h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just had this sent to me, has anyone got any ideas?

Ten weary, footsore travellers,
All in a woeful plight,
Sought shelter at a wayside inn
One dark and stormy night.

'Nine rooms, no more,' the landlord said
'Have I to offer you.
To each of eight a single bed,
But the ninth must serve for two.'

A din arose. The troubled host
Could only scratch his head,
For of those tired men not two
Would occupy one bed.

The puzzled host was soon at ease –
He was a clever man –
And so to please his guests devised
This most ingenious plan.

In a room marked A two men were placed,
The third was lodged in B,
The fourth to C was then assigned,
The fifth retired to D.

In E the sixth he tucked away,
In F the seventh man.
The eighth and ninth in G and H,
And then to A he ran,

Wherein the host, as I have said,
Had laid two travellers by;
Then taking one - the tenth and last –
He logged him safe in I.

Nine single rooms - a room for each –
Were made to serve for ten;
And this it is that puzzles me
And many wiser men.


I is the nineth letter of the alphabet.... Apparently no oneis sharing so who is sleeping in the bath tub? Or indeed is anyone?

>>Wherein the host, as I have said,
Had laid two travellers by;
Then taking one - the tenth and last –
He logged him safe in I.<<

There's two men left and the host only takes one of them to room I. Therefore one man doesn't have a room at all.

But there are still only 9 men accounted for, aren't there?

As I read it:

Room A - Men 1 & 2
Room B - Man 3
Room C - Man 4
Room D - Man 5
Room E - Man 6
Room F - Man 7
Room G - Man 8
Room H - Man 9

Man 10 doesn't get mentioned - it just says that the host fetches Man 1 from Room A and puts him in Room I. Presumably Man 10 is still in the corridor..?

Maybe you're supposed to forget that the extra man in Room A has already been counted?

10 and 2 are the same

You're right, he isn't mentioned.

Perhaps the 10th man is the landlord.... So he'll have a room of his own already.

Either that or the land lord took the tenth man to his own room.

Which is the conclusion we've reached here at work. It just seems to be a bit simplistic to me....

Have you considered it could be a trick question? It doesn't say ALL the travellers are men. And it was only the men that didn't want to share.

You're right, Man 2 is reassigned as Man 10. So I'm guessing to save face the landlord killed the real Man 10 and hid his body in the basement.

Or perhaps one of the men had multiple personality disorder.

I've heard this before. From what I remember, it's a Victorian puzzle and the idea isn't to work out how it works as to work out why it doesn't work. So apologies to those coming up with innovative solutions, but Ben, Danny and the Albatross had the full answer.

I had not heard the din that night
As number ten raised hue and cry-
'Twas number two - not numner ten-
That bedded down in room marked I.

If we reflect on what he's done,
We'll see we're not insane.
Two men in A, he's counted one,
Not once, but once again.