Inspector Simon Mart and the stolen matchsticks

Inspector Simon Mart looked at the old sign on the door of his office with his name: Inspector Mart, S. That his parents had bestowed just one initial on him, had been one of his life long irritations. He probably should have told his parents before his birth that he wanted many birth names. But perhaps he could persuade the guys who provided the signs on the doors that his initial should precede his family name, and not come after it. Well, he had his own room and that was a benefit that should last until the next reorganization.

His manager had dumped a file on his desk. He read the attached note: ‘to be solved last month’. It was the 29th of the month, and he decided that this urgency would allow him to start with a mug of coffee and a social chat with his fellow inspectors at he coffee machine. At the coffee machine he met a new and pretty police officer and he chatted for a quarter of an hour with her. After that chat he decided to pick up this file. It contained a number of reports as well as a copy of interrogations. He summoned that a couple of matchsticks encrusted with amethysts had been stolen from the London Matchbox Museum. There were three suspects, Jim, Jack and John, all well known criminals. It was known that none of them could speak two consecutive true statements. He looked at the interrogation reports:

Jim: Jack did it. John is innocent.
Jack: John did it. Jim is innocent.
John: Jim is innocent. Jack is innocent.

You can check your solutions here

Shikaku

Shikaku puzzles are puzzles which can be found in some magazines. They were invented by Nikoli, a Japanese puzzle firm. Allthough they can be drawn in black and white, the colored versions seem to be more popular. There are several websites offering them – see below They are also known as Shikaku ni Kire, rectangles, Divide by Squares and Divide by Box.

The basic is a square or rectangle which has been subdivided into rectangles. The border lines are not shown in the exercise – this is what the solver has to find out. The sizes of the rectangles are given as clues.

Example:

The solution:

As you can see in the examples above:
(1) Only rectangles are used;
(2) Every rectangle has exactly 1 square indicating its size;

Here are some puzzles with them:
1) Problem 6×6

2) problem 7×7

3) problem 12×12

There are several apps for your android smartphone or ipad around. Sites which offer shikaku puzzles are:

1. http://www.nikoli.com/en/puzzles/shikaku/
2. http://www.mathinenglish.com/Shikaku.php

You can check your solutions here, here and here

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.

Three students

Alex is an art-student who sends an email to Bert. Charles is not an art-student. Bert sends an email to Charles.

Now the simple question is: Does an art student send an email to someone who is not an art student?

Yes or No? Or can’t decide because of lack of information?.

This puzzle comes from a presentation by Paul Fenwick, which you can find here

If you solved it, we have the solution so you can check yours.

Perfect logicians

1) The five pirates^**
Five pirates have 100 gold pieces. They are all perfect logicians, greedy , and blood thirsty.

They have a strict order of seniority, and the most senior pirate makes a proposal how to divide the 100 gold pieces among them. The pirates vote on the proposal. If the proposal is accepted (more votes for than against, or the number of votes are equally divided), the 100 gold pieces are divides as per proposal.
The gold pieces can not be divided into fractions, and all pirates are know that the others are logical too. Moreover, they don’t trust each other, so any deals among the pirates are not possible.

If the proposal is rejected (at least as many votes against as in favour of the proposal), the pirate who made the proposal is killed and the pirate who is next in order of seniority makes a proposal. That can continue till there is just one pirate left.

When casting his vote, the priorities of each pirate are:
I) Stay alive himself
II) Get as much gold as possible
III) Kill off other pirates
All 5 pirates are perfect logicians, and immediately sees the result of any proposal and will, with the a fore mentioned priorities in mind, cast his vote.

Which proposal should the most senior pirate make?

2) Five pirates again^**
This puzzle is the same as above, with two changes:
a) If the votes on a proposal are equally divided, the proposal is rejected.

3) How many pirates?^**
How many pirates can take part in the division of 100 gold pieces, with the rules from puzzle 1, with the first one still surviving? And how does the pattern develop with an ever increasing number of pirates?

There is of course no intrinsic reason why the persons in this puzzle should be pirates. They could easily well be immigrants from Pluto on Mars, or be hula-hoop girls on a remote pacific island. I have retained the pirates as figures because people are most likely to search for this word when trying to study this puzzle.

If you solved it, we have the solution to 1

If you solved it, we have the solution to 2

If you solved it, we have the solution to 3

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.

Fractions

1) Which Fraction is missing?^*

You can check your solution.