After the second formal dance the friends had attended, they got ready for this dance, which was based on an article called "Miraculous Melons".

The four friends looked in their closet and decided that they wanted to mix things up. They each picked out one shirt, tie and suspenders from what the four had accumulated. (They had accumulated red, blue, green and white of each.)

When the four friends decided to meet at the dance, they all arrived at slightly different times, and as a result some people got to the dance earlier than others.

After the dance, the old fifth friend (called A) came to visit and asked someone who went (called B) about the dance. Based on the conversation, can you figure out what shirt, tie and suspenders were worn by each person, and in what order they came in?


A: When did everyone arrive at the dance?

B: Well, I know that the only person that came in between the person with the red shirt and the person with the green suspenders (in no particular order) was wearing a white tie.

A: What else did you notice about the time people came in?

B: Well, I know that the person wearing the green shirt came in just before the person wearing the red suspenders, and he came in just before the person wearing the red tie.

A: What did they do do when you were at the dance?

B: We took a picture of all four of us. It showed three of us standing: the person with the blue shirt on the left, the person with the blue tie in the middle, and the person with the white suspenders on the right. The other person was sitting down in the middle because he arrived last of all four of us.

A: I have one more question. I heard that you took off your green tie and gave it to a girl you liked. Did anything happen?

B: I am planning on taking her and I hope to wear the same shirt as I did this year. It was a red or blue shirt, I don't remember which.

A: I have to go now, bye!

(In reply to re: Possible Solution by cogitater)

cogitater writes: "Penny, I'm having a problem understanding your critique of R. Chow's solution. You state that his having 2 people wearing blue shirts is his only mistake, yet none of his answer agrees with yours. Sup with that? As I recall, your solution was correct, but his is almost totally different."

Even though our answers are almost totally different, Raymond Chow's answer would be as good as mine, except that the puzzle refers to "THE person with the blue shirt", implying that there was only one person in a blue shirt, and Raymond's answer has two people in blue shirts.

My answer (using the shirt/tie/suspenders notation and the "less than" time of arrival notation) was

BGG < GWW < RBR < WRB

Raymond's is:

GBG < BWR < RRW < BGB

Both of these solutions match every one of the puzzle statements:

"the only person that came in between the person with the red shirt and the person with the green suspenders (in no particular order) was wearing a white tie...the person wearing the green shirt came in just before the person wearing the red suspenders, and he came in just before the person wearing the red tie...a picture...showed...the person with the blue shirt on the left, the person with the blue tie in the middle, and the person with the white suspenders on the right. The other person was sitting... [B was wearing a] green tie [and] a red or blue shirt..."

Raymond's solution and my solution fit all those statements. The only reason I prefer my solution to his, is that I only have one person in a blue shirt, and the puzzle implies that there was only one such person.









Edited on January 26, 2004, 11:24 am

Posted by Penny on 2004-01-26 11:16:36