Two people dead in drink-off: clever lateral thinking puzzle exposes tragic mistake.
The Queen's plan was straightforward: Smith and Jones, the only poison manufacturers, would each bring a vial of their own poison to a ceremony. They'd drink from each other's vials first, followed by their own, and be watched for an hour. The strongest poison would guarantee survival. But what went wrong?
It turned out both competitors had been playing it too cautious. In their desperation to survive, Smith and Jones decided to trick the Queen into giving them a way out. They brought weak poisons – in this case water – instead of strong ones, hoping to drink each other's stronger poison as an antidote, thereby saving themselves.
However, each person thought the other wouldn't take this risk, so they both ended up drinking water before it was their turn to drink from each other and then their own vials. When they drank the Queen's poisonous wine, it proved too much for them, causing them to die within an hour.
The puzzle mastermind behind this brain teaser is Michael Rabin, created in the 1980s. It has recently gained attention through Timothy Chow of Princeton University's Centre for Communications Research.
The Queen's plan was straightforward: Smith and Jones, the only poison manufacturers, would each bring a vial of their own poison to a ceremony. They'd drink from each other's vials first, followed by their own, and be watched for an hour. The strongest poison would guarantee survival. But what went wrong?
It turned out both competitors had been playing it too cautious. In their desperation to survive, Smith and Jones decided to trick the Queen into giving them a way out. They brought weak poisons – in this case water – instead of strong ones, hoping to drink each other's stronger poison as an antidote, thereby saving themselves.
However, each person thought the other wouldn't take this risk, so they both ended up drinking water before it was their turn to drink from each other and then their own vials. When they drank the Queen's poisonous wine, it proved too much for them, causing them to die within an hour.
The puzzle mastermind behind this brain teaser is Michael Rabin, created in the 1980s. It has recently gained attention through Timothy Chow of Princeton University's Centre for Communications Research.
I'm literally shaking my head over this one... like what were they thinking?! 
They thought playing it safe by bringing weak poisons would save their lives? And both of them thought the other wouldn't do the same thing? It's like, basic human psychology right there... people are gonna read into any situation where they can "get out alive" and take risks. The Queen must've been literally watching her competitors all day waiting for this exact outcome 
And that lateral thinking puzzle mastermind Michael Rabin is straight fire 
I mean, this isn't a brain teaser, it's just human nature 
... I mean, you'd think they'd be smart enough to figure it out on their own before trying to trick the Queen 
. The puzzle itself is actually kinda clever, though 
. They think they can outsmart the Queen and her poisonous wine? More like out-sillied themselves 
. The moral of the story is: don't try this at home (or in a brain teaser) folks 
.
I mean can u imagine being in a situation where ur life depends on ur fellow competitors? They were so desperate to survive they basically became blind to each other's moves 
. I guess sometimes clever thinking can be a double-edged sword, right? 
. but anyway, I get why they did it, desperate times and all that 
. the Queen's plan was actually genius too, at least she had a clear plan 
. anyhoo, hope Michael Rabin gets the recognition he deserves for creating such a legendary puzzle 
I mean, who needs to be a genius to figure this one out? 87% of people would've seen it coming 
. They were so desperate to win that they almost took each other out instead 
. I mean, you'd think after all these years, someone would've figured out how to improve upon that design 
. But hey, at least we can learn from their mistake and appreciate the puzzle itself – not always easy to create, you know? 
And why do they think the other one won't take it either? 
Guess you can't outsmart your own instincts... or in this case, lack thereof. 
. But in real life, things don't always work out so well 
. And yeah, it's been popularized by Timothy Chow now. But still, it's just hard not to feel bad for these two guys who got caught up in their own game and ended up dead