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        riddles >> easy >> Half a pint of lager riddle
        
(Message started by: RexJacobus on Jan 6^th, 2003, 8:34am)

Title: Half a pint of lager riddle
Post by RexJacobus on Jan 6^th, 2003, 8:34am

A pub sells half pints of Carling lager for 90pence and half pints of Fosters lager for 1 pound.

A man walks into this pub. He puts a pound down on the bar and says, 'Half a pint of lager, please.' The barmaid asks, 'Carling or Fosters?' The man replies 'Fosters' and the barmaid pours him a Fosters. A second man walks into the pub. He puts a pound down on the bar and says, 'Half a pint of lager, please.' The barmaid pours him a pint of Fosters.

The two men do not know each other or the barmaid and neither has ever been in this pub before. So why did the barmaid feel it necessary to ask the first man which brand he wanted but not the second?

Rex Jacobus

Title: Re: Half a pint of lager riddle
Post by Jeremiah Smith on Jan 6^th, 2003, 10:15am

My thinking is this: The first guy simply puts down a one pound coin. The barmaid has no way to tell if he wants a Fosters, and is paying exact change; or if he has no smaller coinage and wants a Carling and some change. Therefore, she has to ask.

Meanwhile, the second guy plonks down a pound, but in smaller coins. One of the coins is a 10p piece. The barmaid thinks that if he had wanted a Carling, he could just as easily have given 90p in exact change, by taking away the 10p piece. So she guesses he wants a Fosters. (Or, he just likes giving away extra 10p when he buys lager.)

Title: Re: Half a pint of lager riddle
Post by BNC on Jan 6^th, 2003, 11:28am

I had seen this one some time ago at a "riddle game" I was in. Actually won the game with this one, giving this answer, but I'm not happy with it, nevertheless.

So many other answers are possible:
- the guy pointed to the beer sign
- Guy came in with a T-shirt of the beer
- He called his friend b4 entering: "i'll be buying Fosters"

etc......