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The Sugar & Salt – Dilemma!! – Can You Solve It?

A poor trader went to the countryside to sell some sugar and salt. However, as he had only one sack and didn’t want to mix sugar and salt, he poured in the sugar first, tied the sack in the middle, and then filled the top portion of the sack with the salt. At the market a rich merchant came with his own sack. He wanted to buy the sugar, but he did not want the salt.

Pouring the salt anywhere else would definitely spoil it. Trading sacks is not allowed. The trader can’t cut a hole in his sack.

How would you transfer the sugar to the merchant’s sack, which he wants to keep, without spoiling it?

Dear Reader, Please give your answers below in the comments section.

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51 Responses to The Sugar & Salt – Dilemma!! – Can You Solve It?

  1. Mohomad September 27, 2017 at 10:06 PM #

    Pour the salt in the merchant bag and switch the bags that way the merchant wind up with the sugar and the trader ends up with the salt.

  2. magader September 27, 2017 at 2:11 PM #

    pour salt in the rich man sack. then tie from top. then turn it upside down to make a use of the empty side. then pour the sugar in the opposite side of it (the empty one). then open the tie and return the salt to his sack. then tie and return the sugar. then turn the rich man sack again and pour the sugar inside.

  3. Anam May 10, 2015 at 3:37 AM #

    Simply get another container and pour the salt in it. Then pour the sugar into the merchant’s bag and pour the salt from the container back into the trader’s bag

    -I don’t know if this is right so Sara pls can u tell us the answer 🙂

  4. Sheikh Mohammed Waseem April 25, 2014 at 4:04 PM #

    Trader should transfer salt from his bag to buyer bags and tie it and then transfer sugar at the top. He then cut a hole at the bottom of buyer’s bag and transfer out salt to trader’s bag. He can sew the bottom of trader’s bag and handover traders bag to containing sugar only.

  5. Djenita April 18, 2014 at 7:00 PM #

    Trader can tie another tie next to existing one and cut in between than pour what ever merchant want in his sack.

  6. Avinash March 20, 2014 at 5:55 PM #

    The poor trader will pour the salt in the rich traders sack and then exchange the sac with him of sugar and take salt back.

    • rose April 25, 2014 at 7:32 AM #

      they cannot trade bags though

  7. Rabiu March 19, 2014 at 1:25 PM #

    I concurred with Tamilanda.

  8. Auranzeb Khang March 16, 2014 at 12:34 AM #

    He should make the sack upside down and un-stitch the sack without making a hole and shift the sugar to the merchant sack.

  9. Farzana Osman March 12, 2014 at 1:25 AM #

    Turn the sack upside down

  10. Shehab January 18, 2014 at 11:14 AM #

    I endorse the solution #1 given by M.Shafi.

  11. m.shafi January 14, 2014 at 9:28 PM #

    open top and just remove the salt in rich murchent bag and give suger bag to marchant and take his bag of salt from marchant .

  12. tamilandaa November 28, 2013 at 5:25 PM #

    At first, the salt was poured into the merchant ‘s sack. Then it was tied from the middle and turned inside out. After this, the sugar was poured into the merchant ‘s sack. Then in this position, it was untied from the middle and the sugar was poured back to the vendor’s sack.

    • tamilandaa November 28, 2013 at 5:27 PM #

      it is the final answer

      At first, the sugar was poured into the restaurant owner’s sack. Then it was tied from the middle and turned inside out. After this, the salt was poured into the restaurant owner’s sack. Then in this position, it was untied from the middle and the salt was poured back to the vendor’s sack.

  13. Bahaa October 12, 2013 at 9:27 AM #

    it’s easy just oepn the sack from dwon

  14. Bahaa October 12, 2013 at 9:24 AM #

    it’s easy just open the sack from dwon

  15. Abdullah Areef October 5, 2013 at 10:03 PM #

    1: Pour salt in trader’s sack.
    2: Exchange sacks.

  16. Abdullah Areef October 5, 2013 at 9:55 PM #

    He may pour all the salt in the buyer’s sack and then exchange sacks.

  17. Nosaiba October 3, 2013 at 4:14 PM #

    The merchant cut the sack in half. There are two sacks now. One is sugar sack and one is salt sack with the merchant. He gives the sugar sack to the buyer and keep the salt sack.

    This is the best solution . Hole in the sack is not allowed but there is no restrictions on cut.

  18. ismail October 3, 2013 at 2:38 PM #

    It is very easy.Open the sack.Us a tube.loosen up the bottom first tied until tube can enter inside of sugar.Tied the sack again not to empty the salt.Turn over sack and release the sugar.

  19. ayeda October 3, 2013 at 12:08 PM #

    cut the hole on other end as well. pour sugar when needed from one end, pour salt from the other end when needed. keep them both tied when done.

  20. Mir Salim October 3, 2013 at 11:03 AM #

    Merchant will keep the buyer of sugar in waiting and search buyer for salt. After selling salt to another buyer he will transfer sugar to the first buyer

  21. Virendra Goel July 28, 2013 at 9:06 AM #

    Pour the salt in buyer’s sack. Tie from middle. pour the Sugar. Cut a whole in the buyer’s sack (there is restriction on cutting whole in seller’s sack not buyer’s) and pour the salt back in seller’s sack.

