During World War II when the Germans were occupying France, four people were together in the lift of a Paris hotel. There was a German officer in uniform, a native Frenchman who belonged to the underground, an attractive young girl, and an elderly woman.

Suddenly there was a power failure and the lift was in total darkness. There was the sound of a kiss followed by the sound of a punch in the face. Next moment the lights came on again. The German officer had a black eye.

The elderly lady thought: ‘Serve him right! He shouldn’t try to take advantage of young girls.’

The young girl thought: ‘What strange tastes these Germans have. Why would he kiss her instead of me!’

The German officer thought: ‘What did I do to deserve this? I didn’t do anything. Maybe the Frenchman tried to kiss the girl, and she hit me by mistake.’

What actually did happen?

Hint 1

This is a simple problem in logic. What are the known facts? Who are the possible culprits?

Solution

We start with the known facts. There was the sound of a kiss. And the German officer received a black eye.

There is also additional information provided in the thoughts of those in the lift.

Who did the kissing? It was not the German (he didn’t do anything!). It was not the elderly lady, as she thought it was the German. It was not the attractive young girl, as she also thought it was the German. Therefore it was the Frenchman.

Who received the kiss? Again, it was not the German, as he thought the Frenchman had tried to kiss the young girl. And it was neither of the ladies, as each believed the other was the recipient.

This leaves the Frenchman as the perpetrator of the plot! This is perhaps not a surprise, as we are told that he was a member of the underground. He kissed the back of his hand, and then punched the German officer in the eye.

Hint 1

 

Solution