The Wise Queen
We have used this one before. A long, long time ago. But it is time to bring it back.
Once upon a time in a land far, far away, there lived a queen who wished to find the wisest woman in the realm to be her assistant.
She searches far and wide. She finally summons the three known wisest women to her court. She decides to administer the following test.
She says, "I'm going to put either a red hat or a white hat on each of your heads."
She faces them in a circle, and standing behind them, she proceeds to place three red hats on their heads, one red hat on each of their heads. They are facing each other, but they cannot see themselves. They can only see each other.
Then she says, "If you can see another red hat, raise your hand."
Then they all raise their hands, because they are all wearing red hats. Although they cannot see themselves, only the other people in the room.
Then she says, "If you can tell what color hat you have on, stand up."
Time goes by. Nothing happens. They all look around at each other. Finally, after a time, one woman stands up and she says, "I'm wearing a red hat."
The question is, how did she know that she was wearing a red hat? Remember there are no mirrors, and she can only see the other women in the room, not herself.
So, how did she know that?