  22. Yousef Rendon July 28, 2013 at 2:17 AM #

    As the trading sack is not allowed and the merchant wants only sugar not including salt while the trader can’t cut the sack even, then only one solution:

    1) The merchant empty sack should be putted down on the ground, and open trader sack and put the salt temporarily outside the sack while it is on the ground.
    2) After pouring all salt outside of merchant sack adjust the salt position til the bottom of the said sack.
    3) Pour the sugar inside the menrchant sack while it is on the ground. Now what they have is the salt outside the merchant sack and the sugar is inside.
    3) After transferring all the sugar to merchant sack on the ground, take back the salt and return to trader sack slowly to avoid mess. This is the only way for me to solve this riddle.

  23. Abdus Salam April 29, 2013 at 8:34 PM #

    Poor trader first pours the salt from the top of his own sack into the rich man’s sack, then only sugar will remain in his sack. Now the trader will hand over his bag of sugar to the buyer and keep the sack with salt to him from the buyer. It’s easy.

    • Yousef Rendon July 28, 2013 at 2:51 AM #

      Abdus Salam….. Trading sack is not allowed!

  24. IQBAL April 24, 2013 at 8:46 AM #

    Pour the sugar in marchant ‘s bag and give him his bag of salt and take the sugar bag from marchant.

    • Yousef Rendon July 28, 2013 at 2:56 AM #

      IQBAL….Would you mind to elucidate your answer? it’s difficult to understand 🙂

  25. Abdullah April 23, 2013 at 1:25 AM #

    As the only trader who can’t cut a hole in his sack , when on the merchant can .
    So the solution is simply like that :
    The trader pours the salt into the merchant’s sack first , tie the sack in the middle then add the sugar in the upper portion of the merchant’s sack , after fastening the upper portion precisily , make a hole at the salt side of the merchan’s sack , then to pouring the salt into the bottom of the trader’s sack , thus the merchant gets the sugar in his sack and salt in the trader’s sack .

    • Yousef Rendon July 28, 2013 at 2:57 AM #

      Agree 🙂

  26. Virendra Goel April 22, 2013 at 7:15 PM #

    There is no restriction on exchange of bags. He pours salt in buyer’s bag and keeps it and hands over sugar bag to the buyer.

    • Yousef Rendon July 28, 2013 at 2:59 AM #

      Virendra Goel….Trader sack is not allowed!

      • Ali - Admin July 30, 2013 at 2:29 PM #

        Rightly said Yousef.

  27. Abdul Waheed April 22, 2013 at 3:57 PM #

    Open the styiches from the bottom of the sack. This will not amount to making a hole. At the same time sugar and salt will have separate accessible openings.

  28. Shah Jahan April 22, 2013 at 11:57 AM #

    use LIFO system, it will bring sugar on top portion of seller’s sack, then pour the sugar in buyer’s sack

  29. Sheikh Javed Hussain April 21, 2013 at 6:54 PM #

    AsSaalaamualaikum,

    The trader first pours the salt in the merchants sack, then ties in the middle, then pours the sugar on the top portion of merchants sack. Now he cuts a hole in Merchants sack in the bottom since he is not allowed to cut a hole in his sack only, he transfers the salt back to his sack.

    Jazakallah khair

    • Yousef Rendon July 28, 2013 at 2:47 AM #

      I agree with you Sheikh Javed Hussain but i do not know if this is the correct answer also, neither mine 🙂

  30. John April 21, 2013 at 6:52 PM #

    Just give us he answer sara

  31. Husain April 21, 2013 at 6:37 PM #

    As the buyer is a rich merchant, include the price of salt also in the sugar’s and throw away the salt. Then transfer the sugar to the buyer’s sack.

    • Yousef Rendon July 28, 2013 at 2:43 AM #

      Hussain…..the rich merchant does not want the salt and there is non mentioned about pricing. Also, throwing a salt will difinitely spoil.

  32. Yusuf April 21, 2013 at 3:44 PM #

    Pour the salt in the rich mans bag and tie the middle. Now pour the sugar. Thereafter pour the salt back in the merchants bag.

    • Yousef Rendon July 28, 2013 at 2:39 AM #

      Yusuf….how can you pour the sugar? where you will pour the sugar? to the top of the sack? then how can you remove the salt from inside(bottom) of the merchant sack?

  33. ABDUL MATIN SHEIKH April 21, 2013 at 2:58 PM #

    YES, I AGREE WITH ASHRAF’S REPLY ABOVE.

    THANKS A LOT.

  34. Stephen April 21, 2013 at 2:55 PM #

    Trader should cut the bottom of his sack & empty in the merchants sack,
    provided the salt is tightly sealed/tied on both sides before cutting the bottom

    • Yousef Rendon July 28, 2013 at 2:36 AM #

      Stephen…the trader can’t cut a hole in his sack.

  35. Pareethu Bava Khan April 21, 2013 at 2:31 PM #

    The trader can pour the salt into the sack of the merchant, and the sacks may be simply exchanged.

    • Yousef Rendon July 28, 2013 at 2:34 AM #

      Pareethu Bava Khan…Trader sack is not allowed

  36. hussein kanak April 21, 2013 at 2:23 PM #

    The same answer as Ashraf’s – above.

  37. ashraf Tawfik Hayes April 21, 2013 at 1:55 PM #

    The trader pours the salt into the merchant’s sack , and exchange the sacks with the merchant .

    • Yusuf April 21, 2013 at 3:46 PM #

      Ashraf, trading sacks is not allowed!

    • Yousef Rendon July 28, 2013 at 2:32 AM #

      ashraf Tawfik Hayes…..trader sack is not allowed!