A puzzle from our friends at Futility Closet:
Five children — Ivan, Sylvia, Ernie, Dennis, and Linda — entered a candy store, and one of them stole a box of candy from the shelf. Afterward each child made three statements:
Ivan:
1. I didn't take the box of candy.
2. I have never stolen anything.
3. Dennis did it.
Sylvia:
4. I didn't take the box of candy.
5. I'm rich and I can buy my own candy.
6. Linda knows who the crook is.
Ernie:
7. I didn't take the box of candy.
8. I didn't know Linda until this year.
9. Dennis did it.
Dennis:
10. I didn't take the box of candy.
11. Linda did it.
12. Ivan is lying when he says I stole the candy.
Linda:
13. I didn't take the box of candy.
14. Sylvia is guilty.
15. Ernie can vouch for me, because he has known me since I was a baby eight years ago.
If each child made two true and one false statement, who stole the candy?
A problem by Wayne M. Delia and Bernadette D. Barnes:
