Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire - Solution
by
Erik Oosterwal
The solution to this problem is closely related to the
Behind the Green Door problem found on
The Puzzle Page.
We have no idea what the first person said, but we know the second one said
"He said he was a Rafa."
Now the trick is to decide which of the two races could have said "I'm a
Rafa." The Glurphs are always completely honest so if someone had asked
them what race they were they would have obliged with "I'm a Glurph." The
Rafas can't tell the truth to save their life, so if someone had asked a
Rafa "Waht race are you?" they would have lied and said "I'm a Glurph."
That means that no matter which race the first person was they would have
said "I'm a Glurph." The second one obviously lied when responding
with "He said he was a Rafa" which means that the third one was right
in calling him a liar. That means the third person was a Glurph.
All original puzzles and solutions are © Erik Oosterwal 1993-2008
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