 |
navigation
previous puzzle
next puzzle
previous puzzle
next puzzle
Puzzle Fifteen - Food Fight - Solution Page
On one fine Thursday before the Ravenclaw / Slytherin Quidditch match, tensions were running a bit high in the Great Hall. Much to the house elves' dismay, a food fight broke out between the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables.
Sadly for the students, Professor Stirringstone happened to walk in at an inopportune moment. Not one to countenance good food being wasted, Stirry gave five students detentions - the five students she caught in the act. The five students were Courtney, Daniel, Jessica, Morgan, and Richard. Each student stood accused of throwing a different food item (shepherd's pie, rice pudding, lamb curry, pumpkin juice, or cauliflower). And each student was hit by one of the food items thrown by one of the other students.
The last names of the students are Garrott, Hughes, Jackson, Patel, and Shelsher. Can you find the full names of the five students, their houses, the order in which Stirry caught them, and which student they threw the food at?
Solution:
This is a very hard puzzle!
Clue 9 tells us that the shepherd's pie and the cauliflower were thrown by the students who got caught immediately before and after Daniel did. This means Daniel can only be caught second, third, or fourth. But the item thrown by the third student to get caught was the pumpkin juice (clue 4). This means that Daniel could not have been caught either second or fourth, because that would make two food items conflict in the same slot. So Daniel must have been caught third, and thus must have been the one to throw the pumpkin juice. The student who threw the shepherd's pie and the one who threw the cauliflower were thus caught second and fourth in one order or another.
If the shepherd's pie, the pumpkin juice, and the cauliflower were thrown by the second, third, and fourth students to get caught (in whatever order), then the rice pudding and the lamb curry must be have been thrown by the first and fifth students to get caught. Some one had to be caught before the rice pudding was thrown (clue 2), and so the rice pudding couldn't have been thrown by the first student to get caught. The rice pudding was thus thrown by the fifth student to get caught, and the lamb curry by the first student to get caught.
Daniel must be one of the five students mentioned in clue 2. He is obviously not Richard. He's not from Slytherin (clue 1), and he didn't throw the lamb curry because we've figured out he threw the pumpkin juice. And since Daniel was caught third, he couldn't have been caught right before someone got caught throwing the rice pudding (which was fifth, which means the student who got caught immediately before would be fourth). So the only option left out of those five from clue 2 is that Daniel's last name is Patel.
The second student to get caught was a Ravenclaw (clue 8), and this student also must be one of the five students mentioned in clue 2. He/she can't be Patel, because Daniel Patel was caught third. He/she isn't from Slytherin. He/she didn't throw lamb curry, because that was thrown by the student who got caught first. And he wasn't the student who got caught right before the rice pudding was thrown, because that student was caught fourth. So the second student to be caught must have been Richard.
Of the five students in clue 2, we've identified the order for four of them: the student who threw the lamb curry was caught first, Richard (a Ravenclaw) was caught second, Daniel Patel was caught third, and the student who got caught immediately before someone threw the rice pudding was caught fourth. So the only one remaining out of the five is a Slytherin student - the person who got caught fifth (and who threw the rice pudding) must therefore be a Slytherin.
If a Slytherin student is fifth, that means that student must be the last Slytherin to have been caught throwing something. Thus that student must be Hughes, and the rice pudding that Hughes threw hit the first student to have been caught (the one who threw the lamb curry).
Since the fifth student to get caught threw the rice pudding, and the first student to get caught was hit by the rice pudding, Jessica couldn't have been caught first or fifth (clue 11). Since Richard was caught second, and Daniel was caught third, Jessica must have been caught fourth.
Morgan got caught after Shelsher (clue 5), so Morgan cannot have been caught first. Since Richard was caught second, Daniel caught third, and Jessica caught fourth, Morgan must have been caught fifth, and by elimination Courtney was caught first.
The student who got hit with the pumpkin juice wasn't caught first (we know the first caught was Courtney, who got hit by the rice pudding). That student couldn't have been caught third, either (because Daniel was third caught, and he threw the pumpkin juice and didn't hit himself). That student couldn't have been fourth or fifth, either - because two students got caught after the person who got hit with the pumpkin juice (clue 5). So the student who got hit with pumpkin juice must have been caught second - in other words, it was Richard who got hit with it.
If Richard was hit with the pumpkin juice (and was the second to be caught), the two students mentioned in clue 5 must have been caught third, fourth or fifth. The third student to get caught was Daniel Patel (who can be neither Shelsher nor Morgan), so Shelsher must have been caught fourth (thus, Jessica's last name is Shelsher).
