A woman waved to a man in a taxi. She got into the taxi and told the taxi driver where to take her. He nodded to her and drove. The woman talked a lot and that annoyed the taxi driver. The taxi driver said," Ma'am, I can't hear what you are saying! I am as deaf as a post!" The woman stopped talking for the rest of the ride. Once she got out of the taxi, she realized he was lying. How did she know?
Pay attention to the taxi driver's response to the woman's directions at the beginning of the ride...
There are two ways she figured out: 1. He would have had to hear her to know she was talking as he was focusing on driving. 2. He would not have heard her directions if he was deaf and wouldn't have nodded in response as a way to confirm he got the directions.
It's Halloween and 4 friends (Steven, James, Amy, and Ashley), that are all in high school, decide to go to a costume party. They decide they will wear matching costumes. They all use wheelchairs in their costumes. One friend is paralyzed, and the other 3 friends can walk. Steven says, "I have been paralyzed for 25 years and I need my wheelchair for mobility." James says, "I am not paralyzed, so I am just using my wheelchair for my costume." Amy says, "I have been paralyzed for 5 years. I was walking home from school and a drunk driver hit me." Ashley says, "When I was 9 years old, I fell 3 stories off the edge of my balcony and broke my C9 vertebrae." Two of the friends are telling the truth and the other two friends are lying. Which friend is paralyzed?
Here's a hint: Pay close attention to the specific details each friend provides about their past, especially the circumstances surrounding their supposed paralysis. One of the liars will have a story that is suspiciously... convenient.
Amy is paralyzed. Steven is lying because he is in high school which means he is less than 25 years old, so he couldn't have been paralyzed for 25 years. Ashley is lying because there are only 7 vertebrae in the cervical section of the spine, so she couldn't have broken her C9 vertebrae. James is telling the truth that he is not paralyzed. This means Amy must be telling the truth that she is the paralyzed friend.
Think about a common, everyday situation where a needle is already "floating" in a sense...
Take a thin piece of tissue paper and place the tissue paper under the needle before putting the needle in the water. The tissue paper will eventually sink and the needle will remain floating.
Mrs. Tatum assigned a massive summer assignment to her students–they each had to learn a new language. It could be any language they wanted to learn, though. After the summer break, Mrs. Tatum asked her students what languages they had been learning, and how it had been going. Christopher said, "I enjoy learning Mandarin!". Anthony said, "I've been learning Brazilian; it was really difficult but interesting!". Gianna said, "I chose to learn German because my ancestors are from Germany!". Mrs. Tatum did not believe one of her students. Who is lying?
Hint: Pay attention to the language names and their corresponding countries.
Anthony is lying. He couldn't be learning Brazilian because this "language" doesn't exist; people speak Portuguese in Brazil.
Spencer wakes up in the middle of a forest. A few seconds later, a witch and three magic tunnels–a red, a yellow, and a blue–appear in front of the guy. The witch tells Spencer, "Two of these tunnels will make you disappear forever, and the other one will send you back to your house. Listen to these clues VERY carefully,". Clue 1: Choose the red tunnel, and you won't not disappear. Clue 2: It's a lie to say that the yellow tunnel isn't dissimilar. Clue 3: The blue tunnel doesn't have less in common with the red than with the yellow. Which tunnel should Spencer choose?
Think about the clues as statements about the tunnels, and consider what would be true if a tunnel led to Spencer's house versus if it made him disappear forever. Pay close attention to the use of double negatives and words like "dissimilar" to help you decipher the witch's tricky clues.
Spencer should choose the yellow tunnel. If he chooses the red tunnel, he will not NOT disappear; in other words, Spencer WILL disappear if he enters the red tunnel. We can therefore exclude the red tunnel. If he chooses the blue tunnel, he will also disappear; this is because the blue tunnel doesn't have less in common with red than yellow. In other words, the blue tunnel has more in common with red than yellow, so the blue tunnel will also make Spencer disappear. Choosing the yellow tunnel is the safest option because if it's a lie to say that yellow isn't dissimilar, the truth is that yellow IS different from the red and blue tunnels.
A certain man who is called "Captain" by his crew, is infamously known for his hatred of a particular group of young boys. He especially dislikes the leader of this group of children, to the extent he would actually kill him if given the chance. This man is neither a basketball player, nor a boxer, nor a fisherman, as his name suggests, but he is the "captain" of a ship called the Sea Devil which flies a black and white flag. This man sails on his ship with his own group of grown men who are a scurvy bunch who enjoy criminal activities. Although he presents himself as being fearless, there is one thing that sends him into a frightened panic -- the sound of a ticking clock! Who is this infamous man, and why haven’t the authorities arrested or imprisoned him and his evil crew?
