Contest - Step by Step Knifemaking by David Boye

Elvislives

Elvislives

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Dec 13, 1999
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I have an old, ragged but intact, copy of "Step-by-Step Knifemaking You Can Do It!" by David Boye, published in 1977. Awesome manual for beginning knifemakers. Covers all of the steps necessary to make a knife from old materials, stuff you can find around the house or a junkyard. Also applies to new materials of course.

Here's the deal. I have a brain teaser. First one to post the correct answer wins it. I have an answer in mind and that is the only one I'll accept, regardless of how creative yours might be. But post 'em anyway, it'll be fun! :)

Here goes:

You are standing outside of a room with one door and no windows. You cannot see into the room without opening the door.

There are three light switches on the wall outside of the room next to the door.

You are told that there are three light bulbs inside the room, each controlled by one of the switches outside the room. One switch per bulb, random order.

Your mission <blah blah blah> figure out which switch controls each light bulb.

You can only enter the room once, and cannot control the switches while the door is open. Once you leave the room the door closes and you cannot open it again.

Your approach must be totally non-invasive. No mods, holes, etc. The ceiling of the room has no openings.


Good luck!
 
Starting with all three switches in the "off" position:

1. Toggle any two switches to "on."

2. Open the door and enter the room.

3. You now know which light is controlled by the third switch -- the one still in the "off" position -- so make a note of that.

4. Remove one of the bulbs which is "on" from it's socket. Screw an outlet adaptor into the socket, and plug a radio or TV into the socket. Turn the radio or TV on, and turn the volume up high enough that you will be able to hear it from outside the room with the door shut.

5. Leave the room, shut the door, and then determine which of the two switches currently in the "on" position controls which socket, based upon the sound from the radio/TV being switched off.

There you have it! Or did I "cheat" somehow?
 
1. All the switches OFF position.
2. Turn on Switch #1, and let it stay ON for a few minutes and then turn it OFF.
3. Then turn on Switch #2 and immediately go in the room to check the lights.
4. Now you have one light ON and two lights OFF. The one that is ON is controled by Switch #2.
5. For the other two OFF lights, feel the temperature of the two.
The hot one is controled by Switch #1
and the cold one is controled by Switch #3.


;)
 
More or less what CD said, but you

leave one switch off,

leave one switch on to let the bulb heat up
for a few minutes then switch off,

turn the yet non used switch on
----
off switch will be off

the on for a while switch bulb will be warm.

the on switch will be on.
 
Pendentive & Dave's sound good but I would switch two lights on(A & B), wait a few minutes for the light bulbs to warm up. Then switch one of the bulbs off(B). After entering the room there will be one cold off bulb(C) and one warm off bulb(B) and one still switched on(A).
 
Open the door, break all three light bulbs. Now none of the switches control any of the lightbulbs.:D

Paul
 
... this is an old puzzle (do a Google search for "three switches" "three light bulbs" "room" and "door".) Surely Elvislives must have a more creative solution in mind, rather than the old "warm bulb" standby.

Unfortunately, I couldn't think of any good knife-related approaches, other than using the screwdriver blade of an SAK to remove the switches and replace them with dimmers.

And there's an even better solution involving topless dancers ... but now I'm not gonna tell you guys! :)
 
Maybe I should have put my answer in terms of switches 1, 10 and 11....:rolleyes:

Help me, help me, Elvis...:D
 
Am sure Pendentive got the correct solution, but I do have a question for Elvislives. No offense, but is the joke in your sig line messed up for a reason?
 
1. Remove switch plate.
2. Remove all three switches.
3. Re-connect your black wires.
4. Replace switch plate.
5. Ditch switches in trash.
6. Go home.:D :D :D
 
deacon> you never did computer programming before, working with binary? sheesh... chock him off as a 0
 
Originally posted by VampyreWolf
deacon> you never did computer programming before, working with binary? sheesh... chock him off as a 0
Click to expand...

Earn my living as an applications programmer, have not used any languages for years that reqire binary, though I still use hex a bit. But do happen to have a mug with what I think is the "correct" version of that joke on it ----

There are only 10 kinds of people in the world,
Those who understand binary numbers,
and those who don't.

Now do you understand the reason for my question? Or do I have to write you off as a 0?
 
Pendentive you win by a mere minute!

Email me your address partner and it's on the way.

Dave, sorry man you missed by this much... :D

There is not cheating, only the way that I heard the brain teaser.

The oldness of this teaser is lost on me, as I just heard it Saturday.

And if you want to understand my sig line think of it in terms of a resistor, which drives binary code. Read it as "There are ONE ZERO people" which is indicitive of 1 = "on" and 0 = "off". Just a play on words.

Whew, the crap you have to go through to give something away these days.

:p
 
Originally posted by Elvislives
And if you want to understand my sig line think of it in terms of a resistor, which drives binary code. Read it as "There are ONE ZERO people" which is indicitive of 1 = "on" and 0 = "off". Just a play on words.

Whew, the crap you have to go through to give something away these days.

:p
Click to expand...
Sorry if either my original question, or my admittedly testy reply to VW offended you Elvislives. Actually, just thought there might be a BladeForums "inside joke" involved that, as a relative newcomer, I might have missed. If it's any consolation, I also have a nasty habit of straigtening crooked pictures in the houses of folks I visit. :D Perhaps if I "restructure" both my version and your version of the joke, you will understand what I was driving at.

There are people in this world who understand binary numbers, and people who do not. This adds up to (binary) 10 kinds of people. (not funny this way, but still logical)

There are people in this world who understand binary numbers, and people who do not. This adds up to 10 kinds of people who understand binary numbers.
 
No sweat at all Deacon, just razzin' folks back. I mean when you use an old brain teaser that you get wrong and you then use a sig line that is misquoted...you feel a bit inferior.

But then I remember that I am really superior to even the highest form of primate, I eat a banana, scratch, pick a few fleas from my neighbors scalp, and all is right with the universe again. :D

Pendentive, where you at man?

Rock on!

;)
 
Sorry, Dude...

Tied up in one of those "power meetings"...:rolleyes:


Email sent.

:D


thanks!
 
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