That confused me too. After reading the responses, I figured out that the puzzle refers to the cord – not plug – that switches a light on and off. So if a light has its cord pulled once, it’s off, twice, it’s on again, thrice, off again, etc. So the guy who pulls every 3rd cord will switch the 6th light back on, as well as the 12th, the 18th, etc. (In fact, he turns one light back on for each light that he turns off.)

Hope that clears the confusion.

(And that you weren’t jesting.)

Makeshifts last the longest.