Think of a classic tale of piracy on the high seas, but also consider a different kind of "captain" and a story that may not be entirely historically accurate...
The infamous man is Captain Hook, the arch-enemy of Peter Pan and the lost boys. He fears the loud ticking of a clock which a monstrous crocodile swallowed at some point before Peter Pan cut off the captain’s hand during battle, and fed the hand to the beast. The clock now resides in the crocodile’s stomach, and the ticking warns Captain Hook of the creature’s presence, as the crocodile wants to eat the rest of the tasty captain.
A tall, burly, unarmed man and a short, slim, unarmed man, both dressed in sheer nylon stockings, women's clothing, and blond wigs, enter a bar in New York City. The tall, burly man approaches the bartender and asks him for something. Immediately, the bartender reaches below the counter, pulls out a gun, and shoots the man. The short, slim man responds by quickly bolting from the bar. New Yorkers have a reputation for being testy and unfriendly, but wasn't this a bit extreme? In fact, when the police arrived on the scene, they backed the bartender and did not charge him with any crime. What do you suppose the tall, burly man had requested from the bartender which led to his being shot, and why did the police support the bartender’s extreme reaction?
Here's a hint:
Think about the occupation of the bartender and the unusual attire of the two men. The answer lies in a specific profession and a crucial detail in the description.
The man asked the bartender to give him all the bar’s money. The bartender’s extreme reaction was due to the fact that both the tall and short man were wearing their sheer nylon stockings over their heads when the request was made.
If someone were to write a biography about us, the following could be reported: #1- Some of us reside in boxes, and others of us can be found resting in the backs of cars, but we are not homeless. #2- Four of us are found in a part of every ship. #3- One of us is famous for falling down a steep incline and injuring himself. #4- Ten of us are associated with a round ball, but we are not basketball players. #5- Unfortunately, one of us is reputed to be a serial killer. Based on the biographical information above - - - Who/what are we?
Think about common objects that can be found in various places, and pay attention to the subtle wordplay in each clue...
A man and a woman enter a crowded room where many people they have seen before are present. The man and the woman enter the room separately, but only one of them enters to a musical serenade. Another man speaks to each of them for a few minutes when the two get together in the room. The crowd has been quiet for the most part, and the familiar people seem to be in a happy mood, but when the man and the woman leave the room, they find the crowd is now outside waiting for them. When the crowd sees the man and the woman, they begin shouting and throwing food at the two as they try to depart the area. What was going on here, and why did the crowd pelt the man and the woman with food?
Here's a hint: Think about a specific type of event where people often gather, and a certain tradition that involves music, conversation, and food...
The man and the woman were getting married, and the food being thrown at them was rice.
Analogies are comparisons. Complete each analogy below. Here is an example: Ear is to hearing as eye is to? Sight.
1. Cardinals is to St. Louis as Dodger is to?
2. A.M. is to before noon as P.M. is to?
3. Three is to triangle as 8 is to?
4. Tear is to tore as see is to?
5. Springfield is to Illinois as Austin is to?
Here's a hint to help you solve the analogies:
"Think about the relationships between words, and look for patterns or connections that can help you complete the comparisons."
1. Los Angeles
2. Afternoon
3. Octagon
4. Saw
5. Texas
If there is a Yellow house on Bluebird Lane, a Green house on Orange Street, a Pink house on Kitten Road, a Black house on Whitehorse Pike and a Purple house on Firebird hill, where is the White house?
Look for a pattern in the names of the streets and the colors of the houses...
There once was an evil wizard. He took 3 woman from their homes and turned them into rose bushes that looked exactly alike. He put them in his garden. One of the woman had a husband and children and begged the wizard to let her see them. He agreed. At night, he brought the woman to her house. In the morning he came and took her home. One day the husband decided to go rescue her. So he snuck into the wizard's garden. He looked and looked at the 3 identical rose bushes trying to figure out which could be his wife. Suddenly, he knew the answer and he took his wife home. How did he know which rose bush was his wife?
Pay attention to the wizard's nightly visits...
The wizard brought the rosebush to her home at night and returned her to the garden in the morning. Therefore, she was the only plant without dew.
Two cars were involved in an accident in the center of town. The man who was driving a little green car, had overtaken a big black car. The driver had misjudged the distance between him and the on-coming traffic and had to swerve back in, causing the black car to swerve and crash into a shop window. When the occupants of the cars were examined everyone in the green car was okay, but in the black car was one dead man. However, the driver of the green car was not charged with manslaughter, why was this so?
