47. How Can the Accused Escape a Rigged Draw?
An innocent man in a small village is falsely accused of murder. The village chief knows the man is blameless, but also knows that his own son is the real killer. To divert suspicion, the chief proposes a public "test of fate."
In front of the villagers, he shows an empty jar and announces that he will place inside two folded slips of paper: one marked Innocent and one marked Guilty. The accused must reach in and draw one slip. Whatever the slip says will decide his fate; the gods, the chief claims, will make sure the correct judgment is drawn.
Secretly, however, the chief puts two slips that both read Guilty. The accused, suspecting foul play, realizes that if he simply draws a slip and opens it, he will be condemned.
The rules are:
- He must draw exactly one slip in full view of everyone.
- After he draws, the remaining slip will stay in the jar and can be examined by anyone.
- If a slip is unreadable or missing, the test—and thus the chief—will be disgraced.
What single action can the accused take, immediately after drawing a slip, that will guarantee he is declared innocent without exposing the chief’s deception directly?
Added 5 September 2014
Hint: Focus on what will be left inside the jar after the accused acts.
Solution:
As soon as the accused removes a slip, he puts it straight into his mouth, chews, and swallows it (or otherwise destroys it) before anyone can read it. He then calmly says, “Since the gods decide, open the other slip so we can all see what mine must have said.”
The remaining slip is taken from the jar and, of course, reads Guilty. The only logical conclusion for the onlookers is that the swallowed slip must have read Innocent. Bound by their own rules, they must declare him innocent, and the chief cannot protest without revealing his fraud.
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