Death and taxes; taxes and death----- They're sure to be with us, until our last breath. So, try to save money-----How much can you save? They'll nickel us and dime us-----Right down to the grave. And now that you've heard my negative chant, tell me the man's name you hear in my rant.
Listen carefully to the rhythm and meter of the rant, and think about a famous person whose name sounds like a phrase that's often repeated when discussing the inevitability of...
Anna was watching TV in her house when she heard someone knocking on her door. When the woman opened the door, she saw a suspicious-looking man who claimed to be her neighbor. The man became nervous and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought this was my house. I must have confused the houses,". Anna didn't believe it was just a mistake, and she called the police, saying that this man was a robber. How did Anna know?
Here's a hint: Think about the circumstances under which Anna was when the man knocked on the door...
If the man really thought that it was his house, he wouldn't have knocked on the door; he would've tried to open it with his keys. Knocking on the door is a technique used by criminals who want to break in and steal stuff.
Jennifer is always late for work. One day, she comes to work late as usual, which angers her boss. But, her boss is more lenient today and gives Jennifer a chance to keep her job. If she solves his rebus puzzle, Jennifer won't be fired. The boss says, "I'm A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T V W X Y Z!". Luckily, Jennifer was a smart girl and managed to keep her job. What did the rebus puzzle say?
The hint is: Think about the alphabet, but not just the letters...
"I'm missing you". "A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T V W X Y Z" is missing the letter "U", which sounds like "I'm missing you (U)".
Zane is a big boss in a hugely successful company. Every week, however, he finds out that one of his worst employees has been stealing his documents. After a whole year of stolen documents, Zane rounds up his three worst employees– Kelly, Raymond, and Natalia– and questions them. Kelly says, "Raymond has been stealing your documents!". Raymond says, "I haven't been stealing your documents!". Natalia says, "I haven't been stealing your documents, either!". Only one of the employees is telling the truth. Who has been stealing the documents, and which employee is telling the truth?
Think about it this way: if the thief was Kelly or Natalia, they would both be accusing someone else, but only one of them would be telling the truth. But what if the thief was Raymond?
Natalia has been stealing the documents. Raymond is telling the truth. If Kelly was the one stealing the documents, then she would be lying, and Raymond would be telling the truth. But then, Natalia would also be telling the truth, which goes against the condition that only one employee is telling the truth. If Raymond was the one stealing the documents, then he would be lying, Kelly would be telling the truth, and Natalia would also be telling the truth. This also contradicts that only one employee is honest. If Natalia was the one stealing the documents, then she is lying. But then, who is telling the truth? It's not Kelly, because if it was so, both she and Natalia would be telling the truth, and Raymond would be lying, which doesn't meet the requirements. Therefore, Raymond is telling the truth, Kelly and Natalia are both lying, and Natalia is the one stealing the documents.
We first appeared outside in the early 1940s during World War II. Our construction was a simple mixture of glass and aluminum, with a flexible entrance that kept out unwanted intrusions. We were not migratory and never slept -- even at nighttime. The famous movie director, Alfred Hitchcock, once used one of us in his movie "The Birds" back in 1963, which resulted in some shattered glass. A famous "lady" once described us as being, "like a lighthouse on the highway", as we were easily seen at nighttime. In the year 2000, there were more than two million of us in existence, but as of 2020, our numbers have quickly declined, and there are now fewer than 100,000 of us remaining in the United States. We were greatly honored in 2015 when someone nominated us for inclusion into the National Register of Historic Places in the state of Arkansas. Who/what are we?
Here's a hint: Think about a common roadside structure that was once ubiquitous, but has since become a relic of the past.
