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The Stuck Excavator Riddle Challenge

Puzzles and Games

The Stuck Excavator Riddle

You and three other experienced heavy equipment operators—Jake, Lisa, and Mike—are working on a construction site. One day, a large excavator gets stuck in deep mud near the center of the site. Each operator was running a different machine that day:


• A bulldozer
• A wheel loader
• A motor grader
• A dump truck

Each of you was assigned to a different section of the site:

• The north sector
• The south sector
• The east sector
• The west sector

Facts:

1 Lisa was not operating the bulldozer or the motor grader.
2 The operator in the east sector was running a machine with a bucket.
3 Jake was working in the north sector.
4 The motor grader was not in the west sector.
5 The dump truck was not in the north or south sectors.
6 Mike was not in the south sector.

Question:

Who was most likely responsible for getting the excavator stuck?

Bonus Challenge: After solving the puzzle, describe how you would safely recover the stuck excavator using the available equipment!

Excavator partially stuck in a wet and muddy trench on a construction site with the text "The Stuck Excavator, Answer."

https://www.heavyequipment.com/storage/files/fileManager/the_stuck_excavator_riddle_answer.pdf

Excavator partially sunk into a water and mud filled trench with the text "The Stuck Excavator Bonus."

https://www.heavyequipment.com/storage/files/fileManager/the_stuck_excavator_riddle_bonus.pdf