here's a puzzle for ya.

[Jono2]

fork in the road.

a man stands there.

you want to get to the capital of the country, but...

you don't know the country's name.


now, we assume that all congressmen lie, and that all normal citizens do not.

this man could be either one.

you can ask one, and only one question.

what do you ask him?

[Silverhawk79]

Are you a liar?

[Macawmoses]

You point to a road, and ask if I were to ask you if that was the road to the capital, would you say yes?"

That's assuming that Everybody Lies.

[Jono2]

Are you a liar?

he could say "no, i'm not" but be lying about it.

plus that wouldn't tell you about which road you wanted to take.

You point to a road, and ask if I were to ask you if that was the road to the capital, would you say yes?"

That's assuming that Everybody Lies.

but thats not the point - he could always lie or never lie.

he could say "yes, that's the road" but that would tell you nothing about him, and it could easily be the other road because he's lying.

or, he could be telling the truth, but you wouldn't know it because you wouldn't know if he were a congressman or not.

[Lohn Jocke]

I'd ask what 2 + 2 is.
If he answers this simple question wrong, we know who it is.

[Linkman]

I'd ask what 2 + 2 is.
If he answers this simple question wrong, we know who it is.

How does that answer what road to go down?

You can only ask one question remember?

[SkyMyl]

I'd ask what 2 + 2 is.
If he answers this simple question wrong, we know who it is.

How does that answer what road to go down?

You can only ask one question remember?

If he gets it right, he's honest. If he's wrong, he's either a liar or a freaking retard.

[Macawmoses]

You can't ask a second question.

[Jono2]

I'd ask what 2 + 2 is.
If he answers this simple question wrong, we know who it is.

no.  thats not lying.

if you ask me what the 500th digit of e is, and I say... 3.  lets assume thats incorrect.  however, i dont know that.  does that make me a liar?

also, as has already been stated, you dont get to ask another question.

[sonicdude164]

Take out your map. If you don't have one, just follow one road and if it's the wrong one, just take the other one.

[Doodle]

I would ask him "If you aren't a congressmen, where is the capital?"

There's my guess.

[L10]

I'd ask what 2 + 2 is.
If he answers this simple question wrong, we know who it is.

no.  thats not lying.

if you ask me what the 500th digit of e is, and I say... 3.  lets assume thats incorrect.  however, i dont know that.  does that make me a liar?

also, as has already been stated, you dont get to ask another question.

You could ask him what direction is his right, that solves the lieing thing but that doesn't tell us where to go...

[Zies]

...First you should try to find out whether he is a normal citizen or a congressman...

...You'd examine his clothes; if he looks like a casual person, he will most likely be a normal citizen...
...If he has work attire, we can assume he is a congressman or a working normal person...

...Next you'd smile, and he will most likely smile in return...
...Depending on the whiteness of his teeth, we can determine how much time he spends on personal hygiene...
...The brighter his teeth, the higher a chance he is a congressman...

...Next, you throw a quarter directly in front of him...
...If he reacts, he is most likely a normal citizen, if he doesn't give a darn, probably already has bajillions of quarters...
...Again, he's either a congressman or a working normal person...

...Lastly, we yawn...
...It's scientifically proven that yawning is 'contagious'...
...If he yawns, he's probably a normal citizen; if not, he's probably a congressman since he's been awake for a while, has had his coffee and/or breakfast...

...Then, the question we should ask is "Where is the nearest store?"...
...If he is hesitant to answer, he's a congressman, if he answers in an instant, he's a normal person...
...Now to whether or not he is lying, we just assume he's telling the truth and follow the road he leads us to...

[Jono2]

...First you should try to find out whether he is a normal citizen or a congressman...

...You'd examine his clothes; if he looks like a casual person, he will most likely be a normal citizen...
...If he has work attire, we can assume he is a congressman or a working normal person...

...Next you'd smile, and he will most likely smile in return...
...Depending on the whiteness of his teeth, we can determine how much time he spends on personal hygiene...
...The brighter his teeth, the higher a chance he is a congressman...

...Next, you throw a quarter directly in front of him...
...If he reacts, he is most likely a normal citizen, if he doesn't give a darn, probably already has bajillions of quarters...
...Again, he's either a congressman or a working normal person...

...Lastly, we yawn...
...It's scientifically proven that yawning is 'contagious'...
...If he yawns, he's probably a normal citizen; if not, he's probably a congressman since he's been awake for a while, has had his coffee and/or breakfast...

...Then, the question we should ask is "Where is the nearest store?"...
...If he is hesitant to answer, he's a congressman, if he answers in an instant, he's a normal person...
...Now to whether or not he is lying, we just assume he's telling the truth and follow the road he leads us to...

but the nearest store could be in a city that is closer than the capital, in which case he could point you away from the capital, but still be telling the truth.  or, he could point you back the way you came, technically speaking.

[ThePowerOfOne]

"Hey congressman, i'm going right to the capital, how's that sound?"

If he says yes, he is lying and I go left. If he is a normal citizen, he will say he isn't a congressman and correct me if i'm going the wrong way.