Can you solve this deceptively simple riddle?

[LONDONER]

I'll be honest, I didn't solve it.

http://distractify.com/fyi/2015/12/20/ma...hat-riddle

[matty7]

well I didn't get it right - and without giving anything away ...I guarantee nobody I have ever know if they were in the line would get it either..... and now my head hurts too

[MikeW]

I've seen this riddle before in a different format. I don't recall the answer, though. I'm terrible at these kinds of riddles. My lazy brain just can't be arsed. Let the aliens dine!

[Fuzzy]

You aren't allowed to say words other than black or white or signal in any other way (volume, intonation, etc.). At least NINE of you have to guess your hat colors correctly in order to survive. You have 5 minutes to discuss a solution with the others.

So breaking this down
10 people total, 9 must be correct
they are allowed to speak with ought limits the words "black" or "white"

solution: the tallest person can say "white" or "black" to each of the others when they must answer.

since the only rule was "you may only say white or black" no rules for saying you could not speak or even provide multiple answers.
IE you can always select a,b,c,d on a multiple choice, its a possibility but pretty much always wrong.
so by being wrong the 10th person ensures the other 9 are right and they pass the test, then the "intelligent" aliens feel stupid for allowing such a loophole

[starlight]

Try this

http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/spotting-the...oud-think/

[Radbot42]

Uhhh since you can only say black or white how can you let the group know which is odd and which is even?

[Camfer]

Uhhh since you can only say black or white how can you let the group know which is odd and which is even?

The rules state the group has five minutes to discuss to set their strategy, so during that five minutes the group chooses which color represents odd.

However, I have a much simpler answer. They are only able to use the words black and white, but there is no limit to how many times you can say the word. So the guy in the back who can see everyone's hat, just calls out each person's hat color sequentially, followed by a guess of his own hat color. Guaranteed 9 out of 10 get it right because you *told* them their hat color, and a 50% chance of 10 out of 10.

[meridannight]

didn't get it either, lol.

[meridannight]

Try this

http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/spotting-the...oud-think/

what? took me 1.5 seconds. didn't even have to enlarge the image.

[meridannight]

So they come up with a riddle for you to solve. First, they place you all in a line by size, so that you can only see people in front of you.

You aren't allowed to look behind you, or step out of line at any point.

Each person gets a randomly assigned white or black hat put on their heads, and you are not told how many hats of each color there are total.

When it is time to begin, each person must say what color hat they are wearing, starting with the tallest person in the back and moving in succession towards the shortest person in the front.

i got this thing: when it's your turn you tilt your head forward so that the hat falls off the head in front of your feet. then you can see the color of your hat.