This is an old one but I don't see it here.
A man stepped out of his tent with his rifle and walked 1 mile south, 1 mile east and 1 Mile north. Then he shot a bear in front of his tent.
What color was the bear?
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3$\begingroup$ This is a duplicate. But if we don't leave one instance of the "polar bear" version, people who search it will not find it and post it again. $\endgroup$– Florian FNov 7, 2014 at 14:46
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1$\begingroup$ @FlorianF: But surely that searchable version could still be marked as a dupe? $\endgroup$– ChrisNov 7, 2014 at 15:07
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$\begingroup$ @Florian Duplicates are usually kept around for that reason. $\endgroup$– user20Nov 7, 2014 at 17:25
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$\begingroup$ I see. I thought duplicates are to be deleted. $\endgroup$– Florian FNov 7, 2014 at 17:30
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5 Answers
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The bear is white. The hunter was hunting at the North Pole (no idea why though...)
The reason it had to have been there is because that is one of the few (if not the only) places on earth that match the criteria, and will only have the one type-coloured bear.
answered Nov 6, 2014 at 23:19
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1$\begingroup$ Because starting from the exact North Pole, you go South, walk around it in a relatively smarr circle, and going North will take you to the starting point $\endgroup$ Nov 7, 2014 at 0:23
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4$\begingroup$ Depends on the rifle really. If the man had a Barret M82, a keen eye, and sufficient training, he could shoot the bear from a mile away. $\endgroup$ Nov 7, 2014 at 10:26
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1$\begingroup$ I gotta go with EagleV. Which is more likely: a guy puts a tent at the north pole and a polar bear wanders up in the middle of that desolate area, or the guy has a high-powered rifle and shot the bear from a mile away? I go with plan B. $\endgroup$ Nov 7, 2014 at 15:53
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$\begingroup$ there is no north pole with bears, you mean south pole $\endgroup$– AyyashNov 7, 2014 at 16:22
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1$\begingroup$ Ayyash - that's penguins. Polar bears are at the North pole, penguins at the South pole. $\endgroup$– IanF1Nov 7, 2014 at 16:40
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There are two places in the world you could be to be able to walk 1 mile south, 1 mile east then 1 mile north and end up where you started (in front of your tent). One spot is right smack dab on the north pole. The other spot (or infinite number of spots) would be just north of the south pole (about 1.159 miles) such that walking one mile south of camp puts you in a spot where walking east 1 mile puts you on a circle that ends where it started. There are no bears at the south pole, so that can be ruled out.
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1$\begingroup$ Who's to say that the man got back to his tent though? A person is quite capable of shooting a bear from a mile away $\endgroup$ Nov 7, 2014 at 0:08
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$\begingroup$ I think "in front of his tent" refers to the Man, but your point is right $\endgroup$ Nov 7, 2014 at 0:24
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2$\begingroup$ Lol, a case like "One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know." ~ Groucho Marx $\endgroup$– justhalfNov 7, 2014 at 5:04
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3$\begingroup$ There're actually infinite number of circles near the south pole that will satisfy the condition (e.g. about 1.079 north to the south pole). 1 mile east can make N rounds around south pole. $\endgroup$ Nov 7, 2014 at 8:10
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$\begingroup$ +1 for ruling the south pole out because of no bears. This makes the solution unique again. $\endgroup$ Nov 7, 2014 at 17:33
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Black, because the bear was a polar bear and polar bears are black underneath the fur.
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The bear was white, since he was at the North Pole and the only types of bears at the North Pole are polar bears.
answered Nov 6, 2014 at 23:18
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black. because the bear is in the tent or behind the tent, and the man can't see what color the bear has. only its shadow.
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1$\begingroup$ Even if the man can't see it, it doesn't mean the bear color is black. =) $\endgroup$– justhalfNov 7, 2014 at 5:04