Sunday, October 19, 2008

Riddle #28: The heir

The king dies. A call goes out to locate his long-lost son, who ran away years ago. Two men show up, both claiming to be the son. It has been a long time, and the king's advisors no longer recognize the man. One of them suggests that each man do a blood test to determine which one is the true heir. The first man agrees, but the second one refuses. The king's advisors announce that the second man is the true heir. Why?

NOTE: The correct answer has been guessed. To read it, see the comments section.

Lateral Thinking Puzzlers by Paul Sloane has lots of classic riddles, clues and answers. Click here to order it.
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5 comments:

  1. Jen October 20, 2008 at 7:14 AM

    Because the son was adopted and he knows his blood won't match?

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 20, 2008 at 10:06 AM

    Is it because he is a hemophiliac?

    ReplyDelete
  3. MarciOctober 20, 2008 at 11:16 AM

    I agree with the first answer.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Marcia COctober 20, 2008 at 12:51 PM

    Well, the first answer is interesting, but it isn't the one I was looking for. Actually, the answer I was thinking of is #2. The real son is a hemophiliac and would not give his blood. The king's advisors knew this, and so they determined that the rightful heir is the one who would not give his blood for the test.

    ReplyDelete
  5. JennyOctober 24, 2008 at 10:30 AM

    Thank you for your riddles. My 13 year old son and I love trying to guess them.

    ReplyDelete

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