smith and Jones' unfortunate demise. Two high-profile individuals, the only manufacturers of poison in the land, were invited to a royal ceremony where they would exchange vials of their own concoctions. The twist? They wouldn't know what poison was in each other's vial until after the exchange.

Here are the facts: Smith and Jones produce various types of poison with differing strengths. However, neither party has access to the other's poisons, making it impossible for them to determine which one is stronger. To add insult to injury, there's a catch: if a person ingests a poison that doesn't have an antidote, they'll die within an hour unless they're exposed to an even stronger poison.

With their lives on the line and no way to verify the strength of each other's poisons, Smith and Jones were left with one week to come up with a plan. What could they do? The Queen's instructions were clear: bring your strongest poison and be prepared for the worst. But would either party survive?

This clever puzzle is all about thinking laterally, leveraging basic game theory to outsmart their opponents. Can you figure out what happened during the royal ceremony? The solution will be revealed at 5 pm UK.

In the meantime, we'd love to hear from you. Do you have a favorite lateral thinking puzzle that's left you scratching your head? Share it with us and let's see if we can't stump each other once again.

The puzzle was originally posted by computer scientist Michael Rabin in the late 1980s on an electronic bulletin board at Carnegie Mellon University. It has since been rediscovered, thanks to a puzzle enthusiast who recognized its genius. The solution involves some clever thinking and basic game theory – but we won't spoil it for you just yet!
 
ugh i dont get why the queen is making everyone's life hard 🤦‍♀️ like cant she just tell people what poison they got lol? and whats with the whole 'you have one week' thing?! can u imagine having to think that fast when ur literally dying 😂 but yeah, its a pretty clever puzzle actually. i dont think i'll ever be able to figure it out tho 🤔
 
🤔 I'm stumped by this one! The whole setup seems like a classic example of asymmetric information, where both parties have the same incentives but no access to relevant data. It's like they're trying to solve an economic problem with incomplete information 😬. One possible approach could be for Smith and Jones to negotiate a "poison trade" where they agree to exchange vials, but with a twist: they'd both take half of each other's poison as part of the deal. This way, if one party has stronger poison, it'll still be diluted, reducing the risk. Not a perfect solution, but it might just give them enough time to figure out their next move 🕰️.
 
omg I'm literally dying over here 🤯 thinking about how insane that situation must've been 💀 like what if they got poisoned on purpose or something? and the Queen's just sitting there like "oh guys go figure it out" 😂👑 I mean I love a good lateral thinking puzzle as much as the next person, but this one is just wild 🤪 can't wait to see the solution at 5 pm tho! did u hear about that viral challenge from last year where people tried to guess which food was spicy? I solved it like 2 seconds after it came out 😂 my friend thought I was a genius lol
 
omg this is crazy 😂 i've seen so many lateral thinking puzzles online but this one takes the cake... i'm definitely gonna have to think about this for a sec, i dont wanna give away any hints 🤔 btw what's the deal with the queen inviting two people who make poison? that just seems super reckless... anyway, gotta sit on this for now and see if i can come up with something 💡
 
🤔 this is wild... they had one week to figure out what's going on and their lives were literally hanging by a thread 🤯. I wonder if they even tried calling each other or something like that... no phone signal at the ceremony? 📱😂 what if they brought some water with them just in case? 💧 that would've given them one more hour to think, I guess... 👀
 
🤔 This one's a real brain-twister! I'm still trying to wrap my head around it 😅. I mean, think about it - they're basically playing a game of "let's see who can outsmart the other" without knowing what's in the vials 🎲. The Queen's idea seems pretty clever at first, but then you realize that there's no way to verify what's in each other's poisons... it's like a game of Russian roulette 🎮.

I've been trying to think of a solution all day, but I'm still stumped 😬. Any ideas? Maybe someone can share their own favorite lateral thinking puzzle and stump me for a bit 🤓. Can't wait to see the solution at 5 pm UK! ⏰
 
ugh how can u even make something like this up? 🤯 i mean who thinks it's a good idea to kill 2 people at a royal ceremony?! 😱 and now ur askin us to figure out the puzzle like its no big deal... meanwhile, in reality ppl r dyin in the streets cuz of poverty & homelessness 🚨🏠 and we sittin here tryin to solve some fancy puzzle 🤓
 
OMG, this is soooo crazy!!! 🤯 I'm literally on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what happened with Smith and Jones... I mean, can you even imagine being in their shoes?! 😱 They have only 1 week to come up with a plan, it's like they're playing a real-life game of "Survival of the Fittest"! 💪

I love puzzles like this, they're like a brain teaser, keeping me guessing till the very end. I've got my own favorite puzzle that's been stumping me for ages... have you guys ever heard of the "Hardest Logic Puzzle Ever"? 🤔 It's like, if you solve it, you'll be crowned the ultimate logic mastermind! 💫
 
omg this is crazy 😱 i mean think about it if they dont know what poison is in the vial how do they even prepare themselves? its like a deadly game of russian roulette and the queen is like the ultimate villain for setting them up like that 💁‍♀️ i wonder if anyone will ever solve it though 🤔
 
I find this puzzle quite fascinating... 🤔 The complexity of the situation is mind-boggling, with the added pressure of not knowing what's in each other's vials until after exchange. It's a classic example of the "prisoner's dilemma" in game theory, where two parties have to decide how to behave given uncertain outcomes. One possible solution could be for Smith and Jones to propose an open protocol for their interaction, such as a simultaneous blind draw or a sequential testing process, which would minimize the risk of poisoning. However, this might require some creative problem-solving and negotiation skills... 💡
 
🤔 This whole thing sounds like a super high-stakes game of "chicken" where only one person can survive... and honestly, I think both Smith and Jones had to know their own poison's strengths way better than that. One party should've been able to analyze the other's setup beforehand and plan accordingly... but maybe there was an additional factor at play here? 🤷‍♂️
 
I'm not impressed with this whole thing 🤔. I mean, two powerful individuals getting themselves killed over a lateral thinking puzzle? Sounds like a setup for me to write about how crazy the world is 😂. On a more serious note, have we really become so desperate that we're willing to risk our lives just to prove a point? I don't think it's fair to say that this puzzle is genius when someone could get seriously hurt or even killed because of it 💀. Can't we just play nice and solve puzzles without putting ourselves in harm's way? 🙄
 
omg this is like the most mind-blowing puzzle ever i've been trying to solve it for hours and i'm still stumped 🤯💀 i mean what if they both bring the same poison and then one of them dies and the other one is all "oh no what did i do?" 😂 idk how people can come up with these things but this is seriously genius. i need to see the solution ASAP 5 pm can't wait 🕰️
 
🤯 I think the Queen's plan sounds like a recipe for disaster 🚽😂. Can you imagine the pressure on those two guys to bring their A-game? No way to verify the strength of each other's poisons is just insane 💀. I'm guessing they must have had some kind of secret meeting beforehand to discuss strategy or something? Maybe they could've agreed to a "kill switch" or an emergency signal to, like, both take antidotes if things went south 🤔. But seriously, this puzzle is so mind-bending – I'd love to see the solution! Do you think it's even possible for two people with no prior knowledge of each other's poisons to survive? 🤷‍♂️
 
this is a total mind-bender... think about it like this, if they both brought the strongest poison, then whoever brings a weaker poison would die first right? so what if one of them was bluffing and brought an antidote too? that'd be a sick move lol. but seriously though, i've been stuck on this for hours trying to figure out who would win...
 
Back
Top