Three boxes are placed on a table. One contains apples, one contains oranges, and one contains both. All three boxes are labeled incorrectly. You pull one fruit from the 'Both' box and find an orange. What is actually inside the box labeled 'Apples'?
Apples.
The 'Both' box contained oranges, meaning it was actually the oranges box (since labels are wrong). The remaining labels are 'Apples' and 'Oranges'. Since 'Oranges' is taken by the true box, the box labeled 'Apples' must hold the mixed fruit, and the box labeled 'Oranges' holds the apples. Wait, let's trace carefully: Box labeled 'Both' yielded an orange. Since it's mislabeled, it can't be both or apples, so it's Oranges. That leaves boxes labeled 'Apples' and 'Oranges'. The real 'Both' box must be one of them. By process of elimination, the box labeled 'Apples' actually contains Both.
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: Hard. More like this: Logic riddles with answers or try Einstein's Logic Grid for a different kind of puzzle.
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