This is one that I heard many years ago.


There once was a king who wanted to know which of his three top advisors was the most intelligent. He devised a test to see which man it was.

He called the three men together and showed them five derby hats. The king explained and showed them that three of the hats each had a red feather in the hat band and two had a white feather. These feathers could not be seen by the wearer while the hat was being worn. He blindfolded the men and put one of the hats on each man's head and the remaining two into a sack.

He told the men to remove their blindfolds and told them that two hats were in the sack but specifically did not tell them which two.

He then asked the first man to only look at the other two men and asked him what the color of feather on his own hat was. The first man could not do it.

He asked the second man the same question. The second man also did not know.

He then asked the third man if he knew the color of the feather that was on his hat. The third man said the he DID know.

What color was the third man's feather? (By the way, the third man was blind.)


Bob

P.S.- Please explain your answer.