Courtney hit the student who threw the shepherd's pie (clue 12), and in the first paragraph of this solution, we figured out that the student who threw the shepherd's pie must have been caught second or fourth (with the other one being the student who threw the cauliflower). But since we already know that Richard (who was caught second) was hit by the pumpkin juice (thrown by Daniel), Richard couldn't have been hit by Courtney and thus can't have been the one who threw the shepherd's pie. So Jessica Shelsher, the fourth student caught, threw the shepherd's pie and was hit by Courtney's lamb curry.
If Jessica Shelsher, the fourth student caught, threw the shepherd's pie, then Richard (the second student caught) threw the cauliflower. The student with the last name Jackson didn't throw the cauliflower, which means Richard's last name can't be Jackson. Daniel's last name is Patel, Jessica's last name is Shelsher, and Morgan's last name is Hughes, so Richard's last name must be Garrott, and by elimination Courtney's last name is Jackson.
Courtney Jackson is a Ravenclaw (clue 10). Since Courtney and the student who got hit by the shepherd's pie are from the same house (clue 6), that means that the student who got hit by the shepherd's pie couldn't have been Jessica Shelsher (who is a Slytherin - clue 1), or Morgan Hughes, who is also a Slytherin. Richard Garrott didn't get hit by shepherd's pie because he was hit by pumpkin juice, so the student hit by the shepherd's pie was Daniel Patel (who we already know to be a Ravenclaw).
If Courtney Jackson was hit by the rice pudding, Richard Garrott by the pumpkin juice, Daniel Patel by the shepherd's pie, and Jessica Shelsher was hit by the lamb curry, then Morgan Hughes must have been hit by the cauliflower. Daniel Patel ends up being the student who hit a member of his own house.
To sum up:
Sadly for the students, Professor Stirringstone happened to walk in at an inopportune moment. Not one to countenance good food being wasted, Stirry gave five students detentions - the five students she caught in the act. The five students were Courtney, Daniel, Jessica, Morgan, and Richard. Each student stood accused of throwing a different food item (shepherd's pie, rice pudding, lamb curry, pumpkin juice, or cauliflower). And each student was hit by one of the food items thrown by one of the other students.
The last names of the students are Garrott, Hughes, Jackson, Patel, and Shelsher. Can you find the full names of the five students, their houses, the order in which Stirry caught them, and which student they threw the food at?
- Daniel is from Ravenclaw, while Jessica is from Slytherin.
- The five students involved were Richard, Patel, a Slytherin student, the one who threw lamb curry, and the one who was caught by Stirry immediately before a different student threw the rice pudding.
- Hughes, who was the last Slytherin student to get caught throwing something, hit the student who was the first one caught by Stirry.
- The item thrown by the third student to get caught was the pumpkin juice.
- Shelsher threw an item and got caught by Stirry some time before Morgan did, but sometime after Stirry caught the student who ended up dripping with pumpkin juice.
- Courtney and the student who got hit by the shepherd's pie are from the same house.
- In the confusion, at least one student hit a student from his or her own house.
- A Ravenclaw was the second one to get caught.
- The shepherd's pie and the cauliflower, in some order, were thrown by the two students who got caught by Stirry immediately before and after Daniel did.
- Jackson was one of the Ravenclaws who got caught - but wasn't the one who threw the cauliflower.
- Jessica didn't throw the rice pudding, nor did she get hit with it.
- Courtney hit the student who threw the shepherd's pie.
Solution:
This is a very hard puzzle!
Clue 9 tells us that the shepherd's pie and the cauliflower were thrown by the students who got caught immediately before and after Daniel did. This means Daniel can only be caught second, third, or fourth. But the item thrown by the third student to get caught was the pumpkin juice (clue 4). This means that Daniel could not have been caught either second or fourth, because that would make two food items conflict in the same slot. So Daniel must have been caught third, and thus must have been the one to throw the pumpkin juice. The student who threw the shepherd's pie and the one who threw the cauliflower were thus caught second and fourth in one order or another.
If the shepherd's pie, the pumpkin juice, and the cauliflower were thrown by the second, third, and fourth students to get caught (in whatever order), then the rice pudding and the lamb curry must be have been thrown by the first and fifth students to get caught. Some one had to be caught before the rice pudding was thrown (clue 2), and so the rice pudding couldn't have been thrown by the first student to get caught. The rice pudding was thus thrown by the fifth student to get caught, and the lamb curry by the first student to get caught.
Daniel must be one of the five students mentioned in clue 2. He is obviously not Richard. He's not from Slytherin (clue 1), and he didn't throw the lamb curry because we've figured out he threw the pumpkin juice. And since Daniel was caught third, he couldn't have been caught right before someone got caught throwing the rice pudding (which was fifth, which means the student who got caught immediately before would be fourth). So the only option left out of those five from clue 2 is that Daniel's last name is Patel.
