Riddles

[zyzzyva980]

*cough cough*

Nasty cold going around, isn't it? It's almost like nine of the ten have a hacking cough.

[ichaelm]

Giant does not approve. Giant smash!

Seriously, there is a way to save nine of them, without finding some silly loophole. Just think about it. It's not a trick question.

[ophiophagus]

I think i got it! But i don't feel like typing out the longsolution just to be told it is wrong, so tell me if if this is right: it involves even and odd numbers.

[ichaelm]

Yes it does! What's your solution?

[brobo]

Oh... maybe the first person takes a wild guess at his hat color.
Then, when its your turn to say your hat color, you look at the person in front of you. If they have a black hat, they say their color twice, and if they have a white hat, they only say their color once.

It abides by all the rules set forth by the giant!

[paleonaps]

ichaelm (Click to Show Hidden Text)

The man coughs if the man in front of him is wearing black, and doesn't if he is wearing white.

[ichaelm]

Oh... maybe the first person takes a wild guess at his hat color.
Then, when its your turn to say your hat color, you look at the person in front of you. If they have a black hat, they say their color twice, and if they have a white hat, they only say their color once.

It abides by all the rules set forth by the giant!

Once you say a color, you are either instantly teleported or instantly killed. You don't have time to say it twice.

ichaelm (Click to Show Hidden Text)

The man coughs if the man in front of him is wearing black, and doesn't if he is wearing white.

No communication!!!

Guys, this isn't supposed to have some silly trick answer. It is solvable without trying to find some loophole. "Solvable" as in you can certainly save nine of them. Think harder!

[kjhsscioly]

Does it have to do with how long each person waits before saying the answer, so only the last person would not know for sure what his hat color is... though it might be considered communication .

EDIT: it won't hide

[ichaelm]

Does it have to do with how long each person waits before saying the answer, so only the last person would not know for sure what his hat color is... though it might be considered communication .

EDIT: it won't hide

Yeah, that's a silly loophole that counts as communication . Just think in terms of logic. The answer is pure logic. No tricks.

[ophiophagus]

The guy at the back ( lets call him person 1) yells black if he sees an even number of black hats, or white if he sees an odd number of black hats. He has a 50% chance of dying. The next guy looks at the hats in front of him and counts the number of black hats he sees. If he sees the same type of number of black hats(odd or even) as person 1 saw, he knows his hat is white. The next person uses the same reasoning but also takes into account that person2 had a white hat. Repeating this process, a total of at least nine people can be saved.