Terry was having a bad day, after having a bad week and a bad month. His long-time bridge partner had just moved away, and the stock he held in the Red Roof Inn Company had just taken a nose-dive. He felt he was ready to snap, as he climbed into his car and began to drive. Suddenly, Terry felt something snap but realized it was only a pencil he had in his pocket, but this mild irritation only fueled his pent-up anger. Terry stepped on the accelerator and headed straight for a green sedan, smashing into it and causing its trunk to fly open. He then put his car into reverse, and backed into a red mini-van, causing its hood to pop up and its radiator to burst, sending a shower of radiator fluid shooting high into the air. After continuing to smash into at least a dozen other vehicles, Terry's car finally stopped, and somehow, he miraculously stepped out of his car uninjured. Just a few moments later, two police officers, who had witnessed the entire event without intervening, approached Terry and gave him something that made him -- smile. Why hadn’t the police called for backup and intervened earlier to prevent additional damage from being done, and what was it they gave Terry which made him smile?
Here's a hint: Think about the context in which Terry's destructive behavior was taking place. It's not what you might expect from a typical driving scenario...
The two police officers had given Terry a First Place Trophy for his having just won a Demolition Derby they had all just witnessed.
In a far-off kingdom, there is a castle with five rooms. Each room has a door with a different color: blue, red, green, yellow, or purple. Inside each room, there is a person with a different nationality: American, British, Canadian, Dutch, and Estonian. Each person has a favorite animal, which is also different for each person: cat, dog, elephant, giraffe, and horse. Additionally, each person has a favorite food, which is different for each person: pizza, sushi, spaghetti, tacos, and waffles. Using the following clues, can you figure out who lives in each room, what their nationality is, what their favorite animal is, and what their favorite food is? The person in the blue room is not Dutch or Estonian. The British person's favorite animal is a horse. The person who likes sushi lives in the red room. The Canadian person likes pizza. The Dutch person lives in the green room. The person who likes tacos lives in the yellow room. The American person's favorite animal is a giraffe. The person who likes waffles lives in the purple room. The person who likes spaghetti is Estonian. The person who likes elephants lives in the room adjacent to the person who likes giraffes.
Here's a hint to get you started:
Focus on the clues that mention specific room colors and nationalities first. Use the fact that the Dutch person lives in the green room and the person who likes sushi lives in the red room to start building your solution. Then, use the clues about favorite animals and foods to fill in the remaining rooms.
The blue room: American, favourite animal is a giraffe, favourite food is sushi. Red room: British, favourite animal is a horse, favourite food is tacos. The green room: Dutch, favourite animal is a cat, favourite food is spaghetti. Yellow room: Canadian, favourite animal is an elephant, favourite food is pizza. Purple room: Estonian, favourite animal is a dog, favourite food is waffles. Explanation: Clue #1 tells us that the person in the blue room cannot be Dutch or Estonian. This leaves us with American, British, Canadian, and Estonian. We can use other clues to narrow it down further. Clue #2 tells us that the British person's favourite animal is a horse, so they cannot be in the blue room. This leaves us with American, Canadian, and Estonian. Clue #3 tells us that the person who likes sushi lives in the red room, so the American person must be in the blue room. Clue #4 tells us that the Canadian person likes pizza, so they must be in the yellow room. Clue #5 tells us that the Dutch person lives in the green room, so they cannot be in the yellow room. This leaves us with British and Estonian. Clue #6 tells us that the person who likes tacos lives in the yellow room, so the British person must be in the red room. Clue #7 tells us that the American person's favourite animal is a giraffe, so they must be in the blue room. Clue #8 tells us that the person who likes waffles lives in the purple room, so the Estonian person must be in the purple room. Clue #9 tells us that the Estonian person likes spaghetti, so the Dutch person must like cats. Clue #10 tells us that the person who likes elephants lives in the room adjacent to the person who likes giraffes, so the Canadian person is just like an elephant. So the final solution is The blue room: American, favourite animal is a giraffe, favourite food is sushi. Red room: British, favourite animal is a horse, favourite food is tacos. The green room: Dutch, favourite animal is a cat, favourite food is spaghetti. Yellow room: Canadian, favourite animal is an elephant, favourite food is pizza. Purple room: Estonian, favourite animal is a dog, favourite food is waffles
Maggie and four of her gang members (A.K.A. the Maulers) cross paths with Big Bertha and four of her minions (A.K.A. The Bombers), and a major conflict ensues. Both gangs find themselves in a real jam, and neither side dare back out and risk losing face at this point. Suddenly, one of Maggie's own gang grabs Maggie by the arm and throws her forward with all of her strength, but Maggie does not feel betrayed, in fact, she is grateful. She does not run but moves ahead with great speed in an effort to sneak up on the opposing gang from behind. Unfortunately, Big Bertha is just behind Maggie, having planned the exact same strategy. Bertha then suddenly bashes Maggie in the thigh with a lowered shoulder, knocking Maggie off her feet, sending her sprawling. Big Bertha and her gang proceed to lay a major beating on Maggie's entire gang. Over 100 people witnessed this confrontation, but not one of them tried to intervene, or at least call the police. How calloused can people be; or is there some less harmful explanation for these events?
