Which day of the week?

Fursters and Secunders – 1^**/*****
Inspector Simon Mart had arrived on the island of Loginha. Half of the inhabitants, the Fursters, lie on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and speak the truth on the remaining days. The other half of the population, the Secunders, lie on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and speak the truth on the other days.

Inspector Simon Mart read through two interrogation reports and immediately noted a major omission: neither of them was dated, but he was assured that both had been written yesterday. One was an interrogation of a Furster, the other of a Secunder. Both contained the sentence “I lied yesterday”.

On what day did the inspector read the interrogation reports?

You can check your solutions here

Fursters and Secunders – 2^*/*****
Inspector Simon Mart spoke to two people. One told him: “Today is Saturday”. The other told him: “Today is Sunday”.
If he does not know what day it is, can he deduce who is who?

You can check your solutions here

A new puzzle is published every Friday. You are welcome to discuss the difficulty level of the puzzles. Solutions are posted after one or more weeks.

Inspector Simon Mart and the stolen toupet

Inspector Simon Mart looked out of the window of his familiar office room. What he saw was very familiar: nothing. Or, more precisely: the well known grey of London smog. It looked like a particular dense smog, as he could not even see the tree at the other side of the street, nor the pedestrians or traffic in the street below.

He would much, much rather have been at the sun drowned beaches of a tropical archipellego, but he was here back in London.
And he’d better get to work. He looked at the interrogation reports of the three criminals. The toupet of major Big Boaster had been stolen. The three criminals were all so rotten that none of the three could utter three sentences without speaking the truth more than once. Luckily, it had already been established that one of them was the thief.

Their interrogation reports:
Picking Pete: Rotten Ray is innocent. Thoughtless Theo is the thief. I am innocent.
Rotten Ray: To his dismay inspector Mart found that some thoughtless secretary had spilled coffee over this interrogation report, and it was completely unreadable.
Thoughtless Theo: Picking Pete is innocent. I am innocent. Rotten Ray is the thief.

Inspector Simon Mart got himself some tea from the coffee maachine and found that it tasted just like one can expect from a coffee machine: the tea tasted as coffee.
Still, he managed to conclude who the thief was. Can you?

You can check your solutions here

A new puzzle is posted every friday. You are welcome to comment on the puzzles. Solutions are added at the bottom of a puzzle after one or more weeks.

Inspector Simon Mart and the stolen matchstick

‘I was on the island of Lotl Ire Esain in the Archipellago,’ Inspector Simon Mart wrote in his text editor, ‘where I encountered a strange case. The island is remarkable ny its population, which consists of two distinct groups: Liars, who will always Lie but are honest in the sense that they will never steal, and Thieves, who will often steal but who are absolutely honest in that they will always tell you the truth.’

He continued to write:
In one case brought to my attention, a person had been robbed of a box of burnt matchsticks. Now that may sound ridiculous, but the island is devoid of trees and all wood must be imported so it is considered a criminal offense.

Two suspects were brought in, and it had already been established that one of them had to be the criminal. The policeofficer who brought them in introduced them as Peter and Paul.
‘What the hack,’ I thought. ‘Would it have been the same two persons or is every Jack and Joe called Peter and Paul here?’ Anyway, hoping that the thief would simply asnwer truthfully, I asked Peter: ‘Dit you steal the matchstick?’
But Peter simply answered: Paul is a Liar.
Asking Paul the same question to Paul, Paul replied: ‘Peter is a thief’.

Who stole the matchstick?

If you wish you can check your solution.

Inspector Smart on the Isle of Thieves and Liars

After his adventure on the island of Koaloao, Inspector Simon Mart traveled on to the second island in the Logico archipelago, Lotl Ire Esa.

The population of this island, he knew, was very peculiar; it consisted of two distinct groups, each with his own rigid disposition, and the inspector suspected it was a genetic mutation.
One group on this island was called Thieves: they had an uncontrollable tendency to steal, but they would always tell the truth. The other group was called Liars, they never stole anything but would always lie.

1) The scepter of dignity
After checking into his hotel, he had gone straight to the police headquarters in the capital. In the case before him, there were two suspects, Peter and Paul. The crime under investigation was the theft of the Scepter of Dignity, a rod made of used matchsticks, and dating back to 1997.

