There were three men in a line (facing forward) so they can only see the man (or men) in front of them. There are also five hats, two black and three white. Each man is wearing one of the hats.

When the man at the back of the line was asked "Do you know your hat color?", he replied "No". When the man that was second in line was then asked "Do you know your hat color?" he replied "No". When the man at the front of the line was asked "Do you know your hat color?" he replied "Of course".

What color of hat was the man at the front of the line wearing?

Since the first man said no, the other two men must have either a white and black, black and white, or two white hats.

Since the second man said no, so he must have seen a white hat. If he had seen a black hat he would have known that his (2nd man's) hat had to be white.

The third man figured this out.
The answer is white.

Posted by Dan on 2002-05-10 05:50:25