Think about the gender of the drivers...
The black car was a hearse and was on its way to a funeral.
Think about a type of accommodation that is often associated with vacations, and how the name of that place might sound similar to a characteristic of wolves...
While mixing sand, gravel, and cement for the foundation of a house, a worker noticed a small bird hopping along the top of the foundation wall. The bird misjudged a hop and fell down one of the holes between the blocks. The bird was down too far for anyone to reach it and the hole was too small for it to fly out of. Someone suggested using two sticks to reach down into the hole and pull the bird out, but this idea was rejected for fear it would injure the fragile bird. What would be the easiest way to get the bird out of the hole without injuring it?
Think about the materials available at a construction site...
Since they had plenty of sand available, they could pour a little at a time into the hole. The bird would constantly keep shifting its position so that it stood on the rising sand.
There is a barrel with no lid and some wine in it. "This barrel of wine is more than half full," said Curly. "No it's not," says Mo. "It's less than half full." Without any measuring implements and without removing any wine from the barrel, how can they easily determine who is correct?
"Think about the shape of the barrel..."
Tilt the barrel until the wine barely touches the lip of the barrel. If the bottom of the barrel is visible then it is less than half full. If the barrel bottom is still completely covered by the wine, then it is more than half full.
I have 10 red socks and 10 blue socks in a drawer. How many socks must I take out to ensure that I have at least one matching pair? One how many to ensure I have at least a pair of red and a pair of blue?
Think about the worst-case scenario: you keep pulling out socks of different colors...
Three for one pair, and twelve to ensure one pair of each color.
A man is walking down a road with a basket of eggs. As he is walking he meets someone who buys one-half of his eggs plus one-half of an egg. He walks a little further and meets another person who buys one-half of his eggs plus one-half of an egg. After proceeding further he meets another person who buys one-half of his eggs plus one half an egg. At this point he has sold all of his eggs, and he never broke an egg. How many eggs did the man have to start with?
Think about the pattern of egg sales: each time, the man sells half of his remaining eggs, plus a fraction of an egg...
7 eggs. The first person bought one half of his eggs plus one half an egg (3 1/2 + 1/2 = 4 eggs) This left him 3 eggs. The second person bought one-half of his eggs plus one half an egg, (1 1/2 + 1/2 = 2 eggs) leaving the man 1 egg. The last person bought one-half of his eggs plus one-half an egg, (1/2 + 1/2 = 1 egg) leaving no eggs.
I am a three-digit number. All of my digits are prime. One of the numbers is even. Each of my numbers are used only once. The total of my first and last digits equals 10. The total of my first two digits equals 5.
Think about the properties of prime numbers... Which prime number is even?
This one is fairly easy if you use elimination if you follow all the first 5 steps you get three options: 525, 327, and 723 but if you followed the last step you would reach your answer. The answer was 327.
An officer wishing to arrange his men in a solid square found by his first arrangement that he had 39 men left over. He then started increasing the number of men on a side by one, but found that 50 additional men would be needed to complete a new square.
How many men did the officer have?
Think about the differences between consecutive perfect squares...
The officer had 1975 men. When he formed a square measuring 44 by 44, he had 39 men over. When he tried to form a square 45 x 45, he was 50 men short.
You walk into your house the electricity is out you see three doors that you have never seen before. You go through the one with a lion that hasn't eaten for over six months. There are another three doors you go through the one with an empty room. There's a man that says how do you want to be murdered with the gun the knife or the electric chair that will kill you in an instant. How will you survive?
The electric chair because your electricity is out.
Mr. Wilson was found unconscious in his bedroom on a Saturday evening. There were just five other people in his house at the time of the murder: Mr. Wilson's wife, their chef, a butler, a housemaid, and a gardener. They all told the detective what they were doing that evening. Mrs. Wilson: I was reading a book in the living room. The chef: I was cooking breakfast. The butler: I was giving instructions to several workers in the living room. The housemaid: I was in the kitchen, washing the dishes. The gardener: I was in the greenhouse, watering plants. The detective arrested the culprit right away. Who was it, and how did the detective know?
Hint: Pay close attention to the timing and the tasks each person claimed to be doing... something doesn't quite add up!
In fact, there wasn't just one culprit–there were TWO culprits: the personal chef and the butler. The personal chef is the first culprit; the murder happened in the EVENING. He couldn't be cooking breakfast so late in the day. The butler is the second culprit; there were only 5 other people in the house, including himself, and almost none of them were in the living room, except for the wife (but she is not a WORKER). He couldn't be supervising so many workers.