Peter: Paul is a Thief. But he did not steal the scepter.
Paul: Peter is a Thief. And Peter stole the scepter.
It was already certain that one of the two had stolen the scepter. Who is guilty?

If you wish you can check your solution.

Inspector Simon Mart and the camper at Trafalgar square

Inspector Simon Mart looked at the blank screen of the word processor in front of him. He really wanted to write down something about the interesting cases he had explored at the isle of KoaLoao. He was glad, of course, to be back in London, back in the familiar office, back between the familiar colleagues at Wales Yard, back in his own familiar office room with the familiar mug of the familiar undrinkable drab of coffee.
Just as a blink of inspiration on how to start popped up, a superintendant dropped in, wiping out any trace of inspiration about how to start.
‘Three suspects of the theft of the copper kettle of a camper on Trafalgar Square, Simon. Can you question them? Boring cases, of course, for you, after your holiday in Archipelagio.’
‘The only one who needs to be questioned is the camper,’ Simon replied dryly. ‘Why would any one in his right mind want to put up his tent there? Did he obstruct the traffic? And why would he have a copper kettle where every camper uses plastic stuff?’
‘I admit we made a Strategic Mistake in letting that guy go,’ the superintendant replied with a devilish smile, ‘He didnt seem to have obstructed the traffic – he put up his tent in the fountain. But the three suspects we rounded up are all we have. Oh, and we are sure one of them did it.’ Having said that, he showed in Mighty Mike, Ron Rubbish and Sluggy Sarah.
Inspector Simon asked them one simple question: ‘Who did it?’
Mighty Mike replied: Ron Rubbish did it.
Ron Rubbish answered: Sluggy Sarah took it.
Sluggy Sarah said: I’m innocent.
Now, assuming only the thief lied, who should the inspector keep in custody for further interrogation?

You can check your solution here

The Babuschka and the pearls

Before going home, Inspector Simon Mart visited a pearl shop on the island of KoaLoao, where every native was either a TruthTeller or a LieSpeaker, he decided he really had to take home a souvenir.

He looked around in one of the local pearl shops. It was not very large, but his eye fell on a nicely crafted Babuschka – one of those russian dolls where, when you open it, it contains another similar doll, which, when you open it, ok, you get it.
This babuschka contained 3 smaller dolls, and had six small pearls inlaid for the eyes of the dolls. He picked it up and weanted to buy it, but his eye fell on a pillow with 4 beautiful large pearls, some entire white, some entirely black. He remebered that all pearls on this island were either black or white.
“How many of these large pearls do you have?” Simon asked, interested.
“Not very many” the shopowner asnwered. “My neighbour next door has more, and he has 29 pearls of this size.”
“That doesnt tell me how many you have” the inspector remarked.
“Well, if I would put all my large pearls in a bag, both black and white, and you would take out two at random, the chances would be exactly 1 in 5 that you would have two black ones.”
“Don’t believe a word he says!” the servant in the shop warned him. “My boss is a notorious LieSpeaker! Our neighbour has 30 pearls of this size, and the chances are exactly 1 in 4 that you would take out 2 white pearls!”

“That makes things clear!” answered inspector Mart. “Thank you!”

How many pearls does the shop owner have? And who is speaking the truth?

Please try to solve the puzzles on your own. You are welcome to remark on the puzzles, and I love it when you comment variations, state wether they are too easy or too difficult, or simply your solution times. Please do not state the soultions – it spoils the fun for others. I usually make the solution available after one or two weeks through a link, which allows readers to check the solution without the temptation to scroll down a few lines before having a go at it themselves.

When you have solved this puzzle, you can check your solution here

Inspector Simon Mart back in London

Back in London, Inspector Simon Mart of Scotland Yard looked at the interrogation reports before him. All three were known criminals, and now suspected of a VST, a Very Serious Theft. In fact, nothing less than the miniature of the royal train carriage had been stolen from the Toy Museum.

It had already been proved that one, and no more than one of them, had stolen the miniature train carriage.

Andy: Billy did it. Charles is innocent.
Billy: Charles did it. Everything Andy says is a lie.
Unfortunately, Charles two statement were in London slang that was totally incomprehensible even to inspector Mart.

