Three boxes are labeled 'Apples', 'Oranges', and 'Mixed'. You know that EVERY box is incorrectly labeled. You pick one fruit from the box labeled 'Mixed' without looking inside, and it is an Apple. What are the correct contents of all three boxes?
The 'Mixed' box contains only Apples, the 'Oranges' box contains Mixed, and the 'Apples' box contains only Oranges.
Since all labels are wrong, the box labeled 'Mixed' cannot contain a mix; it must be single-fruit. Drawing an Apple proves it contains only Apples. The box labeled 'Oranges' cannot contain Oranges (wrong label) or Apples (already identified), so it must contain the Mixed fruit. This leaves the 'Apples' box containing only Oranges.
About this riddle
Logic riddles give you a few facts and ask what must be true. List what you know, cross out what cannot be, and see what is left.
Difficulty: Medium. More like this: Logic riddles with answers or try Einstein's Logic Grid for a different kind of puzzle.
More logic riddles
A courier must deliver four packages labeled W, X, Y, and Z. Package W must be delivered before X. Package Y must be delivered after Z, but before W. In what exact order are the packages delivered?
You have 9 identical-looking coins, but 1 is counterfeit and slightly lighter than the others. Using a balance scale with two pans, what is the minimum number of weighings needed to guarantee finding the fake coin?
Five players enter a round-robin chess tournament where every player plays every other player exactly once. How many total matches will be played in the tournament?
A thief steals a watch from a store. A detective deduces that the thief must have entered through the window because the front door was locked from the inside, no keys were missing, and footprints on the windowsill match the stolen item's dust residue. However, the store is on the 10th floor of a building with no exterior ladders or scaffolding. How did the thief escape?
Five friends line up for a ride at the fair, and the sign lists only these facts. Mara stands ahead of Opal. Nico stands ahead of Iris. Iris stands ahead of Mara. Gwen stands ahead of Nico. Who stands second in line?
Two guardians stand at a fork in the road. One guardian always tells the truth on odd-numbered days and lies on even-numbered days. The other guardian always lies on odd-numbered days and tells the truth on even-numbered days. Today is Tuesday, the 14th (an even day). Guardian A says: 'Tomorrow, Guardian B will speak the truth.' Which guardian is the truth-teller today?