I am on a listserv for Linux users. Today they posted a 'brain teaser'. I quote it because it is not much of a teaser....

Lets see how long it takes you guys to figure this one out. :)


Hack This Box
----------------

You interview for a job at a local software engineering firm... Their
interviewer, a Unix admin (of course!), walks into the room and places a
strange looking box covered with signatures and times on the table
infront of you.

He smiles at you and says, "This is a completely sealed, water-tight,
air-tight, and light-tight wooden box. It has three switches on the
outside that control three light bulbs on the inside. You're only
allowed to flip the switches while the lid is closed. If you open the
lid, you're not allowed to touch any of the switches ever again. How can
you tell which switch controls which bulb? If you can figure this out,
you'll get the job. If not, well....good luck in your future endeavors,
kid. You've got one hour. Incidentally, all those signatures and times?
They're from everyone who's gotten a job here."

( Note: This is NOT a trick question--Yes, the box has power, and yes,
the lightbulbs are screwed in, etc. There are at least two valid answers. )

The guy that posted it says it took him over fifteen minutes to figure it out. After my initial reaction of thinking it very difficult, it took me less than a minute. There is no way for me to prove this of course, but the solution speaks for itself. I posted this in the computer forum on Craigslist, and the only response after a few minutes was that it was dumb.