Some Puzzles about Cafe International: Answer 1

  1. If no guests are at the bar, is it possible for a seat at a table to be unfillable? If so, show how; if not, prove it.

Answer

Yes. If two adjacent tables intersect in an empty chair and one table has 2 women and one man and the other table has 2 men and one woman, then the empty chair cannot be filled because the first table requires a man there, and the second table requires a woman.
Jeff Goldsmith, jeff@tintin.jpl.nasa.gov, Jan. 4, 1999