Home » One Door, Two Rooms, Three Lightbulbs - SOLVED

I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of nuclear annihilation... I believe that even amid today's mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow... I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed. »» Martin Luther King, Jr., Address in Acceptance of Nobel Peace Prize - 10 December 1964

One Door, Two Rooms, Three Lightbulbs - SOLVED

Posted on April 24, 2008
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While listening to Z snore on our trek home from the drive-in movie I started re-pondering the light bulb riddle I posted earlier this evening. Turns out I was way off in my original assertion that it was an algebraic issue. It’s actually a science riddle, specifically having to do with heat. Everything beyond this point in this post is the solution to the puzzle so if you don’t want it spoiled for you…

You

SHOULD

LEAVE

RIGHT

NOW

It doesn’t take a genius to recall that light bulbs give off heat and that the longer the bulb is one the more heat it gives off.

So, with three switches and three bulbs you simply take the following steps-

Turn on switch one

Turn on switch two

Leave switch three alone

Wait a few minutes

Turn off switch one

Enter other room

The warmer of the two bulbs that are off belongs to switch one

The bulb that is on belongs to switch two

The cooler of the two bulbs that are off belongs to switch three