• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 12:55
CEST 18:55
KST 01:55
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Serral wins HomeStory Cup 2915Serral wins Maestros of the Game 243ByuL, and the Limitations of Standard Play3Team Liquid Map Contest #22: Results and Winners7Code S Season 2 (2026): RO4 and Finals Preview12
Community News
RSL goes to London! 2026 Offline Finals Nov 21-223Weekly Cups (July 27-Aug 2): SHIN's big week0SC4ALL II: Brood War - $2500 - Dec 5-69SC4ALL II announced - $10,000 prize pool, Dec 5-64PIG STY FESTIVAL 8.0! (13 - 23 August)14
StarCraft 2
General
+27797862372 SANGOMA Mokopane Traditional Healer The Good, the Bad and the 8 Workers Balance hotfix patch 5.0.16b (July 16) Serral wins HomeStory Cup 29 StarCraft 2 at SC4ALL II Invite #4/8 - Percival
Tourneys
RSL goes to London! 2026 Offline Finals Nov 21-22 RSL Revival: Season 6 - Qualifiers and Main Event Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament PIG STY FESTIVAL 8.0! (13 - 23 August) Tasteless Time Warp: SC Evo Showmatch (May 25)
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
Nexus Wars 2021 GUIDE [M] (2) Industrial Park
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 537 Hostile Territory Mutation # 536 Railroad Switch Mutation # 535 Assembly of Vengeance
Brood War
General
Are you ready for ASL 22? NEW HYPE VIDEO BW General Discussion ASL22 General Discussion [Personal Project Share] Terran Defense v0.60 Recent recommended BW games
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 3 Escore Tournament - Season 3 SC4ALL II: Brood War - $2500 - Dec 5-6
Strategy
Any training maps people recommend? Odyssey Mineral Stack Saturation Fighting Spirit mining rates Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Diablo 2 thread General RTS Discussion Thread ZeroSpace Early Access is Now Live!
Dota 2
Looking for a Dota Mentor Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
[TL LoL EUW IHs] Teemo shall perish TSM pausing esports and CLG Dead
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Power Rank TL Mafia Community Thread NeO.D_StephenKing vs This Guy From 1 Million Dance
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Iain M Banks Says He Has Cancer And Months To Live European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread The Games Industry And ATVI
Fan Clubs
The herO Fan Club! The Clem Fan Club INnoVation Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread Movie Discussion! Series you have seen recently... [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books
Sports
NBA General Discussion Football (Soccer) Thread TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 Formula 1 Discussion MLB/Baseball 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread Simple Questions Simple Answers FPS when play League Of Legend on laptop
TL Community
The Automated Ban List Northern Ireland Global Starcraft
Blogs
Please support my new stand…
Peanutsc
What is a Gamer?
TrAiDoS
Hello guys!
LIN1s
ASL S22 English Commentary…
namkraft
Poker (part 2)
Nebuchad
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 6076 users

1000 Milk Jars - Page 2

Blogs > Slithe
Post a Reply
Prev 1 2 3 Next All
Slithe
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
United States985 Posts
May 16 2008 18:36 GMT
#21
On May 17 2008 03:35 KarlSberg~ wrote:
+ Show Spoiler +

Does the poison take exactly 2 hours to kill a rat?

If so, give a dose from a different jar each 3.6 seconds to the same rat. See when it dies, substract 2 hours and you know exactly at what time it drank the poisoned milk.

Well I must admit it doesn't seem very feasible in a real situation... but nothing in the ridle forbids says it is not =)


I've fixed the problem description such that you do not know exactly how long it takes the poison to kill the rat.
Deleted User 3420
Profile Blog Joined May 2003
24492 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-05-16 18:46:54
May 16 2008 18:43 GMT
#22
On May 17 2008 03:35 Slithe wrote:
After 2 hours, these three rats will die, and you will know that it had to be the 50th jar, because no other jar had exactly these 3 rats drink from it.

ohhh wait i see where I'm off I think

ok I get how you guys did it lol
math is neato
himurakenshin
Profile Blog Joined April 2006
Canada1845 Posts
May 16 2008 18:46 GMT
#23
Elements is 100% right, that's the right answer
Slithe
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
United States985 Posts
May 16 2008 18:46 GMT
#24
The 3 rats did drink from other jars but...

For example let's take jar 51. binary = 0000110011.

