Pizza Party

[Bob2468]

Four friends left one slice of pizza in the kitchen and went into the next room to play games. During the next half hour, each friend left the room for a few minutes and then returned. At the end of the hour, all four went back into the kitchen and found that the last slice of pizza was gone. Use the following statements to figure out who ate it. Only one of the following statements is true. Linda: "Mike ate it." Mike: "Olive ate it." Ned: "Who me? Can't be." Olive: "Mike is lying when he says I ate it."

[rja211077]

Ned. Olive's statement is then true and the rest are false.

[tomd]

Ned ate it, which makes all statements false except Olive's.

[madham]

God knows, but someone figure it out and if not, when will you give us the correct answer instajello???

[Bob2468]

i will give you the answer when i see it fit

[PurplePixie]

I reckon that Mike ate it...by my (possibly misguided)powers of deduction.

[bernardo]

madham - as the first two answers have already stated, the correct answer is that Ned ate it. There is not need for you to stay in suspense, because we have already worked it out. In order to work out the correct answer, all you have to do is

1. assume Linda ate it, and work out how many of the statements are true and false;
2. assume Mike ate it, and work out how many of the statements are true and false;
3. assume Ned ate it, and work out how many of the statements are true and false;
4. assume Olive ate it, and work out how many of the statements are true and false.

The assumption that Ned ate it is the only one which leads to 1 true statement and 3 false statements, so that must be the correct one. (The other three assumptions all lead to more than one true statement, so they contradict the information given in the question).

[bernardo]

btw Purplepixie - the suggestion that Mike did it is based on there being 3 true statements and 1 false, not the other way round as required by the question

[Sylday]

I'm going to be contrarian and pedantic here. I think Linda ate it. The only objectively true statement is Ned's denial that it was him, as he knows it wasn't. Olive's statement that Mike is lying is not objectively true, since neither of them knows who ate the slice -Mike is guessing not lying. If Mike ate it, then both Linda's and Ned's statements would be true. If Olive ate it, then both Mike's and Ned's statements would be true. If Ned ate it, then nobody's statment would be true.

[PurplePixie]

My brain hurts....

[hannahdababe]

linda

[madham]

Thank you Bernado, no matter how many times I read it... I wouldn't have figured it out and I'm still not sure I get it, but thank you again.

[peanut]

THE DOG ATE IT