Published
Someone knocked the blue vase off the shelf, and four cats were in the room. Each one has made a statement, but only one of them is lying. Can you work out who did it?
The puzzle
- Milo: “It wasn’t me.”
- Pepper: “It was Ziggy.”
- Ziggy: “Pepper is lying.”
- Luna: “It was either Milo or me.”
Exactly one cat knocked over the vase, and exactly one of the four statements is false. Which cat did it?
Show hint
Look at Pepper and Ziggy together. Can they both be telling the truth? Can they both be lying?
Show answer
Answer: Luna knocked over the vase.
- Ziggy says Pepper is lying. If Pepper tells the truth, Ziggy is lying; if Pepper is lying, Ziggy tells the truth. Either way, exactly one of those two is the liar.
- Since there is only one lie in total, Milo and Luna must both be telling the truth.
- Luna’s true statement says the culprit is Milo or Luna. Milo’s true statement rules out Milo. That leaves Luna.
- Check: it wasn’t Ziggy, so Pepper’s “It was Ziggy” is the single lie, and Ziggy’s “Pepper is lying” is true. One false statement, three true ones.
The trap is trusting Pepper and blaming Ziggy, the cat that looks guiltiest. But if Ziggy did it, Ziggy’s “Pepper is lying” and Luna’s “Milo or me” would both be false, which is two lies, not one.