1) Billy^*
The officer in charge first wanted to know if Billy could be released – Billy’s lawyer had filed an urgent request that Billy would be allowed to visit his sick mouse in animal hospital.
Suppose Billy is guilty. Then A1 is T, A2 is T. Hence Billy is innocent.

2) Whodunnit?^*
Next of course came the question: Who had done it?

3) The three girls^*
Inspector Simon Mart looked at the next interrogation report. Another VST case, he concluded, and he took a fresh cup of chocolate milk to prepare himself.
Denise, Ellen and Felice had been at the party given by the young Duchess Ginaldino. At the end of the evening, when all three guests had left, it turned out that Ginaldino’s favourite doll, Helen, had been stolen. It was clear that one of the three visitors was the culprit. Young as the three girls were, they were so spoiled that non of them could speak three sentences without lying at least once.

You can check your solution here for no 1 and here for no 2

A new puzzle is published every friday, at which time I will also post the solutions to the previous weeks puzzle so you can check yours. I welcome your solution times, but please don’t publish your solutions – that might spoil the fun for others. I also welcome your remarks on the difficulty level, multiple solutions, ambiguities and so on.

Inspector S. Mart on the island of KoaLoao

Inspector Simon Mart of Scotland Yard looked at the cabs lined up at the airport. After solving several difficult cases in London, he had been sent to this strange tropical island, KoaLoao. At first sight nothing looked strange. The sky was blue, the leaves of the coconut trees bright green, and the sand was yellow, and the ocean reflected the yellow sunlight as deep blue.

But he knew that the strange thing of this island was the people. The natives of this island fell into two distinct groups: those who always spoke the truth, called TruthTellers, and those who always lied, and were called LieSpeakers.

1) The cabdrivers
He approached the first taxi, and wondered how he could find out if the cab driver was a TruthTeller or a LieSpeaker.
“What’s the cost of a trip to the majestic hotel?” inspector Mart asked.
“Whoah dollar” the taxi driver told him. As the inspector did not understand the local language, the answer was meaningless to him. Then he suddenly realized that even if he had known the language, the answer would have been worthless to him if he didn’t know if the cab driver was a TruthTeller or a LieSpeaker.
He immediately asked: “Are you a TruthTeller?”
The reply came without hesitation:
“Koa, sir!”
Inspector Mart looked around helplessly. The cab driver of the next taxi walked up to him.
“Can you help me, please?” he said to the taxi driver. “Is this taxi driver a TruthTeller?”
The second cab driver answered right away:
“Loao, sir!”
Inspector Marts face cleared up. That taught him something.
He asked a third question, this time to the first taxi driver:
“Would this man” – the inspector pointed at the second cab driver – “call himself a TruthTeller?”
“Loao, sir!” the first taxi driver exclaimed.

Is the First cab driver a TruthTeller or a LieSpeaker?

If you wish you can check your solution.

2) The theft of the Yellow Coconut
Inspector S. Mart looked at the interrogation report of the three suspects of the theft of the Yellow Coconut, a monumental piece of Art by the native artist Art Fruit, symbolizing the fertility of islands in the Paleontic Ocean. Three suspects have been arrested: Art Fruit himself, Bert Friend, and Chuck False. It has already been established that one of them must have stolen the Yellow Coconut from the Royal Museum of Native Art. All three are natives of the island.

Art: I am innocent. Chuck is guilty.
Bert: I am innocent. Chuck is guilty.
Chuck: I am innocent. Art is a LieSpeaker.

Who is guilty?

If you solved it, you can check your solution.

Boolean logic

1) The first Sudoku toilet paper^*
Inspector Simon Mart of Scotland Yard was looking at the interrogation statements of 3 well known criminals. It had already been established that one of them had stolen the Very First Role of Sudoku Toilet Paper, which of course is an object of immense historical value.
It also had already been established that of the four suspects, exactly one spoke the truth.

Inspector Simon Mart looked at their statements:
Albert: I am innocent
Bill: Charles stole it
Charles: I am innocent
Who stole the toilet paper?
You can check your solution.

