Barry, Harry and Larry are identical triplets. One was at the Enigmamia Tavern with some friends a few tables away from me. The other two stayed home.

When he left the tavern, I asked the four friends seated there which triplet he was and where he went. I got the following responses:

Fred: Harry went to the bank. Larry went to the church. Barry went home.

Greg: Barry went to the bank. Harry went home. Larry went to the store.

Jack: Harry went to the store. Barry went home. Larry went to the bank.

Kent: Harry went to the church. Larry went home. Barry went to the store.

It turns out half of these twelve statements are half true (one of the two items mentioned is correct) the others are all complete lies.

Which triplet was at the bar and where did he go?

Since only six 'parts' of the statements are true, and each person's name is mentioned four times (once in each line), the 'true place' must occur twice.

The bank is mentioned three times, home four, the store three, and the church only twice. Therefore, 'went to the church' must be the true half.

Larry and Harry are each paired with the church in given statements, so it must have been Barry that went to the church and the bar (an odd combination) while the other two brothers stayed home.

Posted by DJ on 2003-07-08 18:17:29