In this case, the 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 6th rat drank from it. Thus if the 51st jar was poisoned, then these 4 rats will die. You know it's not the 50th jar because the 1st rat died. Each jar has a unique combination of rats that drank from it, and as a result you can figure out exactly which jar it is based on which of the 10 rats died.
Deleted User 3420
Profile Blog Joined May 2003
24492 Posts
May 16 2008 18:47 GMT
#25
the binary is just confusing me lol

but don't worry I get it now, thanks for being patient dude
perisie xx
Profile Blog Joined February 2008
429 Posts
May 16 2008 18:49 GMT
#26
lol travis come on XD

i didnt know the answer but i knew which answer to raise my eyebrows to and which to frown and audibly "tch" at
Slithe
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
United States985 Posts
May 16 2008 18:50 GMT
#27
Yeah the binary is probably just making it harder to understand if you haven't worked with it a lot. My explanations have a natural computer science bias, especially since I get most of my puzzles from other CS majors.
UmmTheHobo
Profile Blog Joined April 2008
United States650 Posts
May 16 2008 18:59 GMT
#28
All you need is one rat. You just have to get really really lucky.
...
freelander
Profile Blog Joined December 2004
Hungary4707 Posts
May 16 2008 19:04 GMT
#29
this was a nice math question
And all is illuminated.
paper
Profile Blog Joined September 2004
13196 Posts
May 16 2008 19:25 GMT
#30
the poison takes a nondeterministic amount of time between 2 and 3 hours to kill a rat.


lol. that's so poorly worded: it's possible for none of the rats to die within the 3 hours you have, especially given the fact that your actions don't take ... zero seconds.
Hates Fun🤔
fusionsdf
Profile Blog Joined June 2006
Canada15390 Posts
May 16 2008 19:26 GMT
#31
On May 17 2008 03:25 travis wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 17 2008 03:23 Elements wrote:
On May 17 2008 03:19 travis wrote:
On May 17 2008 03:17 Elements wrote:
+ Show Spoiler +
log2(1000) rounded up equals 10 rats.

Each milk is fed to a unique subset of the rats, depending on which subset dies, then you know the milk it came from was poisoned. With 10 rats, there are 2^10 = 1024 different subsets, which is enough.


you have a time limit.

(even though i think this answer is what he wanted the correct answer to the riddle to be, he just made the time limit wrong )


The time limit is no problem, you do it simultanously.
An example might be better:
+ Show Spoiler +
with 4 jars and 2 rats,
rat 1 drinks jar 2 and 4
rat 2 drinks jar 3 and 4

two hours later...

if no rats die, it was jar 1
if only rat 1 dies, it was jar 2
if only rat 2 dies, it was jar 3
if both rat 1 and rat 2 die, it was jar 4



yes but u have to wait 2 hours so by the time u get it narrowed down to less jars, you have no time let to do a second wave of experiments


you dont do a second round :O

you just use exceptions

if you have 2 rats and feed them like so:
rat 1 - jar 2 and 3
rat 2 - jar 3 and 4

if no rats die (and one of those 4 jars has to have poison) then jar 1 (the one not used) was the poison.

if jar 2 is poison, only rat 1 will die

if jar 3 is poison rat 1 and 2 will both die

if jar 4 is poison only rat 2 will die


I think its something like that, but on a larger scale
SKT_Best: "I actually chose Protoss because it was so hard for me to defeat Protoss as a Terran. When I first started Brood War, my main race was Terran."
fusionsdf
Profile Blog Joined June 2006
Canada15390 Posts
May 16 2008 19:28 GMT
#32
On May 17 2008 03:46 Slithe wrote:
The 3 rats did drink from other jars but...

For example let's take jar 51. binary = 0000110011.

In this case, the 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 6th rat drank from it. Thus if the 51st jar was poisoned, then these 4 rats will die. You know it's not the 50th jar because the 1st rat died. Each jar has a unique combination of rats that drank from it, and as a result you can figure out exactly which jar it is based on which of the 10 rats died.


I really like this explanation
SKT_Best: "I actually chose Protoss because it was so hard for me to defeat Protoss as a Terran. When I first started Brood War, my main race was Terran."
Slithe
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
United States985 Posts
May 16 2008 19:34 GMT
#33
On May 17 2008 04:25 paper wrote:
Show nested quote +
the poison takes a nondeterministic amount of time between 2 and 3 hours to kill a rat.


lol. that's so poorly worded: it's possible for none of the rats to die within the 3 hours you have, especially given the fact that your actions don't take ... zero seconds.


Contrary to what you may think, your actions do indeed take exactly zero seconds. It's pretty awesome.
pooper-scooper
Profile Joined May 2003
United States3108 Posts
May 16 2008 19:41 GMT
#34
You should have used something cute like puppies or bunnies. Rats, I just want to kill them, thus would not be motivated to not feed them all poison.
Good...Bad... Im the guy with the gun
alffla
Profile Blog Joined November 2005
Hong Kong20321 Posts
May 16 2008 19:53 GMT
#35
im sorta confused still but then i never really lked math but i half get it so its ok :D cool stuf
Graphicssavior[gm] : What is a “yawn” rape ;; Masumune - It was the year of the pig for those fucking defilers. Chill - A clinic you say? okum: SC without Korean yelling is like porn without sex. konamix: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!
o3.power91
Profile Blog Joined November 2007
Bahrain5288 Posts
Last Edited: 2008-05-16 20:08:55
May 16 2008 20:03 GMT
#36
+ Show Spoiler +
998 rats, you're the 999th tester. If no one dies, the last is the poisoned one.