There is a rather recent class of puzzles which have to do with statements which are either true or not true. In the branch of mathematics which is called Logic, these statements are called propositions. Though in everyday life we use the term logic rather loosely, in Mathematics it is a rather tricky field with sub-fields such as Arestotelian Logic, logical positivism, fuzzy logic, hypothetical syllogism, Propositional calculus, Predicate logic, Mathematical logic, Intuitionistic logic and many others. It also has practical applications, such as in computer science, and in Argumentation theory.

2) The blue towel^*
Everyone of course knows that the blue towel really is yellow, but it is always called the blue towel because king Henry the 87th, of true blue blood, had washed his face with it in the 13th century. A small blue streak of blood, said to have been originated when the king cut his finger, testifies to it.
Inspector S. Mart of Wales Yard looked at the report of the interrogation. He knew the two suspects: Dirty Dave and Big Barry. None of them was able to utter two consecutive sentences without lying at least once. The police officer, who had questioned them after the theft of the “blue towel” from hotel “the palace”, had written a short summary:
Big Barry’s statement, alas, had been in a downtown accent which the police officer had been unable to understand and his notes were completely unintelligible. Dirty Dave’s statements were very short and clear:
Dirty Dave: I am innocent. Big Barry did it.
As other investigations revealed that one of the two must have been the thief, who did Inspector Mart keep under arrest?
Don’t peek at the solution, just use it to check your own solution.

3) The white waste-paper basket ^*
Inspector S. Mart of Scotland Yard interrogates two suspects of a theft of the white waste-paper basket from the local museum. This famous waste-paper basket is so old it dates back to the previous century.
Mr Brown declares: Both Green and I are guilty.
Mr Green: Brown stole it.
Given the premise that one of them is lying and the other one speaks the truth, who should he arrest?
Don’t peek at the solution, just check your solution.

4) The blue eye paper envelope ^**
Chief police inspector S. Mart interrogates the 3 suspects of the robbery of the famous Blue Eye paper envelope. All three suspects are well known criminals, and he knows that none of them can utter two consecutive sentences without lying at least once.
Mr Black: “I am innocent, inspector. It was White who stole the envelope.”
Mr Green: “Black is innocent, inspector. Black is lying when he says White is guilty.”
Mr White: “Black is innocent. Green is innocent.”
Who did Smart arrest?
Don’t peek at the solution, just check your solution.

5) The stolen washing-glove ^**
In his next case, Inspector S. Mart of Wales Yard interrogated the infamous villains Awful All, Boney Bill and Cold Charley about the theft of a hotel washing-glove.
All: Bill lies and Charley stole it.
Bill: I am innocent
Charley: All lies or Bill did it
If only one of them speaks the truth, whom should the inspector arrest?
You can check your solution.

5) The stolen chocolate^**
In the famous royal family of the isle of Kids a chocolate has been stolen. The suspects are no less than the five princesses! Inspector S. Mart is immediately called upon when the queen discovers that a chocolate is missing from the chocolate box: princesses are supposed to be absolutely honest!
Anna: Cindy is guilty;
Belinda: I am innocent;
Cindy: Diana is guilty;
Diana: Charles lies if he says I am guilty;
Elizabeth: Anna tells the truth and Cindy lies;
Assuming that only 1 of them lies and all the others speak the truth, who stole the chocolate?
If you find this one a bit hard, you can look up a hint.
And assuming that only 1 spoke the truth, who would be guilty?

You may have noticed that the first puzzle in this post had three people, and the culprit could be deduced if either one of the lied or one of them told the truth.
This puzzle has 5 people and the same conditions. If you omit Elizabeth, you still have a puzzle with 4 people and the same condition. Can you construct a puzzle with 6 people and the same condition?
And a more intriguing question: can this sequenced be epanded to any number of people?

This area of puzzles has been investigated by the logician Raymond Smullyan, in lovely books as Alice in Puzzleland, This book has no title, and other books. According to the English language wikipedia, he has about invented this type of puzzle. I also found puzzles of this type in J.A.H. Hunters “Mathematical brainteasers”, copyrighted 1965, preceding Smullyans books by over 10 years, which seems to make the statement on wikipedia doubtful.

The looking glass at the top of this article was drawn by an unknown artist at commons.wikipedia.