The second student to get caught was a Ravenclaw (clue 8), and this student also must be one of the five students mentioned in clue 2. He/she can't be Patel, because Daniel Patel was caught third. He/she isn't from Slytherin. He/she didn't throw lamb curry, because that was thrown by the student who got caught first. And he wasn't the student who got caught right before the rice pudding was thrown, because that student was caught fourth. So the second student to be caught must have been Richard.
Of the five students in clue 2, we've identified the order for four of them: the student who threw the lamb curry was caught first, Richard (a Ravenclaw) was caught second, Daniel Patel was caught third, and the student who got caught immediately before someone threw the rice pudding was caught fourth. So the only one remaining out of the five is a Slytherin student - the person who got caught fifth (and who threw the rice pudding) must therefore be a Slytherin.
If a Slytherin student is fifth, that means that student must be the last Slytherin to have been caught throwing something. Thus that student must be Hughes, and the rice pudding that Hughes threw hit the first student to have been caught (the one who threw the lamb curry).
Since the fifth student to get caught threw the rice pudding, and the first student to get caught was hit by the rice pudding, Jessica couldn't have been caught first or fifth (clue 11). Since Richard was caught second, and Daniel was caught third, Jessica must have been caught fourth.
Morgan got caught after Shelsher (clue 5), so Morgan cannot have been caught first. Since Richard was caught second, Daniel caught third, and Jessica caught fourth, Morgan must have been caught fifth, and by elimination Courtney was caught first.
The student who got hit with the pumpkin juice wasn't caught first (we know the first caught was Courtney, who got hit by the rice pudding). That student couldn't have been caught third, either (because Daniel was third caught, and he threw the pumpkin juice and didn't hit himself). That student couldn't have been fourth or fifth, either - because two students got caught after the person who got hit with the pumpkin juice (clue 5). So the student who got hit with pumpkin juice must have been caught second - in other words, it was Richard who got hit with it.
If Richard was hit with the pumpkin juice (and was the second to be caught), the two students mentioned in clue 5 must have been caught third, fourth or fifth. The third student to get caught was Daniel Patel (who can be neither Shelsher nor Morgan), so Shelsher must have been caught fourth (thus, Jessica's last name is Shelsher).
Courtney hit the student who threw the shepherd's pie (clue 12), and in the first paragraph of this solution, we figured out that the student who threw the shepherd's pie must have been caught second or fourth (with the other one being the student who threw the cauliflower). But since we already know that Richard (who was caught second) was hit by the pumpkin juice (thrown by Daniel), Richard couldn't have been hit by Courtney and thus can't have been the one who threw the shepherd's pie. So Jessica Shelsher, the fourth student caught, threw the shepherd's pie and was hit by Courtney's lamb curry.
If Jessica Shelsher, the fourth student caught, threw the shepherd's pie, then Richard (the second student caught) threw the cauliflower. The student with the last name Jackson didn't throw the cauliflower, which means Richard's last name can't be Jackson. Daniel's last name is Patel, Jessica's last name is Shelsher, and Morgan's last name is Hughes, so Richard's last name must be Garrott, and by elimination Courtney's last name is Jackson.
Courtney Jackson is a Ravenclaw (clue 10). Since Courtney and the student who got hit by the shepherd's pie are from the same house (clue 6), that means that the student who got hit by the shepherd's pie couldn't have been Jessica Shelsher (who is a Slytherin - clue 1), or Morgan Hughes, who is also a Slytherin. Richard Garrott didn't get hit by shepherd's pie because he was hit by pumpkin juice, so the student hit by the shepherd's pie was Daniel Patel (who we already know to be a Ravenclaw).
If Courtney Jackson was hit by the rice pudding, Richard Garrott by the pumpkin juice, Daniel Patel by the shepherd's pie, and Jessica Shelsher was hit by the lamb curry, then Morgan Hughes must have been hit by the cauliflower. Daniel Patel ends up being the student who hit a member of his own house.
To sum up:
| The students, in the order they were caught: | |
| First: | Courtney Jackson of Ravenclaw threw lamb curry and hit Jessica Shelsher |
| Second: | Richard Garrott of Ravenclaw threw cauliflower and hit Morgan Hughes |
| Third: | Daniel Patel of Ravenclaw threw pumpkin juice and hit Richard Garrott |
| Fourth: | Jessica Shelsher of Slytherin threw shepherd's pie and hit Daniel Patel |
| Fifth: | Morgan Hughes of Slytherin threw rice pudding and hit Courtney Jackson |
Puzzles and page copyright 2001 by Godrics Ghost (R '08).
All Harry Potter trademarks remain the property of their rightful owner.
All Harry Potter trademarks remain the property of their rightful owner.