Edited with spoiler

Edit: Changed answer

Edit: Elements got a good answer
Deleted User 3420
Profile Blog Joined May 2003
24492 Posts
May 16 2008 20:12 GMT
#37
On May 17 2008 04:26 fusionsdf wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 17 2008 03:25 travis wrote:
On May 17 2008 03:23 Elements wrote:
On May 17 2008 03:19 travis wrote:
On May 17 2008 03:17 Elements wrote:
+ Show Spoiler +
log2(1000) rounded up equals 10 rats.

Each milk is fed to a unique subset of the rats, depending on which subset dies, then you know the milk it came from was poisoned. With 10 rats, there are 2^10 = 1024 different subsets, which is enough.


you have a time limit.

(even though i think this answer is what he wanted the correct answer to the riddle to be, he just made the time limit wrong )


The time limit is no problem, you do it simultanously.
An example might be better:
+ Show Spoiler +
with 4 jars and 2 rats,
rat 1 drinks jar 2 and 4
rat 2 drinks jar 3 and 4

two hours later...

if no rats die, it was jar 1
if only rat 1 dies, it was jar 2
if only rat 2 dies, it was jar 3
if both rat 1 and rat 2 die, it was jar 4



yes but u have to wait 2 hours so by the time u get it narrowed down to less jars, you have no time let to do a second wave of experiments


you dont do a second round :O

you just use exceptions

if you have 2 rats and feed them like so:
rat 1 - jar 2 and 3
rat 2 - jar 3 and 4

if no rats die (and one of those 4 jars has to have poison) then jar 1 (the one not used) was the poison.

if jar 2 is poison, only rat 1 will die

if jar 3 is poison rat 1 and 2 will both die

if jar 4 is poison only rat 2 will die


I think its something like that, but on a larger scale


ur like 80 years late
ThatGuy
Profile Blog Joined April 2008
Canada695 Posts
May 16 2008 20:32 GMT
#38
You could mix all the milk into 1 jar. Then you would only need 1 rat to find out the answer.
hellhawk123
Profile Joined December 2007
United States84 Posts
May 16 2008 20:45 GMT
#39
This is a nice way to explain hashing
[xyn]
Last Romantic
Profile Blog Joined June 2006
United States20666 Posts
May 16 2008 21:08 GMT
#40
FIVE HUNDRED
ㅋㄲㅈㅁ
Prev 1 2 3 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
OSC
13:00
King of the Hill #258
WardiTV929
EmpressLilyy75
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Serral 1476
ProTech68
BRAT_OK 32
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 25664
Shuttle 2711
Mini 518
actioN 471
firebathero 381
Soulkey 315
Dewaltoss 138
Rush 116
soO 62
Hyun 42
[ Show more ]
Sexy 33
Sharp 30
Rock 24
scan(afreeca) 21
Dota 2
qojqva2284
Counter-Strike
fl0m9623
Super Smash Bros
C9.Mang0636
Mew2King193
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor215
Other Games
Grubby1850
singsing1694
FrodaN1205
Liquid`RaSZi906
Mlord427
Lowko370
Beastyqt360
PiGStarcraft249
JimRising 247
Hui .231
IndyStarCraft 155
TKL 138
XaKoH 122
mouzStarbuck93
UpATreeSC74
JuggernautJason64
QueenE58
XcaliburYe57
Nathanias40
ToD13
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick1
[ Show 16 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• StrangeGG 51
• poizon28 36
• LUISG 8
• Kozan
• Migwel
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• IndyKCrew
StarCraft: Brood War
• HerbMon 14
• Michael_bg 3
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
Dota 2
• lizZardDota2127
League of Legends
• Jankos1798
• Shiphtur492
Upcoming Events
OSC
7h 5m
WardiTV Weekly
18h 5m
The Patches Monday
23h 5m
Sparkling Tuna Cup
1d 17h
PiG Sty Festival
1d 19h
PiGosaur Cup
2 days
Replay Cast
2 days
Kung Fu Cup
2 days
Replay Cast
3 days
The PondCast
3 days
[ Show More ]
Replay Cast
4 days
CranKy Ducklings
5 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-08-08
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
Eternal Conflict S2 Finale

Ongoing

KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 3
K-JUNGMAN
Acropolis #5
RSL Revival: Season 6
Esports World Cup 2026: LCQ
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S3: W7
CSLAN 4
ASL Season 22
Escore Tournament S3: W8
Acropolis #5 - TRS
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Acropolis #5 - GSA
HSC XXX
SC4ALL II: StarCraft II
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
PiG Sty Festival 8.0
Big Dog Cup 2026 Div 1
META DYMY #4
Thunderpick World Champ.
ESL Pro League Season 24
Stake Ranked Episode 4
Logitech G Connect 2026
SL StarSeries Fall 2026
FISSURE Playground #5
BLAST Open Fall 2026
Esports World Cup 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.