Lightbulb-SOLUTION-Don't read if you don't want to know!

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| >>>>> "caryle" == caryle clear <cpcj@sprynet.com> writes:
| 
|     caryle> Let's letter the switches A, B, and C.
|     caryle> Turn on switch A.  Wait a couple of minutes.  Turn off
|     caryle> switch A, and turn on switch B.
|     caryle> Go into Room B.  The bulb that is lit obviously belongs to
|     caryle> B.
|     caryle> Touch the other two bulbs.  The one that is warm/hot
|     caryle> belongs to switch A.
|     caryle> The remaining bulb belongs to switch C.
|     caryle> Share this one with the guys at work!!! :0
|     caryle> (I didn't make this stumper up BTW.)  Anneliese
| 
| Of course, this takes advantage of several *UNSTATED* assumptions:
| 
| 1.  The bulbs are incandescent, and of sufficient wattage to result in
|     a perceptable change in temperature after a short period of
operation.
|     Flourescent lights do not heat up enough for this to work,
|     and neither do other gas discharge bulbs, such as neon, argon, etc.

I wasn't aware people referred to "fluorescent" lights (or any other kind
of lights as "bulbs".

| 2.  The room is of a warm enogh temperature that the firstbulb will
|     not cool down too much to still be detectable.

true, but I've had the experience of trying to change a lightbulb out on
the porch to a colored bulb (for Christmas)--even in 20 degree weather, the
bulb was still warm (detectable) to the touch after I turned it off inside,
then went outside to change it. 

| 3.  Each switch independently controls one and only one bulb, with no
|     interaction with the other switches and bulbs.  This last
|     assumption was the subject of my previous discussion.

That's why I asked "which switch (singular) controls which bulb (also
singular)".  I don't think that statement leaves much room to assume one
switch could control more than one bulb...otherwise, the joke would be
pointless.

| 
| Do we have too many engineers on this list?  (Is one engineer too
| many?)  Do engineers spoil all your fun?  For engineers, this kind of
| technical discussion -- looking for holes in a design -- *IS* fun: its
| called a design review!  Oh boy, oh boy, I can't wait until the next
| one (just so long as its not *MY* design getting reviewed!).  :-)
| 

My dad's an engineer (manufacturing/product engineer).  Believe me, I don't
think they spoil anything!  They make you think!  (Sometimes, it can put a
damper on humerous things with over-analysis, though.)


Anneliese