Think about a setting where physical conflict is expected and even encouraged, and where the "gangs" are not necessarily violent criminals...
The Maulers and the Bombers are two women’s teams competing against one another in the game of Roller Derby, in front of a bunch of spectators.
Alice is walking through the forest of forgetfulness. She wants to know what day of the week it is. She stops and asks a lion and a unicorn. Now the lion lies all of the time on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The unicorn always lies on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Alice asks the lion what day it is, he says, "Well, yesterday was one of my lying days." Alice can't figure it out just from the lion's answer so she asks the unicorn and the unicorn says, "Yesterday was also one of my lying days." What day is it?
Think about the possibilities of "yesterday" for both the lion and the unicorn...
A man walking along a railraod track sees a train thundering at high speed towards him. Instead of immediately jumpimg off the track, he charges directly at the train for about ten feet and only then gets off the track.
Why?
Think about the man's actions in relation to the train's speed and direction...
The man was on a bridge when he first saw the train so he couldn't jump off the track immediately.
A black dog stands in the middle of an intersecton in a town painted black. None of the street lights are working due to a power failure caused by a storm. A car with two broken headlights drives towards the dog but turns in time to avoid hitting him. How could the driver have seen the dog in time?
A man went on a trip with a fox, a goose and a sack of corn. He came upon a stream which he had to cross and found a tiny boat to use to cross the stream. He could only take himself and one other - the fox, the goose, or the corn - at a time. He could not leave the fox alone with the goose or the goose alone with the corn.
How does he get all safely over the stream?
Think about the order in which the man transports each item, and how he can ensure that no combination of fox, goose, and corn is left together unsupervised at any point.
Take the goose over first and come back. Then take the fox over and bring the goose back. Now take the corn over and come back alone to get the goose. Take the goose over and the job is done!
You are trapped in a hallway and there are three rooms to help you get out. One toom is filled with water all the way to the top, another room is on fire, and the last room has a bunch of lions which haven't eaten in 1 month. Which room do you choose?
Think about the state of the lions...
The one with the lions because they haven't eaten in 1 month.
Jake is a blogger who likes to look at how many likes his posts get. One day, he checks the likes on his most recent post. Only one of the following statements is true. How many likes did Jake get? 1) Jake got at least 1 like. 2) Jake got at least 50 likes. 3) Jake got fewer than 50 likes.
Think about what would happen if Jake got exactly 1 like...
Only the third statement is true; Jake got zero likes. If the first statement is true, then he has at least one like, but the third statement is also true, assuming that this number is less than 50; this contradicts the conditions. If the second statement is true, then Jake has at least 50 likes, but the first statement automatically becomes true, too. If the third statement is true, then Jake has fewer than 50 likes; this makes the second statement wrong, but for the first statement to be wrong, too, the post should have gotten less than one like. Therefore, Jake got zero likes on his most recent post.
