Question

Cannibals ambush a safari in the jungle and capture three men. The cannibals give the men a single chance to escape uneaten. The captives are lined up in order of height, and are tied to stakes. The man in the rear can see the backs of his two friends, the man in the middle can see the back of the man in front, and the man in front cannot see anyone. The cannibals show the men five hats. Three of the hats are black and two of the hats are white. Blindfolds are then placed over each man's eyes and a hat is placed on each man's head. The two hats left over are hidden. The blindfolds are then removed and it is said to the men that if one of them can guess what color hat he is wearing they can all leave unharmed. The man in the rear who can see both of his friends' hats but not his own says, "I don't know". The middle man who can see the hat of the man in front, but not his own says, "I don't know". The front man who cannot see ANYBODY'S hat says "I know!" How did he know the color of his hat and what color was it?

Answer 1

The man in the front knew his hat color based on the responses of the men behind him. Through logical reasoning, he deduced that he must be wearing a black hat.

Step-by-step explanation:

The man in the front knew the color of his hat because of the responses from the men behind him. Let's break it down step by step:

The man in the rear cannot see anyone's hat and says, 'I don't know.' This implies that there are at least two black hats behind him. If there were two white hats, he would know his own hat color, but since he doesn't, there must be at least one black hat.

The man in the middle, who can see the hat of the man in front, also says, 'I don't know.' This means that the man in front is not wearing a white hat, otherwise the man in the middle would see a white hat and know he is wearing a black hat.

Based on the previous two responses, the man in front deduces that he must be wearing a black hat. If he was wearing a white hat, both the man in the rear and the man in the middle would know their own hat colors. Therefore, the front man confidently says, 'I know!'. His hat color is black.