It was logical that four asian countries (Japan, Korea, Laos and Malaysia) should be the judo finalists, but I couldn’t learn the relative standings.

A reporter told me “Laos won silver, and/or Malaysia won bronze.” Other reporter added “Japan won gold, and/or Korea won bronze.” A third one added “Laos won gold, and/or Japan won silver.”

I couldn’t make heads or tails out of this, until I remembered that in judo, two bronze medals are awarded. Which were the standings?

I've been thinking about this puzzle for a while. There are problems with assuming that all reporters are truthful. First of all, Laos will defeat Canada in hockey before they defeat Japan in Judo. Secondly, a Korean who entered a Judo competition would be disowned by his family. So the only logical conclusion is that the third reporter was lying. The final standings were:

Japan (Gold), Laos (Silver), Malaysia (both Bronze medals)

 

Posted by Penny on 2004-08-31 12:38:04