If you have two quarters on a table touching each other, how can you move one of the quarters without touching it? You are only allowed to touch one quarter but not move it. You cant touch the quarter that you move. You want to get at least enough room between the two quarters to insert another coin between the two quarters.
Think about using the quarter you're allowed to touch to influence the environment around the two quarters, rather than trying to directly move the quarter you're not allowed to touch.
Hold down one of the quarters very firmly. Take another coin and hit it against the quarter you are holding down. Tap hard enough to move the quarter next to it aside.
How can this be true? Have a look at the picture. All the lines are straight, the shapes that make up the top picture are the same as the ones in the bottom picture so where does the gap come from?
"Think about the way the shapes are arranged, not just their individual forms..."
The green triangle has dimensions 2 x 5 and gradient 2 / 5 = 0.4 The red triangle has dimensions 3 x 8 and gradient 3 / 8 = 0.375 Hence the gradient of the green triangle is greater than that of the red triangle.
If a farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 haystacks in the other field, how many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in another field?
Think about the word "combined"... it's not just about adding numbers together!
There is a creature which could double its size every day. So, if the creature is put in a tank then it will fill the tank in 10 days.
How many days would it take for the creature to fill 1/2 and 1/4 of the tank?
Think about it backwards... If the creature fills the entire tank in 10 days, what would happen on the 9th day?
9 days to fill 1/2 and 8 days to fill 1/4 of the tank. If the creature fills the tank in 10 days and it doubles every day, on the ninth day it would fill 1/2 the tank. Thus on the 8th day it will fill 1/4 of tank.
Dorothy attended her family reunion last summer, but she reported an odd incident during the festivities. She was watching a group of adults and a group of children competing against one another in a race of about 30 yards. Dorothy was surprised to see a child win the race, but Dorothy also noted she was unable to see any of the participant's legs during the race. Dorothy has excellent vision, and her mental faculties are intact, but neither she nor any of the other spectators were able to see any sign of the racer's legs during the brief competition. Since none of the racers were amputees, and Dorothy wasn't imagining things, what do you suppose was the cause of her inability to see any of the racer’s legs during the race?
Think about where the family reunion might have taken place...
The adults and children were participating in a sack race at the family reunion.
There are 30 cows in a field, and 28 chickens. How many didn't?
Think about the question being asked... it's not about the number of cows or chickens, but rather about the action of doing something. What is it that some of them didn't do?
10. Listen closely: 30 cows and twenty-eight chickens. Say EIGHT and ATE. They sound the same. Therefore, it means 20 ATE chickens. 30-20=10, so 10 cows didn't eat any chickens.
A girl walked into a bar and ordered some water. The bartender then threw a big hairy spider at her. A few minutes later, the girl thanked the man and walked out. Why?
Think about phobias and what might have happened before the girl walked into the bar...
The girl had the hiccups and the man scared them away by throwing the big hairy spider at her.
I always follow you around, everywhere you go at night. I look very bright to people, but I can make the sun dark. I can be in many different forms and shapes. What am I?
Think about something that is always with you at night, but its presence can also affect the daytime...
I can carry you around; you can carry me as well; not a living thing, yet, I run faster than as you do but not without your help. I have as many legs and hands as every man has; round are my legs: one before and the other behind. The cycle is never out of my name. What am I?
Think about an object that you often use for transportation, has a circular shape, and needs your help to move quickly.
My first is in wield, sever bones and marrow. My second is in blade, forged in cold steel. My third is in arbalest, and also in arrows. My fourth is in power, plunged through a shield. My fifth is in honour, and also in vows My last will put an end to it all.
What am I?
"Think about the different parts of a medieval weapon, and how each part can be related to a word that fits the description..."
I am not found on any ground,But always in the air; Though charged each cloud with thunder loud, You can not find me there. Now, if from France you choose to dance Your way just into Spain, I there am seen, and near the queen, In hail, in mist, and rain.
What am I?
Think about something that is always present in the air, yet not physically found on the ground, and is closely associated with weather phenomena...