Brain teaser: 5 lightbulbs

Here's the question:

You are outside of a room with a closed door. You have access to 5 light switches. Inside of the room are 5 desk lamps on a table with incandescent bulbs. Your task is to determine what switch activates what lamp.

Each switch is paired up 1:1 with the five lamps. No switch activates two lamps or any funny stuff like that. Five switches. Five lamps. What switch operates what lamp?

*You can take as much time as you want outside of the room. You can flip the switches as many times as you want. You can leave and do whatever and come back if you want.

*After you open the door to the room with the lamps, you may not flip any more switches.

*The room is made of material X. Nothing you can do will punch a hole in the wall, let you see in, take any kind of scan data of any sort. Every indicator to the state of the desk lamps is totally unknown to you until you open the door.



So, go to it. The answer is straight-forward. No trick question or odd pun-type ha ha answer. This can be done.

Can you peek underneath the door? If so, you would simply flip them on one at a time, see where the light source is coming from, and take mental notes before entering the room.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cheebs

Nothing you can do will... let you see in.

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I don't know. All I have is off/hot off/cold on/hot on/cold (just turned on)

Can I flip the 5th over and over for a couple hours and break the filament?

I guess you can have three stages of heat but somehow I doubt that's the answer

Leave one switch off, flip the other four on at different times, enter immediately after turning on the last bulb and touch all the bulbs. You'll know which ones you turned on in which order based on how hot the bulbs are, and you'll know which one you didn't turn on.

Edit: I like Joust's answer better. Leave one off, burn one out, turn the other three on at different times. Once you turn on the last one, go in immediately and check the temperature for the three that was turned on. One should be really hot, one should be warm, one should be still cold.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

I don't know. All I have is off/hot off/cold on/hot on/cold (just turned on)

Can I flip the 5th over and over for a couple hours and break the filament?

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Damn. That was quick. Answer found.

Uhhh... I guess we another teaser.

disappointment.

I have two 360s, one labeled HDTV and one labeled RF. They are wired to two TVs in another room (the cables are going through the doorway). One is an HDTV and one is a 13" RCA from 1969. The wires are identical. How do I tell which TV is HD and one is RF?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

disappointment.

I have two 360s, one labeled HDTV and one labeled RF. They are wired to two TVs in another room (the cables are going through the doorway). One is an HDTV and one is a 13" RCA from 1969. The wires are identical. How do I tell which TV is HD and one is RF?

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The 360 has an RF output?

No...you could get an adaptor. They had official RF cables for the first Xbox but now you would have to get one of those things that Radio Shack was pawning off to people with 40 year old TVs.

Grab two Dead Rising discs and play them at the same time. One will have completely unreadble text, the other will be crystal clear and look awesome.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

disappointment.

I have two 360s, one labeled HDTV and one labeled RF. They are wired to two TVs in another room (the cables are going through the doorway). One is an HDTV and one is a 13" RCA from 1969. The wires are identical. How do I tell which TV is HD and one is RF?

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You are not a nice man, Joust.

Firstblood gets to do one now. That is a pretty solid answer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cheebs

*The room is made of material X. Nothing you can do will punch a hole in the wall, let you see in, take any kind of scan data of any sort. Every indicator to the state of the desk lamps is totally unknown to you until you open the door.

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I got adamantium claws, material X is not going to stop me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

disappointment.

I have two 360s, one labeled HDTV and one labeled RF. They are wired to two TVs in another room (the cables are going through the doorway). One is an HDTV and one is a 13" RCA from 1969. The wires are identical. How do I tell which TV is HD and one is RF?

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The one with the wired controller that Cheebs is holding is the one with the RF.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FirstBlood

Grab two Dead Rising discs and play them at the same time. One will have completely unreadble text, the other will be crystal clear and look awesome.

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This is unnecessary. Turn on one of the 360s and both TVs. The one with the video display is the one you turned on. The riddle is awful to begin with.

Who did the four lights tag? I was going to do that :(

Your mom. Oh snap son.

That was a fucking awesome TNG episode.

Top 5 all time, easily.

Oh, you gays.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by icarusfall

Oh, you gays.

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