There were two pairs hanging on a tree, one man walked by and took a pair. Soon after a second man also took a pear from the tree. However, even after both men took fruit from the tree there was still a pear left on the tree. How could this be?
Think about the multiple meanings of the word "pair" and "pear"...
There were four pears (2 pairs) on the tree. The first man took a pair (2 pears) and the second only took one pear leaving one pear on the tree.
I'm so fast you can't see me, though everyone else can see straight through me. I won't stop until the day you die. What am I?
Think about something that moves quickly, is invisible to the person it's affecting, but others can see right through it, and it's a constant presence in a person's life until death...
I am two-faced but bare only one, I have no legs but travel widely. Men spill much blood over me, kings leave there imprint on me. I have greatest power when given away, yet lust for me keeps me locked away.
What am I?
"Think about something that has a dual nature, is often associated with conflict and power, and is paradoxically more powerful when surrendered..."
I have a scent. You use me everyday. The more you use, the more you take away. What am I?
Think about something you use daily, perhaps in the morning, and its purpose is to remove or take away something, but in doing so, it leaves a pleasant smell behind...
I am something, I am nothing. I am short, I am tall. When you fall at your sport, then I stumble and fall. I have never been yet seen beneath a new moon. I thrive in the evening but vanish at noon. I am lighter than air, I weigh less than a breath. Darkness destroys me and light is my death. What am I?
Think about something that is often associated with failure or defeat, but can also be fleeting and intangible...
I live in a really noisy place, And I only appear when my loud friend is with me. I have my house high in the air, and I cause deadly fires. What am I?
Think about a natural phenomenon that's often accompanied by thunder...
Lightning lives in a noisy place, And it doesn't appear without thunder. It has it's house high in the air, And it cause deadly fires.
I am never right. I am often mistaken for being true. I am deceptive and many people use me as an enemy disguised as a friend. What am I?
Think about something that is often taken at face value, but can be misleading or inaccurate, and is frequently used to manipulate or deceive others...
I'm the motivation to live for some people, the source of pain for some people. Without me, you'll fall into the abyss; with me, you'll have courage. What am I?
Think about something that can inspire hope and drive in some, while causing fear and anxiety in others. It's often associated with a sense of risk and uncertainty, but also with the potential for great reward.
I am a holiday, of course, celebrated in December, I am celebrated until New Year, People who celebrate me are considered Evil by many Religions, what am I?
"Think of a winter holiday that's often associated with darkness, magic, and merriment, but is viewed with suspicion by some religious groups..."
The letters of the alphabet but only just a few;
It's hard to say if I was invented or just discovered by you.
What am I?
Think about a fundamental concept in language that is based on a subset of alphabet letters, and its origin is still a topic of debate among scholars...
A mother gave birth to six kids. The first daughter's name is July. The second daughter's name is August. The third daughter's name is September. The fourth daughter's name is October. The next child was a boy, therefore, she named him November. The mother was planning on having a girl named December, but it turned out that she got a boy. If she didn't name him December, what is his name?
Think about the pattern of the names and the reason behind the boy's name being November...
Jason. She took the first letter of the names of her children. July, August, September, October, November.
A kid forgot to do his homework. For the home work, he had to draw a goat on grass. When he was in class the teacher found out that he didn't finish it. The boy was smart. He said that he did and he proved it to the teacher. Then the teacher agreed and said that he finished it in an unexpected way. What did the boy say to the teacher?
Think about what's NOT being drawn...
He said: I finished it. You see, there is a goat. Goats eat grass so the goat in my picture ate the grass. Now the grass is gone. But since there is no more grass left, the goat went somewhere else to find more grass to eat. That’s why the homework is blank.
You use me to clean, but the powerful take me for a ride. What am I?
Think about something that's used for cleaning, but also has a connection to a mode of transportation that's often associated with people in positions of power...
Two hours ago it was as long after one o'clock in the afternoon as it was before one o'clock in the morning. What time is it now?
It would be 9:00 pm. There are 12 hours between 1:00 pm and 1:00 am and half of that is six hours. Half-way between would be 7 o'clock. Two hours later it would be 9:00 o'clock.
A man was found dead out in a field of snow. The only tracks that were left was a set of footprints between two parallel lines. Who should the police be looking for?
Think about a mode of transportation that often travels between two parallel lines, and consider how the victim might have been on it when they died...